Subnational competitive authoritarianism and power-sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

Incremental democratic decline is evident in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), but measures of democracy conceal an uneven subnational distribution of autocratization. So far there has been limited research on the drivers and constraints to subnational autocratization. This paper aims to contribute to the literature on power-sharing by exploring instances of illiberal politics enacted by parties in government at the subnational level in BiH. Evidence is gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysis of three specific cases of illiberal politics. We find that the political contest in BiH is purposefully contained within ethnic and subnational boundaries and constrained through several layers of institutionalized multilevel and ethnic checks and balances. The main drivers of subnational autocratization are opportunities that arise from the institutional framework established during early democratization and postwar structures that blend executive dominance with economic power and informal party networks, and occasionally from an individual actor’s perceptions of threat. Democratization in BiH will need to address subnational politics and deep-rooted power structures if it is to be successful.     

The rise of illiberal politics in Southeast Europe

ABSTRACT

Democracy is backsliding throughout Southeast Europe but there are no signs of full democratic breakdown. Instead, political parties and their leaders incrementally undermine challenges to governmental authority while keeping electoral contest largely intact. This article introduces a special issue that aims to examine and explain democratic decline by looking at the prevalence of illiberal politics across countries and issues. In order to overcome the limitations of fixed regime classification we adopt a procedural lens and look into governing practices that gradually tilt the electoral playing field. Utilizing the concept of Illiberal politics allows us to examine sets of policies enacted by political parties in government with the aim to remain in power indefinitely. By tracing democratic decline in Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia we observe different patterns of weakness, but also common causes arising from weak institutions and inherited governance practices that preserve executive dominance, patronage, and informality.     

Y chromosome STRs in Croatians

Eight Y chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphisms (DYS19, DYS388, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393) were analyzed in the sample of 457 unrelated Croatian men. A general STR allelic frequency pattern in Croatians corresponds to other European populations with the exception of the loci DYS19 and DYS389II. The most frequent DYS19 allele was 16, while at the DYS389II the most frequent were alleles 30 and 31. The most frequent Y chromosome haplotype (16-13-13-31-24-11-11-13) was found in 33 individuals (7.22%). One hundred and seventy-four haplotypes (38.07%) were observed in single copies.     

The International Community and Bosnia-Herzegovina

The article discusses the most considerable challenges faced by Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) over the past few years and outlines how many of them have been addressed through partnership and cooperation between BiH and the international community. It draws lessons from this cooperation for the general conditions necessary for successful international intervention and engagement, comparing the interventions in BiH and Iraq. It argues that BiH has made substantive progress in reconciliation and reconstruction and that it is now a modern and peaceful state orientated towards the goal of Euro-Atlantic integration. The article assesses some of the remaining obstacles to progress, in particular the paradoxically problematic role of the Office of the High Representative in BiH.     

What Past Is Present?

The article deals with new modes of representation of Croatian contemporary history. It argues that the Croatian grand narrative of the twentieth century is presented as the continuous fight of Croats for their nation-state. All historical events in the narrative are appraised as beneficial or harmful only in how they contributed to the creation of the state. The pattern of representation in heavily ethnocentric. The constructed self-image of the Croatian nation portrays Croats as humiliated and repressed by various others in the twentieth century. Croats are represented as the victims of other national groups and of history. The notion of historical responsibility is nonexistent for the analysed period.