The politics of communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina

While defending the thesis that the preponderance of ethnic politics in Bosnia is not at all a recent phenomenon, nor can it be blamed on the Dayton Agreement alone, this study of the relation between ethnic identities and political parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina does not seek to suggest that the prevalence of ethnicity is natural or permanent. Since the war ended in 1995, nationalist parties have waned and now have to compete with moderate parties. Interparty competition takes place more intensely within each ethnic group than between formations that are vying for the votes of Muslim Bosnians, Serbs and Croats regardless of their ethnic affiliation. This trend has been reinforced by the territorial concentration resulting from the war and ethnic cleansing.