Are the Dayton Accords a Model for Reconstructing Iraq? ACSC Quick-Look 05-04
Abstract
The Dayton Accords significantly aided in stabilizing ethnic tensions in Bosnia since 1996. Large-scale violence has not revisited Bosnia even though the international peacekeeping force has been drastically reduced. Careful analysis of the two situations suggests the Dayton Accords have limited applicability to Iraq, although its emphasis on consociational instead of integrative political structures may offer some insight into how to lay a foundation for Iraq's future governing structures. Dayton established Bosnia-Herzegovina as a single sovereign federated state with two autonomous Entities a Bosniak-Croat Federation controlling 51 percent of the land and the Bosnian-Serb Republika Srpska controlling 49 percent. These percentages and the established borders of these two entities roughly matched the military situation on the ground as of October 1995 when a cease-fire was imposed on the parties following NATO Operation Deliberate Force. The Accords assigned NATO responsibility for implementing and enforcing military provisions including force separation, arms control (the parties were not required to disarm), redeployments, and prisoner exchanges. The parties complied with these terms within the deadlines spelled out in the agreement in large part because NATO provided a credible military threat that none of the parties could hope to counter. That violence has not broken out, even though both Entities maintain separate militaries and NATO's presence has dwindled substantially, is the result of a number of factors, most important being that the government structures Dayton created served as sufficient forums for resolving conflicts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA430905
Entities
People
- Robert C. Diprizio
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College