New Times,
New Thinking.

Election law dispute threatens to reopen Bosnia’s wounds, with Gerald Knaus

Protests have led to fears for the integrity of 25 years of peace

In Bosnia and Herzegovina a dispute over a proposed new elections law has led to protests and concerns about the stability of the country. For more than 25 years since the Bosnian War ended in 1995 the country has been governed through a complex federal system intended to strike a balance between the three main ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. Many Bosnian Croats, however, now want changes that would, they say, give them better representation.

Alix Kroeger speaks to Gerald Knaus, the chairman of the European Stability Initiative, a think tank focusing on south-eastern Europe and the enlargement of the European Union. He’s been researching the two big European peace agreements of the 1990s: the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia and the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. They discussed the parallels between the two, the role of the international community in Bosnia and the lessons for the war in Ukraine.

If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk

Further reading:

Jeremy Cliffe on Bosnia and the weakness of the West. 

Alix on the echoes of Bosnia in Ukraine.

Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard on the end of peace in Europe.

How to listen to the World Review podcast

1. In your browser

You can use the player above to listen in your browser right now. The World Review podcast publishes on Monday and Thursdays. All episodes are published to newstatesman.com/podcasts on the day of release.

Give a gift subscription to the New Statesman this Christmas from just £49

2. In a podcast app

World Review is available on all major podcast apps including Apple PodcastsSpotifyAcastGoogle Podcasts, and more. Search “World Review” in your favourite podcast app, and subscribe or follow to make sure you receive episodes as soon as they publish. While you’re there, please leave a review for the podcast – it helps others find the show, which in turn makes it possible for us to keep making it.

3. On your smart speaker

If you have an Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod smart speaker, ask it to “play the latest episode of World Review”. The same command also works with virtual assistants on mobile devices.

Content from our partners
Putting citizen experience at the heart of AI-driven public services
Skills policy and industrial strategies must be joined up
How the UK can lead the transition to net zero

Topics in this article :