Download Summary (PDF)
The development of a stable political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the overall democratization of the country continue to be hindered by a lack of political communication based on coherent ideologies and sound policies. Instead, political discourse continues to be ethnocentric, as major political parties have traditionally avoided addressing serious economic and social issues and resorted to messages designed to manipulate the three ethnic constituencies. A lack of transparency and responsiveness mars almost every major party and creates disconnects with local communities and civil society. Additionally, women remain a marginalized segment of society that demands greater political representation within the current system.
In this environment, IRI believes that parties are much more likely to understand the need for building consistant political ideologies and coherent policies if they recognize the importance of constituent engagement between election cycles. Similarly, parties will be able to improve their comprehension of constituent needs if they improve infrastructure to communicate with their grassroots base and other policy stakeholders.
To accomplish these goals, IRI works in three key areas: supporting democratic reform and accountability within political parties, assisting local communities and civil society in improving advocacy efforts towards decision makers in political parties, and fostering the inclusion of women and youth in the political process.
Improving Performance and Accountability in Local Government
IRI provides assistance to local governments (mayors and other elected officials at the municipal level) to strengthen institutional capacities and assist in constructing outreach strategies that engage citizens from various ethnic and political backgrounds in solving practical challenges. IRI believes that such work provides the basis for neighboring (but heterogeneous) communities to coordinate reponses to matters of common interest and share best practices.
Civil Society and Think Tank Support
Parties dominate political debate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, yet centralized, personality-based parties have little incentive to introduce innovative policy solutions to the public. At the same time, there are few alternative institutions through which to inject fresh ideas into the public discourse. In such a situation, party leaders are often content with the status quo, reinforcing ethnic cleavages with rhetoric through which they are able to maintain a comfortable grip on power. IRI strives to promote independent, non-party voices that can produce sound, research-based policy proposals, transmit them to the public and organize citizens around such proposals in conviction that outside pressure encourages parties to embrace good policies.
Improving Women's Political Participation
Politics is a male-dominated institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina; stereotypes regarding the traditional position of women – managing households, raising children and supporting husbands – are deeply rooted in society. Moreover, the October 2010 election results suggest that voters are guided by these perceptions and are less likely to vote for women, although it is worth noting that all parties respected the quotas for candidates defined in the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina (at least 30 percent women on the candidate list).
Out of 488 elected officials (parliamentary elections, October 2010), only 17.01 percent are women. The House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina has 42 parliamentarians, out of which only eight are women. At the entity level, the percentage is almost the same, with 17 female parliamentarians in the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (out of 98) and 18 women parliamentarians in the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska (out of 83). As these numbers demonstrate, women remain underrepresented in public life and little progress has been made to achieve true gender balance in politics over the past several years. Beyond convincing a skeptical electorate that they are qualified to hold public office, women also face obstacles and internal difficulties in their respective parties, and their political participation is often limited due to gender prejudice.
To address the gender gap, IRI organizes programs in cooperation with the Women's Democracy Network that empower women in politics and prepare them for careers as political leaders. The Institute cooperates with female politicians in order to establish strong women's organizations within political parties, improve the leadership and communication skills of rising star female politicians, and create a strong network of women in power that can promote greater political participation for women across the country.
