Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 2003, the International Republican Institute (IRI) launched a program utilizing a three-pronged approach to help build faith in the governing institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while at the same time attempting to energize citizen participation in the electoral process. First, IRI worked with local political party organizations to develop issue-based political strategies. Second, IRI worked with selected ministries to develop integrated communications strategies and practices. And finally, IRI worked to increase the capacity of political parties to develop policy and policy analysis institutions in order to foster issue-based politics and improve policy outcomes.

In the fall of 2005, IRI expanded its program, which consolidated activities and introduced a new program. IRI's current program focuses on political party development, including policy development and survey research in addition to traditional organization and communications consulting. In addition, IRI continues work with selected state-level ministries, while introducing work building linkages between civil society and political parties.

Political Party Development

IRI works with reform-minded political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop their institutional capacity so they become better organized, observe democratic values and operate under rules and procedures that will enable them to compete more effectively in elections and enact their policy agendas once elected. IRI's political party development program focuses both at the local and nation level on three main areas: political party organization, political identity and campaign capacity.

IRI is continuing to work with opposition parties to build their institutional capacities. These efforts include a special focus on efforts to improve internal management and communications procedures; to build a policy analysis and policy advocacy capacity within parties; to introduce scientific research methods to political parties, including political polling and focus groups; and to help parties apply such research to message development.

Political discourse in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been characterized by ethnic rivalry, personality-based politics and patronage. Very little attention has been paid to developing policy or creating a long term vision or identity for parties. As a result, Bosnia often seems stuck in 1995, the year the war ended. Politicians fight over ethnic symbols while the people's needs remain unmet, and citizens become more and more cynical, withdrawing from politics and elections and turning to the black market for survival.

In light of this situation, IRI has greatly expanded its survey research and focus group activities, delivering public opinion research to our partner parties. In addition, IRI provides American and Bosnian political strategists to help parties interpret and apply the findings of the poll data. IRI has also sponsored policy research papers, highlighting the six biggest economic and judicial problems in the country. These papers offer sound solutions to the problems, and IRI has used them as a tool to train parties on the use of policy research and analysis in platform development. Through a series of workshops and seminars, IRI is helping local and state level party leaders and candidates to understand and apply these various tools to their campaigns.

Civil Society Outreach

A key component of a strong vibrant democratic political system is ongoing cooperation between political parties and ideologically-compatible nonpartisan civic organizations. IRI educates and assists national party leaders to identify institutions and interests, religious organizations, businesses, trade associations, labor unions, student groups, cultural organizations and single-issue groups - who agree with the broad political programs of the parties. IRI also helps to facilitate and provide financial assistance for regular meetings of this informal coalition, using these meetings as a way to coordinate message, prioritize and govern the party in a more participatory, democratic way.

Ministry Communications

IRI is also working to help parties restore public faith in the political system by helping government ministries demonstrate to that the government is working to solve problems of importance. For most of 2006, IRI focused on preparations for the parliamentary and presidential elections. With the October elections now over, IRI is focused on providing communications training to the new government. Currently, the government ministries have a very limited capacity to effectively communicate the programs that they have pursued and the kinds of improvements they have made. Successful management of reforms will hinge to a large extent on effective public communications. Government ministries will need to regularly assess the public's concerns and expectations regarding reform and to address those concerns and expectations through a clear and consistent communications strategy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina operates under a constitution that was laid out by the 1995 Dayton Agreement that ended hostilities in the region. The country is partitioned into the Bosniak/Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska (RS). The national executive is a tripartite presidency consisting of one representative from each of the major ethnic constituencies. The legislative branch consists of the Skupstina, a bicameral parliamentary assembly comprised of the Predstavnicki Dom (House of Representatives) and the Dom Naroda (House of Peoples). The House of Representatives has 42 members, divided equally among the Croatian, Bosniak and Serbian ethnic groups. Members are elected by proportional representation to serve two-year terms. The House of Peoples is comprised of 15 members divided equally among the three ethnic groups. The Bosniak and Croatian members of the House of Peoples are selected by the Federation's own 98-seat House of Representatives and the Serb members are selected by the Republika Srpska's 83-seat National Assembly.

The governmental structure is inherently cumbersome, which has inevitably contributed to the difficulties encountered by the political parties and government ministries. While governmental structures continue to consolidate, the pace has been slow and a number of disturbing trends continue to worsen. Voter turnout continues to decline and citizens' expectations for the government and politicians are at an all time low.

Political institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina have very little autonomy, and have to answer to the Office of the High Representative. Given the over-arching authority of the High Representative to unilaterally make policy, there is little incentive for struggling Bosnian governmental institutions and political parties to address difficult problems. This intrinsic weakness of political institutions has stunted the growth of political parties as credible vehicles for tangible change. There is a commonly perceived disconnect between the political parties and the real decision making authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This has led to a gap between the parties and the electorate that is greater than has been observed in other countries in the region.

In November 2005, the governing parties began negotiations on constitutional reforms which would centralize power at the state level, reduce the powers of the presidency and increase the role of the state parliament. With the U.S. working as mediator, the governing officials reached a consensus on the reforms package and passed the package to the State Parliament for debate and vote. However, parliament refused to ratify the reforms in 2006.

The inevitable shift in power from international institutions to indigenous political parties and institutions has begun. The Office of the High Representative has started phasing out some of its authority and has tasked additional reforms to the European Union (EU) negotiators. Bosnia and Herzegovina subsequently began negotiations to join the EU in early 2006.

Political Overview

Chief of State: Presidency Council consists of three members a Bosniak, a Croat and a Serb.
Chairman of the Presidency rotates every eight months. Members are:
Serb Presidency member - Nebojsa Radmanovic, Alliance of Independent Social Democrats
Bosniak Presidency member - Haris Silajdzic, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croat Presidency member - Zeljko Komsic, Social Democratic Party

Type of Government: emerging federal democratic republic

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: political party development and civil society outreach, governance

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development