Is Bosnia on the brink of collapse?
Separatist rhetoric among Bosnian Serb leadership is raising concerns about the dissolution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Milorad Dodik, the leader of Republika Srpska, recently ramping up talk of withdrawing from Bosnia’s military, intelligence, judicial, and tax institutions—effectively threatening secession. On Friday, a day after this interview took place, the parliament of the Serb part of Bosnia-Herzegovina voted to take that step. The vote amounted to a non-binding agreement that fell short of a final decision to quit the institutions, but this decision and Dodik’s rhetoric have sparked warnings from the international community about new conflict in the region. Expert Charles Kupchan joins The Greek Current to explain the current situation in Bosnia, look at the rise of nationalism in the broader Balkan region, and discuss how the US and the EU should respond to this crisis.
Charles Kupchan is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government. From 2014 to 2017, Kupchan served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs on the staff of the National Security Council (NSC) in the Barack Obama administration. He is the author of the recent book Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself From the World, where he explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience.
Read Charles Kupchan’s analysis for the Council on Foreign Relations here: Is Bosnia on the Verge of Conflict?
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
Bosnia: Serbs vote to leave key institutions in secession move
West Struggles to Counter Secessionist Threat in Bosnia
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