Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina

New institutionalism resurrected political institutions, arguing that they constrain behavior of political actors. Consequently, the consociational model was founded on the assumption that the institutions and practices associated with it create...

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Main Author: Aleksandra Zdeb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences 2023-09-01
Series:Studia Środkowoeuropejskie i Bałkanistyczne
Online Access: https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/ssb/artykul/doomed-to-fail-rebound-effect-and-conflict-management-problems-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina
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author Aleksandra Zdeb
author_facet Aleksandra Zdeb
author_sort Aleksandra Zdeb
collection DOAJ
description New institutionalism resurrected political institutions, arguing that they constrain behavior of political actors. Consequently, the consociational model was founded on the assumption that the institutions and practices associated with it create a structure of incentives for leaders of ethnic groups that should encourage them to moderate and cooperate. However, in post-conflict, deeply divided countries where institutions are weak and often externally imposed, political actors can interpret and exploit them, stretching their boundaries and adapting them to new conditions, or simply avoiding them. As Robert D. Putnam notes, “two centuries of constitution-writing around the world warn us that the designers of new institutions often write on water – institutional reform does not always change fundamental patterns of politics” (1993: 17). Following this statement, the main aim of the article is an analysis, rooted in the new institutionalism, of the relationship and the inevitable tension between political institutions and actors in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. By proposing the term “rebound effect”, the paper tries to explain the dysfunctionality of the Bosnian model of consociationalism. Using congruence theory (Almond & Verba 1965), I also hypothesize that coherence between political actors (their political culture) and political institutions (the patterns of behavior they imply) is crucial for the so-called “behavioral realisation” of any constructed structure – institution, and, as a result, for the entire political system and its functionality
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spelling doaj-art-4905d8f982a3466aa67dec8eeae673b52025-08-20T03:44:58ZengPolish Academy of Arts and SciencesStudia Środkowoeuropejskie i Bałkanistyczne2451-49932543-733X2023-09-012023116918410.4467/2543733XSSB.23.010.18436 Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina Aleksandra Zdeb0 Uniwersytet Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie New institutionalism resurrected political institutions, arguing that they constrain behavior of political actors. Consequently, the consociational model was founded on the assumption that the institutions and practices associated with it create a structure of incentives for leaders of ethnic groups that should encourage them to moderate and cooperate. However, in post-conflict, deeply divided countries where institutions are weak and often externally imposed, political actors can interpret and exploit them, stretching their boundaries and adapting them to new conditions, or simply avoiding them. As Robert D. Putnam notes, “two centuries of constitution-writing around the world warn us that the designers of new institutions often write on water – institutional reform does not always change fundamental patterns of politics” (1993: 17). Following this statement, the main aim of the article is an analysis, rooted in the new institutionalism, of the relationship and the inevitable tension between political institutions and actors in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. By proposing the term “rebound effect”, the paper tries to explain the dysfunctionality of the Bosnian model of consociationalism. Using congruence theory (Almond & Verba 1965), I also hypothesize that coherence between political actors (their political culture) and political institutions (the patterns of behavior they imply) is crucial for the so-called “behavioral realisation” of any constructed structure – institution, and, as a result, for the entire political system and its functionality https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/ssb/artykul/doomed-to-fail-rebound-effect-and-conflict-management-problems-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina
spellingShingle Aleksandra Zdeb
Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Studia Środkowoeuropejskie i Bałkanistyczne
title Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
title_full Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
title_fullStr Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
title_full_unstemmed Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
title_short Doomed to Fail? Rebound Effect and Conflict Management Problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina
title_sort doomed to fail rebound effect and conflict management problems in bosnia and herzegovina
url https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/ssb/artykul/doomed-to-fail-rebound-effect-and-conflict-management-problems-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina
work_keys_str_mv AT aleksandrazdeb doomedtofailreboundeffectandconflictmanagementproblemsinbosniaandherzegovina