In a shifting geopolitical landscape, Republika Srpska is carving out its place — and doing so successfully, analysts say. That success is causing frustration, particularly in political Sarajevo. Republika Srpska’s current approach has proven highly effective.
Republika Srpska must secure its role in the major global processes now underway.
With partners both in the East and the West, Republika Srpska recognizes these changes and is prepared to face them, says Bojan Šolaja from the Center for International and Security Studies. Meanwhile, in the other entity, the imposed decisions of Christian Schmidt and the former U.S. ambassador remain law and practice.
Republika Srpska rejected that path and, together with its international partners, Šolaja notes, is shaping a future in which political dynamics in Bosnia and Herzegovina will take a different direction.
Sarajevo’s inability to accept the arrival of a new political era, he says, is a problem of its own making.
“It seems that political parties in Sarajevo are the only ones who have missed the train — in fact, they’ve fallen off it — and simply refuse to accept that the world today looks different than the one they are accustomed to. I believe Bosnia and Herzegovina will no longer be a state where foreigners come rushing to help every time someone in Sarajevo complains,” Šolaja said.
How political leaders in Sarajevo perceive the current moment is also demonstrated by their continued adherence to the logic of “Tie your horse where the aga tells you.”
That statement by Elmedin Konaković has become widely recognized as evidence of a submissive mindset and the political culture in Sarajevo that bows before an illegitimate foreign authority. In today’s international environment, analysts warn, that is a misguided strategy.
“We are witnessing major, even tectonic changes in global politics. The world we knew in international relations until now is disappearing, and a new, multipolar world is emerging,” said Srđan Perišić, professor of geopolitics and international relations.
Sarajevo’s political establishment either cannot see this change — or refuses to see it — continuing to believe that the era of imposed laws will survive. Some legal experts in Sarajevo argue that this very mindset is at the root of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s dysfunction.
“Peace and stability were never actually threatened. What has been in danger is legal certainty — disrupted by the unlawful actions of an unelected individual with no international mandate under Annex 10, who imposed a law that triggered the constitutional and political crisis we are facing today,” said Sarajevo-based lawyer Damir Sakić.
Meanwhile, Republika Srpska is preparing legal action against Schmidt in the United States and Europe — a move aimed, among other things, at strengthening its international standing. Political Sarajevo is in no way prepared for such a shift, but analysts note — that is their problem to resolve.
Source: RTRS
