Building a Multiethnic Military in Post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina

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On 1 January 2006, soldiers from across Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered to mark the official formation of a unified army; and yet, little over a decade before, these men had been each others adversaries during the vicious conflict which left the Balkan state divided and impoverished. Building a Multi-Ethnic Military in Post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina offers the first analysis of the armed forces during times of peace-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This sophisticated study assesses Yugoslav efforts to build a multi-ethnic military during the socialist period, charts the developments of the armies that fought in the war, and offers a detailed account of the post-war international initiatives that led to the creation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At this point, the military became the largest multi-ethnic institution in the country and was regarded as a model for the rest of Bosnian society to follow. As such, as Elliot Short adroitly contends, this multi-ethnic army became the most significant act in stabilising the country since the end of the Bosnian War. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources including interviews with leading diplomats and archival documents made available in English for the first time this book explores the social and political role of the Bosnian military and in doing so provides fresh insight into the Yugoslav Wars, statehood and national identity, and peace-building in modern European history.

Reviews

This meticulous study on the army gives the reader insight into Bosnia and Hercegovinas core strengths and achievements since 1995. Shorts work is likely to be if great interest to regional and military expects and scholars of national identity. * Cathie Carmichael, Professor of European History, University of East Anglia, UK *
Building a Multiethnic Military in Post-Yugoslav Bosnia-Herzegovina offers the first history of how the three separate militaries in existence when the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina ended were integrated into one multi-ethnic armed force, in the face of wartime legacies and post-war polarisations. Short's detailed account complicates the idea that peace inevitably led to the integration of the military, and is indispensable for any reader interested in Bosnian defence reform or how the Bosnian example might illuminate relationships between the military and society elsewhere. * Catherine Baker, Senior Lecturer in 20th Century History, University of Hull, UK *

Author Bio

Elliot Short is an independent scholar who obtained his PhD in History from the University of East Anglia, UK. He is the author, along with Milt Lauenstein, of Peace and Conflict since 1991: War, Intervention and Peacebuilding Organizations (2020). More information can be found at elliotshort.com.