The Role of International Organizations in Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bojana Blagojevic
bojana@eden.rutgers.edu

The 1992-1995 civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina devastated the socio-economic structure of the country. About 250,000 people were killed in the war and many were injured. Damage to the economy is an estimated U.S. $115 billion. The people of Bosnia are dealing with scars of the war in a context of nationalist divisions, hatred, as well as high unemployment and poverty. In the midst of the globalizing world, Bosnia stands as an unstable and poor entity, below the minimum level of socio-economic development.

Many international (governmental and non-governmental) organizations have been undertaking actions to help the reconstruction and development of Bosnia. International aid, without development of appropriate local institutions to sustain the change, is not helpful in the long run. In order to have socio-economic growth, physical security, political stability must be established and progress must happen at all levels of the society.

In my paper, I will look at the role of international aid by governmental and non-governmental organizations in the post-war reconstruction and development of Bosnia, focusing on a sample of organizations (one or more organizations - specifics to be determined.) The question to be addressed is whether these organizations are merely "handing out" the aid, or whether they are also helping create an institutional foundation on the "local" level, which is essential for making Bosnia a long-term, stable entity in the globalizing world.


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Last updated on 12 April 2001.