Building sustainable institutions ? : the results of international administration in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo: 1995-2008

Abstract

In recent years, there have been several large and ambitious international administrations established to govern territories plagued by war and left without effective governments. The international administrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) and in Kosovo were among those established. Although both international administrations were successful in the sense that large scale violence has not re-occurred, the question is whether the objective has been achieved of transforming both territories into sustainable political entities. This study is an attempt to answer these questions. The study is based on a qualitative research design in which both cases are compared. The study shows that the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo have been successful in creating political institutions, but not in making them sustainable. Consequentl y, Bosnia and Kosovo in 2008 can at best be considered weak states with weak political institutions that are dependent on the continued support of international organizations and foreign states.