New trouble for Bosnia as sanctions are removed on Serb leader

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb ethnic republic, the Republika Srpska, held an election recently, and even though there is a new president, the boss remains the same: Milorad Dodik.

Dodik, who Bosnia’s High Representative and court system have determined ineligible to hold political office, left the presidency in favor of a hand-chosen successor. Bosnia should expect more of the same corruption, fragmentation, division, and ethnic friction that have stood in the way of the country’s development and stability for the last 30 years.

Dodik has built his recent political career on instigating conflict and discord between the RS and Bosnia’s state-level government. On multiple instances, Dodik has called for referendums supporting either RS secession or rejection of Bosnian state-level institutions. He has been the subject of multiple corruption investigations and has faced allegations of supporting criminal

Continue reading