What does a second Obama term mean for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkan region?
Author: Heidi Hullinger
Publisher: Centar za Sigurnosne Studije (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Date: November 2012
Volume: 5 pages, pdf
Description
Regional policy has been an exercise in cooperation with the European Union, taking a backseat to the Accession process and contributing with aid and missions that focus on assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina in fulfilling NATO accession conditions. As a result, the US gets to play good cop, while the EU works, so far fruitlessly, to tackle corruption, constitutional reform and other hot button topics that cast the EU as bad cop. The appointment of the next US Secretary of State is the latest topic of conversation making headlines in the US. However, US-Bosnian relations and their engagement in the region is unlikely to see any major changes. Either way, the US may decide that it better serve Bosnians and its constituents at home by losing the good cop act and put tangible pressure on politicians.