Symbols that Keep Us Apart
In a significant development for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in February 2025, the Constitutional Court suspended the controversial Emblem Law Amendments allowing the use of foreign state symbols alongside the symbols of Republika Srpska in public institutions and official documents. This is one of the latest legal maneuvers challenging the constitutional framework established by the Dayton Peace Agreement. Moreover, it highlights Republika Srpska’s ongoing efforts to redefine its relationship with the central state, risking deepening ethnic divisions.
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The High Representative Strikes Again
In March 2024, the High Representative (HR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Christian Schmidt, once again used his “Bonn powers” under the Dayton Peace Agreement which, inter alia, enable him to impose substantial legislation. After a dark warning, he enacted a new package of reforms concerning the electoral process. While these reforms reflect the necessary and desirable changes in the process of the EU accession, concurrently resolving a political stalemate, this schmidtian mode also creates further political cleavages. Nevertheless, arguably a “Smith” has found a fairly clever way forward.
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