The Same Old Story of Peacebuilding: Institution Building, Legitimacy and Global Governance

The year 2015 marks the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the hybrid state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), half international administration, half federal state. For almost 20 years the Office of the High Representative (OHR) has been effectively ruling over a state that does not want to be one. In its annual report to the UN, the OHR repeats the same refrain every year: ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina has come a long way since then [the war] [ … ] However, progress will require concrete results to be delivered. Some of the reforms will be very difficult, but they will deliver new opportunities for the country and its people.’ 1 For 20 years, the claim that statebuilding has been successful has been contradicted by this constant promise of progress to come.