US policy in Bosnia : from observation to leadership : transatlantic disagreements in managing the crisis

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Fotini Bellou

Abstract

The policy preferences of Washington towards the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) reflected the US stance regarding post-Cold War engagement in civil wars. It also reflected efforts to identify and project a Euro-Atlantic
cooperation model in international crisis management. Abstention from commitment to an international peacekeeping operation, with US troops on the
ground in order to implement an agreed peace settlement, was the premise by
which US policy towards the war in BiH was formulated from 1992 to mid
1994. As this stance gradually began to tarnish relations with its European
allies, Washington shifted its policy towards a piecemeal engagement. It was
becoming obvious that a risk-free US leadership in BiH was challenging
Washington’s status within NATO. In the face of serious European questions
regarding the substance of US leadership in European security, Washington
opted to lead international action (diplomatic and military) so as to end the
war in BiH in the summer of 1995. This incidentally re-confirmed America’s
leadership position and image in the context of European security.

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