International Relations (Research Paper Sample)

Name Tutor Course Date Effectiveness of EU conditionality principle in BiH: Europeanization vs. Ethno politics Overview of the research Bosnia is a country in South Eastern Europe that despite many efforts by the European Union still lags behind in many humanitarian international goals. Considering the fact that neighboring countries are far ahead in efforts to attain an EU membership, what could be the major fact hindering Bosnia from attaining such international goals? Are such reasons politically motivated or are they ingrained in the cultural beliefs of the country? Because most of its neighbors are already members of the European Union, the major hindrance to the EU membership could be the political leadership in Bosnia. The EU should seek alternative measures to ensure that Bosnia adopts the necessary laws to guarantee its involvement in the EU. This is because the conditionality principle in place does not seem to be producing any actual results. Positioning of the research Several factors have contributed to the stagnation of the efforts of the European Union in impacting its values to Bosnia. Asle examines that “both the European Union and the Bosnian politicians have played a big role in the current impasse” (115). It is clear that the brand of politics practiced in Bosnia bundled with a rather complacent and divided European Union has led to the current state of Bosnia. Domm observes that, after the end of the war in Bosnia in 1995, the EU took a more active role in ensuring that human rights are respected in the region. After this war, the EU imposed the conditionality principle seeking to provide help only under strict guidelines that the Bosnians uphold certain accepted international principles. Tatham observes that however, “on a large scale, the conditionality principle has not produced the expected results” (89). Bosnia is still mostly an ethno political state with politicians serving their selfish interests under the guise of ethnicity as the perceived “Bosnian way of life”. The first major reason why the conditionality principle has not worked very well in Bosnia is the practiced brand of politics. Worthington observes that, “the Bosnian political atmosphere is characterized by ethnic group loyalty at the expense of anything else” (236). The politicians use this platform to popularize their selfish philosophies by belittling each other with no intention to develop. Caporaso observes that the “politicians use ethnicity and a perceived national heritage to control the EU by setting the terms under which they cooperate” (189). This works against the EU which is forced to conform to rules that in essence work against the principles that they promote. The other reason that Bosnia seems to remain behind is the fact that the European Union in its resolve to Europeanize Bosnia does not present a united front. Christopher indicates that “close scrutiny of all the countries involved in the process and their efforts reveals a rather divided front with every country trying something different mostly with negative results” (301). This makes it difficult for the Bosnian people to take the process seriously. Rumford points out that the continued involvement of different EU countries in the internal operations of Bosnia can in part said to have contributed to the continued conflict in the country. In the ensuing confusion, the Bosnian authorities spread their own selfish interests at the expense of the country rendering Europeanization impossible. Noutcheva observes that “rather than focus on issues related to the European Union integration, politicians focus on emotion-appealing politics that border on incitement” (212). As a result, the EU has faced a lot of resistance from the locals who question the intentions of the EU member states. Domm points out that the politicians take advantage of the misperception to further advance their selfish interests (98). This only serves to increase inter-ethnic hatred and polarization consequently leading to increased conflict in the region. Boyce points out that the Bosnian politicans display ignorance to the plight of the European Union, and with no clear guidelines or repercussions, they get away with it. Lastly, the conditionality principle seems to fail in Bosnia since it introduces new ways that are the exact opposite to that of the politicians. Donais indicates that the EU integration project introduces foreign stringent measures which in essence challenge the norm in the Bosnian society that is based solely on ethnic domination and identity (150). Accepting such laws is seen as subduing to foreign powers that have vested interests in the country and their way of life. On the other hand, the European Union cannot relax such laws to favor the local mindset but instead responds by introducing even tougher laws. Mahmutćehajić indicates that this alienates the local leaders who then decide to incite their followers against the whole EU project. Eralp points out that the local leaders are reluctant to adopt the stipulated laws since they threaten their dominance and take away their control (120). The Bosnian politicians, therefore, make it intentionally difficult to impose European Union policies in their country by putting in place measures that counter the EU mission. Exadaktylos and Rafaeli point out that “Bosnian politicians interpret the European Union standards as per their “Bosnian standards” which serve their own interests” (67). This makes it particularly difficult for the EU to make any progress in the country. Research design and methodology This research will revolve around identifying the major drawbacks to the conditionality principle in Bosnia by examining the current and past measures put in place. Past efforts and their results will be examined in detail to identify the values that the Bosnian people or politicians may have rejected. To put things in greater perspective, the views of a single, popular political party will be sought. Singling out a political party will help provide factual information about the current state of events in the country. A popular political party will also provide the general consensus on the EU integration as well as the political atmosphere in Bosnia. Lastly, my research will also focus on individual views from Bosnian citizens. Such personal views will be collected using both quantitative and qualitative means. Data collection will involve online surveys or questionnaires and if possible, one on one interviews. Collecting information from the three sources above will provide a clear answer as to why the efforts of the European Un...