Review of Adam Moor's Peacebuilding in practice: local experience in two Bosnian towns

Abstract

Armed conflict in Yugoslavia gave birth to six nations with different identities and economic outlooks. It is now divided along ethnic lines and includes six republics – Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia – and Kosovo with supervised independence. The conflicts that arose through this division of nations still exist in different forms; one religious, and the other, nationalism. There have been many attempts to analyse peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts and practices in different conflict-hit countries. Studies of peacebuilding have received particular attention in security and peace studies around the world. The emergence of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the unique case studies for peace and security researchers and many scholars have highlighted the country’s dangerous conflict. Adam Moore’s book was published in 2013 by Cornell University Press, Ithaca, US. The book was funded in project form by several international organisations and institutes of peace such as the Council of European Union Studies, International Research and Exchanges Board and The United States Institute of Peace. The book contains an interesting case study of two Bosnian towns, Brčko and Mostar. The examples of these towns have been used in a comparative analysis to improve understanding of the differences in peacebuilding practices between local political parties and institutions, and local and international ones.