Adis Merdzanovic

The introduction of consociational power sharing as a post-war political system has become one of the international community's preferred post-conflict devices. In situations where warring polities are internally divided by ethnic, religious, linguistic, or national identity, consociationalism guarantees the inclusion of all groups in the political process and prevents a ‘tyranny of the majority over one or more minorities. However, if international actors keep intervening in the political process, the advantages of consociationalism are turned upside down. In this exceptional book, Adis Merdzanovic develops a theoretical and empirical approach to understanding consociational democracies that include external intervention. Using the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the consociational Dayton Peace Agreement ended the three-year war between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks twenty years ago, it elaborates on the different approaches used in the past and gives practical recommendations for future state-building exercises by the international community.

Adis Merdzanovic is a Junior Research Fellow at the European Studies Centre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He graduated from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and was previously a Swiss Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C.

"Merdzanovic's study presents a most welcome new assessment: He is the first scholar to scrutinize how the system of imposed consociationalism worked, or rather, didn't work, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a must-read for anybody interested in the history of the Balkans in general and current Bosnian politics in particular."?Prof. Dr. Josette Baer, University of Zurich

"Merdzanovic’s book is informative and provides a well-written analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the current situation in Bosnian society. [...] 'Democracy by Decree' is a valuable source for academics working on consociational democracy and a useful tool for practitioners in peace building and conflict resolution. The lessons learned from the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina could help prevent future policy makers from repeating the same mistakes in new cases." –International Relations, Vol. 17, No. 65, 2020