Demokrati for folket, men av hvem? – En casestudie av Bosnia Hercegovina for å forstå internasjonale aktørers påvirkning på demokratiseringsprosesser og demokrati

Abstract

This thesis seeks to develop a thorough understanding of international actors’ influence on democratization processes and democratic consolidation, by conducting a qualitative case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This country underwent a democratic transition at the end of the 1990s, a transition largely run by international actors, such as the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations (UN), and USA. By using the existing theoretical framework on international actors and democracy, my aim was to find underlying mechanisms for this relationship by testing four hypotheses. I employed process tracing as a methodological tool to find these mechanisms. Through my analysis I find that international actors have had a good influence on the democratization process in Bosnia Hercegovina, but their influence on the democratic consolidation has been less than desirable. I also find that international actors can influence these processes both directly and indirectly. The findings present somewhat of a challenge for the theoretical framework, as these results imply that there should be more focus on differentiating between the democratic process and the democratic consolidation.