“Small Pond Full of Crocodiles”: Elite Perceptions of the Impact of the Dayton Peace Agreement on Women’s Political Engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The complicated political and institutional structure, which was put in place by the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), represents only one of several barriers to the political representation of women and their engagement in public life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The status of women in public life in this post-conflict and post-socialist society is quite complex. To understand how the interaction between the institutions of the state and the position of women are perceived, the paper focuses on the narratives based on interviewing different categories of elite actors and their perceptions of the impact of the DPA on the political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the role of women within this system. The perceptions of interviewees are that the Constitution, being a peace agreement and also gender blind, has a negative impact not only on women but also on the society's ability to grow politically. The paper also analyses interlocutors' perceptions about the root causes for the fragmentation of the country's political system and the variation in numbers of women represented at different levels of Government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially at the cantonal level.