Dayton Peace and bordering problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina

During the Dayton Peace Negotiations in an attempt to find a peaceful solution and resolve the military conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was necessary to create mutually acceptable solution regarding the constitutional and territorial reorganization of the country. Obstacles that are found along the process, criteria and methods which are used for mapping and construction of the internal borders, as well as the power relations between the parties involved into the negotiations are just some of the questions which this thesis is trying to illuminate. The ethnic identity as the crucial criteria was used for bordering and rebordering processes, creating the invisible borders that even today made the distinction between ethnically "Us" and "Others" and shaping the daily life practices of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dayton created Inter-Entity Boundary Line that separates the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska produce the order which includes and excludes, shape the social reality and relation between different ethnic group members in the post-conflict society of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The process of changing the Inter-Entity Boundary Line that is examined through two study cases, the case of exchanging the territories between border municipalities of Usora and Doboj as well as the case of the international arbitration on Inter-Entity Boundary Line at the border settlement of Dobrinja, shows that the borders are even changed in accordance with ethnic identities. This research shows that the ethnically based spatial distribution and ethnic identities are completely overlaps with the Inter-Entity Boundary Line. Therefore, this thesis higly pointing that the borders and identities are inseparable mutully related concepts that must be understood as the different sides of the same coin.