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<p>The fratricidal war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) between 1992 and 1995 was the third and most brutal chapter of the  dissolution of former Yugoslavia. The war left the country devastated and deeply divided along ethnic lines. Pursuant to the  impotence of the International Community (IC) to stop the fighting, and after the humanitarian and political consequences of the  war had finally become unbearable, a delicate and complicated compromise was hammered out in Dayton.  Twelve years have passed since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, which have seen immense international  investment. While official rhetoric by the International Community seems to suggest that there is constant progress in state and  nation building, academic in-depth studies and close political observers are more skeptical. There is no consensus as to how viable  BiH is today.  This thesis first develops different criteria for state viability in ethically divided societies, derived from the literatures on  strong and weak states and on the post-Westphalian system. This concept is then applied to the Bosnian case. Since internal and  external security are the principal political goods deliverable for the inhabitants of any state and taking into consideration that the  state has to have the monopoly over the legitimate use of force, the defense reform process since 2003 is taken as the major  indicator for the state viability of Bosnia today. The thesis concludes that despite much progress Bosnia is not yet viable without  further international assistance.
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<br>Subjects: Ethnic groups; Democracy</div>
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Szonyegi, Janos</div>
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