In this episode of Peace Matters, we examine Bosnia and Herzegovina thirty years after the Dayton Agreement - a moment marked by uncertainty and international attention. The recent elections in Republika Srpska have reopened debates about public sentiment in the entity, the resilience of ethno-political divisions, and whether new leadership signals real change or continued dominance by entrenched elites. We explore how Bosnia’s institutions have evolved since Dayton and whether the country remains locked in a cycle of political deadlock sustained by patronage, constitutional rigidity, and competing nationalisms. At the same time, we look outward: how the United States, the European Union, Russia, and neighboring states such as Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary are shaping the country’s trajectory through sanctions, diplomacy, and strategic alliances - raising the question of what Bosnia’s future might look like if international supervision were strengthened, reformed, or removed altogether.

Guests:

Ferenc Németh is a Western Balkans expert and a PhD Candidate at the Corvinus University of Budapest. Most recently, Ferenc was a Visiting International Graduate Student at the Centre for European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Toronto (2025) and conducted research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (2024-2025). He was a Denton Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (2024) and participated in the Transatlantic Security Initiative of the International Republican Institute (2025). Ferenc was a Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (2019-2024) and worked at EULEX Kosovo (2019).

Dennis Miskić is a freelance journalist based in Vienna. He studied Political Science in Melbourne, Leiden, and Vienna and focuses on Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. He works for German-speaking media and covers Politics, Migration, European Integration and Human Rights issues. He also works as a Project Assistant at the IIP.

Moderation:

Gjergj Loka, Project Assistant at the IIP .

The episode was recorded on 28 November 2025 in collaboration with Political Capital (supported by Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans).