Elliot Short. <i>Building a Multiethnic Military in Post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina</i>

One of the main guarantees and pillars of a country is its armed forces; this is especially true for any country that faces security obstacles, which impact the very existence of the country. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country with a complex ethnic composition, consisting of Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. During the 1990s, a war broke out, and these three ethnic groups established their own separate armed forces to fight against one another. The war officially ended with the Dayton Peace Accords, which established a semifunctional government composed out of the three ethnic groups. This representation also applies to the country’s army, which is composed of soldiers from all three ethnic groups. The main purpose of this multiethnicity in the armed forces is to promote reconciliation and cooperation between the different ethnic groups. However, the multiethnicity has not always been smooth, and the country still struggles with issues of ethnic tension and political division.This topic is covered by Elliot Short in his book Building a Multiethnic Military in Post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina. Where he discusses the challenges and successes of creating a multiethnic military in Bosnia in the aftermath of the Bosnian War.The book is divided into three parts, comprised of seven chapters, excluding the Introduction and Conclusion, in total. The first part, titled Precursors, exclusively deals with the period before the war in Bosnia. The main aim of this part is to contextualize and place the formation of the Bosnian armed forces into historical perspectives. The author in some instances also tries to bring forward a concise overview of the military development in Bosnia since the Middle Ages. While these types of contextualization are somewhat helpful, in this case, the author presents inaccurate information. In the other two parts, which deal with newer history, this is not the case, although there is one eyesore throughout the book since the author continually uses the term Muslim for the Bosniak population.Continuing on the second part, Components, deals with the three-armed forces representing the different ethnic groups involved in the Bosnian War. In this part, Short elaborates how these armed forces were established and their development during the War. He does not go too much into detail, while still covering the essential military and political aspects of these earlier armed forces. This part contains two chapters, the first focusing on the Army of Republika Srpska, and the second on the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat Defence Council. In some cases, these chapters intertwine making the transition from the first to the second chapter feel as a recurrence.The third part, Construction, has three chapters, the first one dealing with the period after the war and up until the Orao Affair in 2002, which kick-started the creation of the Armed Forces. The second and third chapters cover the creation and existence of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These chapters are mainly focused on the Armed Forces involvement in international missions and their role in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially what the future holds for them.Through the book, Short emphasizes that the creation of a multiethnic military was seen as a crucial factor in promoting reconciliation and cooperation between the Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. The author highlights the endeavors that are being made to achieve these goals, including, but not limited to the integration of soldiers from different ethnic groups and the promotion of common values and military culture. Short also talks about the obstacles that the multiethnic Armed Forces face day-to-day. Such as resistance from some ethnic groups and their leaders, which leads to obstruction by different political elements in financing the Armed Forces. The mistrust between soldiers from different ethnic groups, and the ongoing political divisions within the country. He notes that the different ethnic groups have often had different levels of military experience, equipment, and training and that there have been issues with integration and cooperation. While at the same time, the Armed Forces rapidly developed with the help of foreign instructors and equipment.Overall, Elliot Short’s research on building a multiethnic military in post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina highlights the challenges and successes of creating a multiethnic military in a country with a complex ethnic makeup and a history of ethnic conflict. He emphasizes that progress in maintaining and improving the multiethnic Armed Forces is being made; numerous significant obstacles still have not yet been addressed, which are posing issues with fully integrating the Armed Forces and creating an effective military force. It also points out that the process has been ongoing, and that politics has been involved, but it also shows that the multiethnic military is a symbol of unity and a common defence.