A completely nerdy post, if I may.

From Thursday, June 24, 2010:

Our first full day in Sarajevo. And a very exciting day at that: we went to the Office of the High Representative! Aaaaahhh!!!

Some explanation is probably required for those of you less nerdy than I am. The Office of the High Representative is the international body appointed to oversee the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the war was ended at the American-brokered Dayton Peace Accords of 1995, the country was split into two separate geographic entities: the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbs primarily inhabit the RS; Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) live mainly in the Federation. One tiny corner of the country, the Brcko District, was a hotspot of violence and contention during the war, and was put under international jurisdiction at Dayton because the RS and Federation simply couldn’t agree over its rule. Bosnia has a national government that oversees both entities, but each has its own government as well, making the bureaucracy really complicated and divided. In fact, the ethnic divisions of the war are still built into Bosnia’s government, with a three-member presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, and one Serb) and ethnically-delegated seats in Parliament, etc. (It kinda sucks to be a minority—for example, Jewish or Roma—in Bosnia. You’re out of luck if you want to run for office.)

Just to make all of that even more complicated, the Dayton Accords included one other important provision. Because Bosnia was unlikely to succeed in post-war development without significant international assistance, the international community established the Office of the High Representative, another level of bureaucracy with power to oversee all of Bosnia’s internal affairs. So, although the country has sovereignty in its foreign policy, fiscal policy, etc., the High Representative (an appointed delegate from somewhere in Europe) has the power to adjust laws, hire and fire Bosnian bureaucrats, and so on.

Furthermore, the OHR is overseen by the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), a group of countries with varying levels of interest and commitment to Bosnia and its post-war development and reconstruction. Yes, this is a complicated system, and far from ideal. To be honest, the OHR has lost much of its effectiveness and its reputation in recent years, especially as corrupt and nationalistic politicians have undermined its efforts in the state’s reconciliation and political reconstruction. Similarly, the PIC has undermined the OHR’s work in Bosnia by not giving it sufficient support and resources or by failing to back up its promises. Really, the OHR was never intended to last this long—the mandate was set to expire in 1996, and then again in 2006. Clearly, its continued existence in 2010 indicates some problems.

But regardless—we got to meet the Deputy High Representative, Raffi Gregorian, this afternoon, which was a total geek experience for me after a semester of studying the OHR/PIC and NATO in Bosnia. I was so excited. Gregorian oversees the Brcko District, which has seen much more success in areas like multiethnic education than the other two entities. He spoke candidly and openly to our group on all sorts of topics—the work of the OHR, issues with the PIC, the upcoming October elections, the development of civil society, etc. It was an honor and a joy to meet him—I think our whole group left with great admiration (and some dreams of being just like him when we grow up).

On a less nerdy note, I went to the American embassy this morning to replace my passport. To be honest, it left me with a strange taste in my mouth. Not only is the US embassy guarded by men with guns and surrounded by a huge fence, unlike every other embassy we’ve seen here, but I felt like a real jerk just gallivanting up to the front of the line because I was a US citizen. I understand that it is “my” embassy, but I still felt guilty being shuffled into the short (aka non-existent) line at the American window while a large group of Bosnians applying for visas waited in a miserably long line outside. I guess, knowing the troubling policies of the American immigration system, it was hard to walk by so many hopeful people, knowing that few of them would receive the visas they hoped for to emigrate to the United States. But I am grateful to have the passport stuff figured out—we’ll go back next week to pick it up. My new picture is atrocious, but hey… such is life.

Tomorrow we’re off to Sanski Most! I like Sarajevo a lot, but I am excited to see what it’s like in northwestern Bosnia… and I’ve heard the drive through the mountains is fantastic. Maybe I’ll finally remember to use my camera. Whoops.