DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

The Lead Story
Bo snia and He rze go vi na, NATO,
and the Eu ro pe an Uni on
NA TO,
Do You Know What You Owe?
10
By: Ne rzuk Ću rak
NA TO has to ta ke
Bo snia-He rze go vi na into its
fo ld: in the fra me wo rk of
po st-Co ld War ge opo li ti cs,
NA TO sti ll owes Bo snia
The author is an Asso ci ate
Pro fe ssor at the Fa cu lty of Po li ti cal
Sci ences at the Uni ve rsi ty of Sa ra je vo
The Eu ro pe an Uni on has got ti red of its own enla rge -
me nt ambi ti on to co ver the Eu ro pe an ge ogra phy as a
who le, and the atte mpt to esta bli sh an au the ntic co -
nti ne ntal ge opo li ti cs of pe ace is on the de fe nsi ve. Acco -
rdi ng to the me ssa ges co mi ng from Bru sse ls, a si ngle
Eu ro pe is not po ssi ble yet and the Eu ro pe an po li ti cal
bu re au cra cy wo uld be re ally ha ppy if it co uld ca ncel
the acce ssi on of the We ste rn Ba lka ns, po ssi bly wi th
the exce pti on of Cro atia, wi tho ut lo si ng its cre di bi li ty
of a gro wi ng po li ti cal and eco no mic po wer.
As for us, the re is re se rved the sta tus of ba rba ri ans,
tho se who re ma in ou tsi de the ci vi li za ti on fo rtress and
who re qu ire a pe rma ne nt impe ri al go ve rnme nt be ca -
use as the Ca rne gie Co mmi ssi on sta tes so ne atly, “the
Ba lka ns is a re gi on which fa iled to ju sti fy the big po we -
rs’ tru st in it be ing able to ta ke ca re abo ut itse lf.” 1
That is why the re is a ne ed of an impo sed admi ni stra -
tor who, bo th at the stra te gic (or sta te bu ildi ng) and
eve ryday le ve ls se nds the me ssa ge that the ci ti ze ns of
the Ba lka ns be lo ng to zo ne of the ba re-mi ni mum li fe,
to the wo rld which is, as Ma ri na Grzi nic lu ci dly no tes,
“ru led by the au tho ri ty that is not fo unded in any law,
so it de ci des abo ut the ba re li fe, abo ut li fe and de ath,
ou tsi de the law. What we pe rce ive to day is exa ctly the
pro du cti on of the ba re li fe. The Thi rd Wo rld (and
what are we anyway if not the Thi rd Wo rld?) now re -
ve als itse lf as the wo rld in which the only thi ng pe ople
ha ve is ba re li fe. Ne ve rthe less, it is impo rta nt to unde -
rsta nd that the appre he nsi on acco rdi ng to which the -
re is only ba re li fe in the wo rld or in the pa rt of the
wo rld, re pre se nts a ve rdi ct aga inst the ve ry sa me wo -
rld which is not ba sed on any ki nd of le ga li ty. Mo re -
over, the to ken which ma rks the wo rld as the one of
the ba re li fe re pre se nts a fo rm of intro du cti on of te -
rri to ri es wi tho ut le ga li ty or a ba re li fe zo ne which then,
from the re, spre ads to the who le wo rld.”
What else is So uthe ast Eu ro pe – wi th a po st-Da yton
Bo snia and He rze go vi na, a “pre-Da yton” Ko so vo, a
fru stra ted Se rbia, an inde pe nde nt Mo nte ne gro under
the all-se ei ng eye of Se rb na ti ona li sts who re je ct Mo -