Law, Politics and the Future of Peacebuilding

This collection commemorates and critically examines the legal legacy of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Dayton Peace Agreement, signed in 1995, was a pivotal international legal instrument that ended the devastating war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, it legal framework for peace established a complex political and legal order that continues to shape the region’s trajectory. While much has been written about Dayton in political science, there has been little examination of its jurisprudential evolution, regional diffusion, and the contested space between law and peacebuilding. This book considers how Dayton has shaped the constitutional, legal, and political structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it explores it’s the Agreement’s lasting implications for peacebuilding and international law. Including contributors from a range of disciplines, the book offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and forward-looking analysis of Dayton’s legacy in international law, constitutional design, human rights protection, and transitional justice. More broadly, and through its further engagement with perspectives from other post-conflict settings, the book illuminates the tension between peace settlements and long-term democratic consolidation. This book will appeal to scholars working in the areas of socio-legal studies, politics, and transitional justice; as well as policy-makers concerned with conflict resolution and post-conflict governance.