Garčević Unpacks Bosnia and Herzegovina at Harvard’s Davis Center
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School, participated in the panel discussion titled 30 Years Since the Dayton Peace Agreement: What’s Next for Bosnia and Herzegovina?, held on February 17 at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
The event featured Professor Damir Kapidžić, University of Sarajevo; Sandra Grudić, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies; and Melani Cammett, Director of Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; alongside Ambassador Garčević.
The discussion reflected on how the Dayton Peace Agreement, while ending the war, also entrenched Bosnia and Herzegovina’s complex political order. Panelists revisited Dayton’s wartime and diplomatic origins and examined how its decentralized, consociational design — characterized by layered institutions, ethnic veto mechanisms, and international oversight — has shaped postwar governance and democracy. They highlighted how this structure has contributed to societal fragmentation and hindered effective decision-making, even as it has ensured relative stability.
Ambassador Garčević focused his remarks on the role of international actors — the United States, the European Union, and Russia — in either supporting or undermining reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He described the U.S. approach over the past two decades as one of “gradual disengagement,” marked by sporadic involvement driven largely by short-term stabilization priorities rather than a sustained strategic vision.
In contrast, he noted that Russia’s influence has steadily increased. Moscow has effectively leveraged political and institutional dynamics to advance its interests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across the wider region.
Regarding the European Union, Ambassador Garčević advocated for a gradual integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the EU through a tailored country-specific program with clear, measurable, and achievable benchmarks.
Vesko Garčević is a professor of the practice of international studies at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and the director of the Center for the Study of Europe. An expert on multilateral issues, Garčević is the co-author of Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) which explores the divergent past between Serbia and Montenegro between 1988 and 2023. To read more about his work and accomplishments, visit his faculty profile.