The Bosnian War, 1992-1995

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

Why the collapse of Yugoslavia led to war in Bosnia; how Bosnian leaders, neighbouring states, the UN, Europe, the USA and NATO shaped it; and how the Dayton peace process ended it.

• The break-up of Yugoslavia

  Economic crisis, the end of the Cold War and ambitious nationalist leaders broke up Tito's Yugoslavia. Bosnia, the most mixed republic, was caught in the middle.

• Bosnia's independence and the outbreak of war, 1992

  When Bosnia voted for independence, Bosnian Serb leaders refused to accept it. Rival nationalist aims for the same land led to war in April 1992.

• Ethnic cleansing and the course of the war

  All sides fought for ethnically pure territory. Bosnian Serb forces carried out the largest campaign of ethnic cleansing, and Croats and Bosniaks also fought each other.

• The UN in Bosnia

  The UN fed civilians and tried to protect them, but it was given too few troops and too weak a mandate. Its failure at Srebrenica became its darkest moment.

• European peace plans, the USA and NATO

  European peace plans failed because no one would enforce them. In 1995 the USA took the lead, NATO bombed, and the balance on the ground shifted.

• The Dayton Agreement, 1995

  US-led talks at Dayton ended the war by dividing power along ethnic lines. They stopped the killing but left a divided and weak state.

• Weighing causes, actors and management

  Nationalist politicians turned economic crisis and ethnic difference into war. Outside actors failed for three years, then ended the war by combining force with diplomacy.

• Put it together: Judge the peace efforts

  Choose a peace effort and test how well it worked.