Bosnian War 1992-1995

• The disintegration of Yugoslavia left rival groups competing over the territory.
• Economic transition and hardship fuelled resentment.
• Ethnic and religious nationalism - Bosnian Serb, Bosnian Croat, and Bosniak ambitions - came into conflict.
• The independence referendum provoked a Serb reaction and armed attacks.
• Ethnic cleansing was waged as a deliberate tactic.

1. 1Yugoslavia breaks apart amid economic difficulty and rising nationalism.
2. 2Bosnia holds an independence referendum, triggering Serb opposition and attacks.
3. 3War spreads along ethnic and religious lines, including ethnic cleansing.
4. 4The UN tries to respond, but international action is hesitant.
5. 5NATO intervenes with air strikes.
6. 6The war ends with the Dayton Peace Accords.

The notes flag key themes of evaluation: the role of the UN, the role of NATO, the international community's hesitation, and multilateral mediation.

• UN - observer and peacekeeping missions, limited mandate.
• NATO - air strikes that eventually helped force a settlement.
• Hesitation and delay by the international community while the killing continued.
• Multilateral mediation that produced the Dayton Peace Accords.

• Ethnic cleansing - the forcible removal of a population on ethnic or religious grounds.
• Dayton Peace Accords - the 1995 agreement that ended the fighting.