Lessons (Not) Learned with Regard to Human Rights and Democracy: A Comparison of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia

The international community - composed of international organizations, states, and international non-governmental organizations - has taken major responsibilities with regard to (re)establishing human rights and democracy in the post-conflict situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia. This book mainly reviews the performance of the international community, but examines as well the efforts made by the governments and the role of civil society as seen through the eyes of the contributors - a new, well educated generation of scholars from the Balkans. The research has been coordinated by the European Training and Research Center for Human Rights and Democracy, which has a long standing cooperation with the partners in Southeastern Europe, while the Human Rights Center of the University of Prishtina was in charge of the local coordination and the printing of the publication. The outcome is an analysis from within - along with conclusions and recommendations - which critically examines the approaches taken by the international community and the impact in this central field of international attention. Reading these contributions will help international actors to achieve better results in their efforts towards human rights and democratization and should lead to a closer and more equal cooperation with local experts and institutions.