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Argument: Bosnia has made great progress; Serbs should not secede

Issue Report: Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Valery Perry. “The Republika Srpska Debate in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. April 2008 – “Until the reversals of the past two years, BiH was making progress (albeit non-linear and imperfect) in its state-strengthening enterprise. A constitutional court decision affirmed the equality of all “constituent peoples” (i.e., Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats) throughout all of the BiH territory. Return has happened, though it cannot come close to reversing the wartime displacement. State structures were established. Fear began to evaporate. Hate speech was increasingly removed from classrooms and textbooks. And citizens throughout the country reveled in their shared disgust of politicians, though continuing to vote for them along ethnic lines. But just as these advances were beginning to take modest root, there was a retreat by the international community, and support for moderate voices was steadily withdrawn, allowing hardliners to regroup. The consequences are continuing to play out.”