Peace operations in the former Yugoslavia a re-evaluation

• Main Author: Gershman, Boris M.
• Other Authors: Dombroski, Kenneth R.
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/4992

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === It has been nearly two decades since the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars of secession and subsequent deployment of peace operations into the region, and over that time numerous attempts have been made to assess the success of these missions. This thesis evaluates elements of these peace operations, which, although generally considered critical to their success, have been largely overlooked in these assessments. These include efforts to promote social well-being and combat organized crime in Bosnia, and the United Nations' preventive deployment to Macedonia. This study concludes that the peace mission in Bosnia promoted some aspects of social well-being, reduced the level of violent organized crime, and prevented a recurrence of violent conflict. However, its long-term success has been undermined by its inability to establish a truly unified, sovereign nation with an effective central government. In comparison, the preventive deployment to Macedonia has had a more positive long-term effect, promoting security and stable governance without undermining the state's independence.