ABSTRACT
The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina involved an internal struggle among ethnic nationalists over the definition and control, indeed, the very existence of the state, as well as an international struggle between the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its neighbors. The intensity of emotions and perceived stakes of the struggle escalated as revelations of widespread abuses of civilians and charges of genocide made the brutal nature of the war apparent to all concerned. Complexity and emotion are the enemies of effective policymaking, and Western policies toward Bosnia reflected this. The United Nations, already involved in the unstable peace in Croatia, was drawn into the Bosnian conflict against the judgment of its leaders and suffered what may prove to be lasting damage to its peacekeeping capacity. The great powers, having at first underestimated the dangers in Bosnia, very quickly drew back from efforts by local actors and the UN to involve them more extensively. The British and French, who provided the bulk of UN peacekeeping troops, resisted any expansion of their role. The United States attempted to isolate and contain the war through sanctions and embargoes while policymakers struggled to find a solution. This left the three nationalist forces to pursue their own goals by whatever means they chose. It was the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina who paid the price.
