ABSTRACT
The Western intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina had two closely related characteristics, which complicate the image of this involvement. The first is long reluctance of the majority of Western governments towards combat operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina was a consequence of the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia due to rising nationalist sentiments, especially in Slovenia and Croatia. For the West, until the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the geostrategic significance of the Western Balkans, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, was limited. Due to the duration of the Bosnian conflict no-one openly questioned the legitimacy of a potential military intervention given the humanitarian and political consequences of the war. The international military involvement in Bosnia-Herzegovina went solely through UN structures. The situation changed again with an offensive launched by Bosnian Serbs, who, in the meantime, had lost the support of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia due to international pressure and because of tensions in relations with Belgrade.
