ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the discursive acts of contention in Bosnia have primarily centered on two strategies. One that delegitimizes international statebuilding through reframing the "liberal peace" narratives and another that taps into other international discourses in an attempt to appeal to international statebuilding actors. The chapter looks at the international attempts to counter the local discourses. The chapter argues that the liberal peace narrative has created opportunities for local contention as the actual international practices on the ground have contradicted the rhetoric. To begin tracing contentious local practices in the discursive domain, the attention is first turned to the human rights discourses. The universalism underpinning the notion of human rights has enabled the formulation of resonant discourses for challenging international statebuilding. The analysis so far has explored how ideas of human rights and democracy have been deployed to challenge the international statebuilding practice.
