ABSTRACT
The two divided Western Balkan societies—Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo—illustrate enduring functional coexistence. Both societies suffer from post-conflict trauma, mutual exclusion, and subsequent political and economic stagnation. The European Union and the United States propose and support power-sharing frameworks designed to replace enduring functional coexistence with a form of agonistic peace, where all stakeholders are compelled to mutually recognize each other and cooperate for full integration into the liberal international order. However, the Euro-Atlantic perspective threatens those who politically benefit from the state of enduring functional coexistence. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the nationalist leadership of the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska, boycotts participation in state-level institutions, whereas in Kosovo, Albanian nationalists are unwilling to grant further autonomy to the Kosovar Serbs in the north, both citing concerns over sovereignty. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how the transition from enduring functional coexistence to agonistic peace in the Western Balkans can be supported, not only through incentives but also through meaningful sanctions that increase the cost of non-cooperation for all parties involved.
