ABSTRACT
In November 1995 the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the Bosnian war and established the framework of the new Bosnian state. This involved several levels of representative government, including central state institutions, the two entity-level bodies, the MuslimCroat Federation and Republika Srpska, district cantons within the Federation and municipal bodies across Bosnia. As well as elected bodies, Dayton established a framework of international political regulation to ensure that the principles of good governance were enforced in the divided state. Although initially designed to be temporary, in 1997 international regulation was extended on an indefinite basis. The key international body responsible for overseeing the Dayton framework is the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), an ad hoc institution established by the fifty-five governments and international organisations which sponsor and direct the Dayton process. The policies of the PIC are implemented in Bosnia by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), which can impose legislation and dismiss elected politicians (Chandler 2000). Over the last seven years the mandate of the OHR has expanded and assumed a key role in maintaining the legislative and institutional framework of the state.
