New sanctions against politicians and other important individuals are a signal that more and more countries are taking the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina seriously.
Analysts interviewed by BHRT believe that the list of sanctioned people, but also the countries that could apply them – will be growing.
The sanctions imposed on Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic by Great Britain are part of London’s foreign policy diplomatic offensive, in which, apart from Ukraine, they take the situation in the Western Balkans seriously.
Neven Andjelic, professor of international relations at Regents University in London, says that. Skepticism about the effectiveness of these measures, he believes, is possible only at first glance.
“These sanctions do not only affect two people. These sanctions will force companies, people who are in some way in an environment of these two politicians or companies related to the two of them and their families to do business with them, because in in that case, they find themselves in a financial aggravating circumstance in their business, “said Professor Andjelic.
What kind of policy has brought the country to this state? Do citizens want to support undemocratic policies that violate the constitutional order? Sanctions also open these issues to the entire society, according to political analyst Tanja Topic.
She notes, however, that these messages will be lost again in the replacement of theses and the identification of individuals with institutions and entities.
“The policy of belittling insults to political authorities in Europe will continue, and I think this will ultimately deepen the pro-Russian stance that is currently the dominant narrative in Republika Srpska,” she said.