A New War May Be Brewing in the Balkans

By Joshua Krause

It’s been nearly 20 years since the Dayton Accord put an end to the bloody war in the Balkans, which killed over 140,000 people after the Yugoslav government collapsed. However, there are rumblings in the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that are threatening to reignite the conflict.

As part of the Dayton Accord, two independent entities were created within the nation of Bosnia: the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the largely Serb Republika Sprska. The government in Sprska is planning to unveil a referendum on the anniversary of the Dayton Accord. There will be a single question on the ballot that will ask their citizens if they support the legality of their current union with the Bosniak-Croat Federation. Many are calling the question a veiled independence referendum that will give the president of Sprska permission to obstruct the laws and institutions of the central government.

Meanwhile, Russia has expressed its support for the referendum. They’ve long considered the Balkan region to be under their sphere of influence, and they’re more than happy to support anything that would disrupt the political order that was built by the West. It’s also another region that NATO has been encroaching on since the fall of the Soviet Empire. As we speak, the nation of Montenegro is well on its way to joining NATO, which is the first new member to join the military alliance since relations soured with Russia and the West. If you ask me, it looks like another proxy war between the US and Russia is being primed in the Balkans.

Image Credit: Anthony Freda Art

Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshua’s reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshua’s website is Strange Danger.