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Allison McCulloch, Liam Whittington, Valentino Grbavac

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The devastating war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)—which claimed 100,000 lives and displaced half of the pre-war population—ended in November 1995 with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). The settlement established a highly complex power-sharing structure between the three constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs), preserving peace but also proving highly resistant to reform. The DPA provides an important case study for assessing power-sharing settlements and international intervention, offering valuable insights for other deeply divided places.

In this context, the Inclusive Peace project —an international collaborative research initiative which investigates the adoptability and adaptability of power-sharing settlements—and the Forum of Federations produced a Policy Brief series designed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the DPA. Building on two academic conferences we organized in Bosnia and Herzegovina—at the University of Mostar and the University of Sarajevo in October 2025— the series aims to reflect on what has worked, what has not, what lessons BiH can offer to other divided places, and what role citizens play and could play in BiH’s political life after 30 years of Dayton.

This document reflects on the findings from the series and offers five key policy insights for researchers and practitioners engaged with federalism, power-sharing, peacebuilding and state-building in BiH and other places facing conflict and political transition, such as Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and beyond.