Government Formation in Multi-level Settings: Evidence from Post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This article theorizes and analyzes the process of government formation in multi-level settings. The post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina is taken as a case study, as it represents an example of a multi-level and consociational political system and an ethnically divided and post-conflict society at the same time. Contrary to the theoretical findings arguing that congruence of ruling coalitions along different levels is desirable in multi-level settings, or where large coalitions in consociational arrangements are formed primarily for seat pooling due to the need to achieve a parliamentary majority, we argue that, in case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a grand coalition was formed based on electoral power between the moderate and hardline parties. Such strategies were not always compatible with aspirations for congruent coalitions, nor did they always strive for coalitions of convenience.