Political Representation of Minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: How Reserved Seats Affect Minority Representatives’ Influence on Decision-making and Perceived Substantive Representation

Abstract

Relying on a subjective and procedural understanding of substantive representation as communication, responsiveness, and accountability, this article examines the effects of reserved seats for minorities in local assemblies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through comparative qualitative case studies of eight municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the article sheds light on the effectiveness of various configurations of political representation of minorities in terms of the actual influence on decision-making on the one hand, and accountability of the minority representatives to their constituency on the other-in particular in relation to the political background and party affiliation of minority representatives. First, it was found that reserved seats have had an overall positive, but in reality rather modest effect in terms of strengthening the political voice of minorities in decision-making. Second, it was found that the party affiliation of minority representatives is a crucial factor in establishing and effectively maintaining the relationship of substantive representation. While procedural substantive representation of constituent peoples in minority situations benefits from an ethnic party framework, lack of party affiliation positively affects substantive representation of national minorities proper.

Evaluating Reserved Seats as a Measure of Substantive Representation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes through the Analysis of Parliamentary Questions in the Lok Sabha (1999–2016)

“…Whereas western literature on reserved seats examined weather quotas affect substantive representation. Hodžić and Mraović (2015) examined the effect of the reserved seats for minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and fonud a positive effect between reserved seats representative and substantive representation. By contrast, Jusić and Stojanović (2015), who studied reserved seats for national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, did not find a positive effect.…”

How to measure the substantive representation of traditionally excluded groups in comparative research: a literature review and new data

“…I do not consider measures of perceived responsiveness as introduced by Banducci et al (2004) or Hodžić and Mraović (2015), since group members tend to overestimate the level of substantive representation as a consequence of descriptive representation (Banducci et al 2004).…”

On uses, mis-uses and non-uses of intersectionality before the Court of Justice (EU)

“… 7. I have to express my gratitude to Biljana Kotevska for alerting me to this connection (on consociationalism generally see Lijphart, 1977; on anti-discrimination law and consociationalism – with contrasting positions – Hodžić and Mraović, 2015; McCrudden and O’Leary, 2013). …”