November of 1995: the Bosnian War has just ended, and representatives from the conflict’s key players—Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia—are drawn to Dayton, Ohio to negotiate the terms of a peace settlement under the watchful eye of the international community. Three years of interethnic strife in the former Yugoslavia have precipitated breakaway governments, genocide and foreign intervention, and at stake is the survival of Bosnia and the make-up of post-Soviet Eastern Europe. Serbia and Croatia have attempted to appropriate portions of Bosnia’s territory and various communities have been targeted for ethnic cleansing; only the presence of NATO troops is holding the situation on the ground together. As such, the negotiators have much to consider: what will be the structure of the Bosnian government and constitution, and what role will ethnicity play in it? Where will the territorial boundaries between the three countries be drawn, and who will have to right to determine and enforce them? How much power will the international community, particularly the U.S., Russia and the E.U., have in pressuring the three countries to come to an agreement and maintaining peacekeeping forces in the region? With a fragile peace, the future of Eastern Europe is up for grabs.

Chair: Christine Choi,