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On 1 January 2006, soldiers from across Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered in Sarajevo to mark the official formation of a new, unified, and multiethnic military: The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yet, just over a decade before, many of these soldiers had fought each other in a vicious conflict that left the population of the small Balkan state divided and impoverished. The military became the largest multiethnic institution in the country and was regarded by its architects as a model for the rest of Bosnian society to follow.

This book contends that the formation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the most significant step in stabilising the country since the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war.

By assessing Yugoslav efforts to build a multiethnic military during the socialist period, charting the origins and development of the armies that fought in the war, and offering a detailed account of the post-war international initiatives that led to the formation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this book places the events of January 2006 in their proper historical context. In doing so, the book also represents the first body of research to analyse the recent military history of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a unique and continuous whole.

Based on archival documents gathered in four countries, interviews with key participants in the construction of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a wealth of other new material, this book is a significant contribution to an under-researched field.