Bosnia and the Art of Policy Implementation: Obstacles to International Counter-Crime Strategies

The prize-winning Bosnian film Gori Vatra (2003) depicts life in the Bosnian village Tesanj two years after the war. A well-intentioned representative of the international community with a shiny uniform and a heavy German accent attempts to prepare a visit by US President Bill Clinton, who wants to put his weight behind Bosnia and Herzegovina ‘s reconstruction and reconciliation effort by visiting Tesanj and becoming an honorary citizen.2 The villagers see the visit as an opportunity to improve the image and economy of Tesanj, where the only lucrative activities are forced prostitution and alcohol smuggling. Prostitutes now become ‘folkloric’ dancers representing Bosnia’s different groups. The chief of police, while still helping the local crime boss to put whisky labels onto bottles filled with cheap alcohol, pretends to crack down on crime. And the mayor makes sure that all documents are thrown out of the town hall window before an inspection of the neo-colonial German. The mayor’s promise that he is not a terrorist helps the German to get over the discovery of a large weapons cache. At the end, Clinton’s visit is aborted because a villager, who cannot get over the loss of his son during the war, blows up his house, with himself in it.