Balkan’s Experience in Peacekeeping

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the variants of the settlement in the Balkans – the activities of the peacekeeping forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The issue is considered from the point of view of the universality of the method of the «Blue Helmets» deployment in the conflict territories, depending on the internal situation in the region. Today, the experience of the «Blue Helmets» in the territory of the former Yugoslavia is again becoming relevant regarding the active discussion on the issue of the introduction of international peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. It should be emphasized that the Yugoslav version of peacekeeping is not as unambiguous as it sometimes seems to be. The variants of the Blue Helmets’ missions were different in Croatia and BiH. Which of them were more successful in terms of preventing further hostilities? As the experience of the Blue Helmets in BiH has shown, the protection of only certain cities could not suspend hostilities and contributed to the strengthening of only one side of the conflict. More effective was the experience of peacekeeping in Croatia, where for several years the disengagement of the belligerents brought peace and the opportunity for the civilian population to avoid numerous victims. The drawback of the peacekeepers’ activities in Croatia was that they could not withstand the military offensive operations of the Croatian army in the Serbian region, in fact parting before it.