In Support of a Non-member State: The Organisation of Islamic Conference and the War in Bosnia, 1992–1995

Abstract

The war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 generated an intensive diplomatic effort on the part of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to protect the country and its population. The aim of this article is to analyze how the OIC sought to support a non-OIC member state, to study diplomatic initiatives undertaken and to assess their results. An analysis of war-time Bosnian media reports on OIC initiatives will provide an insight into how the OIC's activities were perceived and the expectations that they generated. Relying on OIC conference communiques, contemporary media reports and memoirs, the article will provide a narrative of the OIC's role during the three-and-a-half-year war in Bosnia.