The reemerging tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina despite all the efforts and resources dedicated to rebuild the country after the war suggest a more thorough investigation and understanding of the peace-building process. Seeking to understand what can explain this resurgence, this research sets out to assess the process of peace-building and state-building and, more specifically, the extent to which the liberal approach to peace-building and state-building contributed to foster or nurture these tensions. Bosnia and Herzegovina case epitomizes a classical example of external-led liberal peace-building and thus an excellent case to discuss the limitations that are inherent to this approach. The main conclusion drawn from this research is that given the current threats of Republika Srbska to declare independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the liberal approach to peace-building in this case study has been unsuccessful in providing a long-term peace for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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