Dodik

A cleverly concocted diplomatic scandal is shaking up the political scene in Bosnia and more widely in the Balkans. A quick cui bono? question yields perfectly obvious answers, and they all point westward.

No sooner did superficial observers surmise that last year’s painful and divisive commotion over the apparent murder in March of 2018 of the obscure 21-year-old David Dragičević finally subside, then on April 23 another assassination, this time of businessman Slavko Krunić, a slightly more prominent figure, again grabbed the headlines in the Republika Srpska. For those who are not particularly keen on following affairs in that off the beaten path but strategic corner of Europe, some background may be useful.