The Dayton peace process: a keyhole into Russian and Chinese engagement with liberal peacebuilding

The paper examines the roles of Russia and China in a long-standing peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the broader implications of this for liberal peacebuilding. Using an original dataset of statements from UN Security Council debates (2000–2023), we analyse shifts in their discourse and sentiments. While both countries experienced a negative trend in sentiments towards the liberal peacebuilding project in BiH over time, there are substantial differences in their approaches. Russia places a far greater emphasis on rejection of liberal components of the process (integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, attempts to preserve the unity of BiH by empowering central institutions to perform their function, and attempts to sanction genocide denial). Meanwhile, China primarily raised concerns around procedural matters but did not object to the liberal components. The findings show that Russia and China’s actions complicate liberal peacebuilding efforts but also highlight the need for adaptable strategies that consider the diverse motivations and actions of emerging powers in different peacebuilding sites. They also underscore the need to move beyond the West vs. non-West dichotomy.