Bosnia and Herzegovina has moved from a difficult reform case to a focal point of contestation over the EU’s normative authority. Fragmented EU commitments, crisis spillovers, and the prioritisation of stability over transformation have entrenched stabilitocratic governance. Domestic elites exploit this environment to hollow out democratic procedures while claiming alignment with European norms. At the same time, Russia, China, and other illiberal actors offer symbolic backing and material alternatives, reinforcing resistance to EU conditionality. By tracing constitutional debates, electoral reform, and external engagements, the analysis shows how contestation has deepened into an illiberal convergence. Bosnia and Herzegovina thus exposes the vulnerabilities of an accession framework that struggles to curb authoritarian drift in a formally ‘Europeanised’ setting.