Legitimacy Versus Quality

In a post-conflict society, legitimacy may take precedence over quality. School legitimacy is critical to promote social cohesion through its functions, which are described in Part II. A study in the Brčko District found that school board members prefer ethnic quotas for school board members because it ensures ethnic representation, which is critical in an ethnically mixed community, even when intergroup relations are relatively stable. The CBSG system, established in the post-conflict period, is still far from making a school board a place where deliberative democracy can be exercised. Nevertheless, the ethnically mixed membership seems to give the schools the legitimacy they need.