In this thesis the author analyzes the singing of the Dayton peace accords. After the introduction the author presents all peace initiatives which happened before the Dayton accords and analyzes the reason why they failed to end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During this part of the thesis the author uses mostly scientific literature but also memoir records. In the central part of the thesis, using archival material, scientific literature, and all other available sources the author analyzes in detail those factors which he credits with having crucial influence over the events. In the introduction the author specifies three different thesis which he argues for. In order to improve his argumentation, the author uses recently declassified documents from President Bill Clinton’s administration. These documents help us understand better already known and described events which formed the necessary conditions for a successful diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Clinton administration made the decision to start a decisive peace initiative in the month of June. However, the initial goals changed dramatically after the change in the balance of military power on the ground. The key factor that produced this change was the Republic of Croatia. In the end of the thesis the author summarizes the complicated interaction between world powers and regional players and produces conclusions that result from his analysis.