First published in 2007. Emerging from communism in the early 1990s, the new state of Bosnia and Herzegovina was immediately embroiled in devastating ethnonationalist conflict. Now an international protectorate, the choices of its elites may well propel Bosnia either to a stable future, integrated into an expanding European entity, or to a future filled with insecurity, conflict, and adversity. This volume assesses current conditions in Bosnia, as well as the prospects for stability in a country torn between nationalistic elites on the one hand and the desires of important regional actors for control of Bosnia on the other, with a fractious international community overseeing the matter. Friedman controversially denies that the wars of Yugoslavia's dissolution are a necessary product of ancient ethnic hatreds, contending that Bosnia and Herzegovina was once the quintessential multi-ethnic, multireligious community and could be again. Containing chapters on the country's history, economics, international relations, and politics, this book will provide social scientists with an accessible overview of contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Five major groups fought one another in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Second World War: The German and Italian occupiers, the Serbian Chetniks, the Ustasha of the Independent State of Croatia, the Bosnian Muslims, and the Tito-led Partisans. The aims, policies, and actions of each group are examined in light of their own documents and those of rival groups. This work shows how the Partisans prevailed over other groups because of their ideological appeal, superior discipline, and success in winning the support of large numbers of uncommitted Bosnians, particularly the Bosnian Muslims.

Diversity has always been at the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina's character; even its dual name and physical geography display a particular heterogeneity. The medieval Bosnian state never enjoyed lasting political and ideological unity as its feudal, regional, and religious rifts pulled at the country's seams. Furthermore, because of its location and by a quirk of history, three major world religious and cultural traditions (Catholicism, Islam, and Orthodoxy) became cohabitants in this small Balkan country. Recently, the rebirth of its statehood has been exceptionally bloody and its diversity has been shaken. Even eleven years after the guns were silenced, the country is still under the "benevolent" protection of the international community, whose officials are keeping the state-building process in perpetual suspense, with no final result in sight. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Bosnia and Herzegovina sheds light on the uncertain situation Bosnia and Herzegovina faces, while providing essential background information. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and more than 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on individual topics spanning Bosnia and Herzegovina's political, economic, religious, and social system along with short biographies on important figures.

Diversity has always been at the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina's character; even its dual name and physical geography display a particular heterogeneity. The medieval Bosnian state never enjoyed lasting political and ideological unity as its feudal, regional, and religious rifts pulled at the country's seams. Furthermore, because of its location and by a quirk of history, three major world religious and cultural traditions (Catholicism, Islam, and Orthodoxy) became cohabitants in this small Balkan country. Recently, the rebirth of its statehood has been exceptionally bloody and its diversity has been shaken. Even 11 years after the guns were silenced, the country is still under the "benevolent" protection of the international community, whose officials are keeping the state-building process in perpetual suspense, with no final result in sight. The A to Z of Bosnia and Herzegovina sheds light on the uncertain situation Bosnia and Herzegovina faces, while providing essential background information. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and more than 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on individual topics spanning Bosnia and Herzegovina's political, economic, religious, and social system along with short biographies on important figures.

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject History of Europe - Newer History, European Unification, grade: A, University of Dalarna, language: English, abstract: In this Research paper I will discuss the importance of District Brčko of Bosnia and Herzegovina for peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this paper I will include the time from 1992, Dayton peace negotiations, grounding decision for Brčko District in 1999 and its important facts for Bosnia and Herzegovina, what this decision brought good and what does not function, up to latest decision of frizzing of OHR office in district Brčko. I will also highlight current political discourse in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its effects on security in Bosnia and Herzegovina are. Keywords: District Brčko, Ethnic segregation, Dayton peace agreement, Separation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Peace in Bosnia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Srpska. In 1995 with signing the Dayton Peace Agreement armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina has ended. It was signed by representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia and the Contact Group Nations. Amongst other, DPA has divided Bosnia in two parts. It is important to mention that Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is then divided in ten Cantons. Most of them are with Bosnian majority, but some of them are also with Croat majority, mainly in southern Bosnia. DPA has indeed stopped the armed conflict in Bosnia, but it did not resolve the ethnic tensions that where still more than obvious in Bosnia. Milestone of ethical and religious division is the education in Bosnia. At the moment there are three different curriculums active in Bosnian primary schools: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. Radušić writes that there are no teaching plans and programs at the state level, but only at the Entity level. Radušić was speaking about the “National groups of subject”.

One of the most worrying phenomena of the current European scene is the growing disenchantment of many ordinary citizens with politics. Political problems are increasingly complex and technical in nature, and the democratic process is perceived as making little difference to their solution. The mass media contribute to this development by superficial reporting which encourages the public to regard politics as a kind of "spectator sport". The most effective remedy must be to involve citizens themselves in policy development and decision making on issues which they understand. Such issues are easiest to identify at local level and involvement can most readily be organised within the local community. This guide was designed as an awareness-raising and training tool for local politicians and staff, NGO activists and ordinary citizens, national associations of local authorities and training providers in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book provides a profound insight into post-war Mostar, and the memories of three generations of this Bosnian-Herzegovinian city. Drawing on several years of ethnographic fieldwork, it offers a vivid account of how personal and collective memories are utterly intertwined, and how memories across the generations are reimagined and ‘rewritten’ following great socio-political change. Focusing on both Bosniak-dominated East Mostar and Croat-dominated West Mostar, it demonstrates that, even in this ethno-nationally divided city with its two divergent national historiographies, generation-specific experiences are crucial in how people ascribe meaning to past events. It argues that the dramatic and often brutal transformations that Bosnia and Herzegovina has witnessed have led to alterations in memory politics, not to mention disparities in the life situations faced by the different generations in present-day post-war Mostar. This in turn has created variations in memories along generational lines, which affect how individuals narrate and position themselves in relation to the country's history. This detailed and engaging work will appeal to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, political science, history and oral history, particularly those with an interest in memory, post-socialist Europe and conflict studies.

Exploring recent configurations of social relations in post-socialist, post-war, post-Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina this collection of ethnographic research turns an analytical lens on questions of sociality. Contributions based on long-term, in-depth research projects explore how people in different parts of BiH make and remake social relations and outline how their practices of sociality relate to donor-set priorities and formal human rights provisions. The book explores the socio-political concerns which have emerged within BiH, incites interdisciplinary conversations and sheds critical light on ways of engaging with these concerns and discusses forms of sociality, politics and agency which remain largely absent from the official political discourse and practice of local and foreign actors. Explicitly focusing on social relations in BiH against the historical background of both war and Yugoslav socialism, and directly placing these in relation to authoritative discourses and policies regarding BiH today brings the different strands together while the commentaries of specialists who have studied BiH in different ways explicitly situates the contribution of ethnographic work in the country.