Bosnia and Herzegovina Totally Explained

Everything about Bosnia And Herzegovina totally explained

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Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian/Croatian (Latin script): Bosna i Hercegovina, Serbian (Cyrillic script): Босна и Херцеговина) is a country on the Balkan peninsula of Southern Europe with an area of 51,129 square kilometres (19,741 sq mi). The last official census in 1991 recorded 4.4 million people, which was prior to the 1992-1995 war, while an unofficial census in 1996 by UNHCR recorded a post-war population of 3.9 million. Its 2007 residential population is estimated at approximately 4 million.
   Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Bosnia and Herzegovina can be described as a federal democratic republic that's transforming its economy into a market-oriented system, and it's a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO.
   The country is home to three ethnic "constituent peoples": Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often identified in English as a Bosnian. In Bosnia, the distinction between a Bosnian and a Herzegovinian is maintained as a regional, rather than an ethnic distinction. The country is politically decentralized and comprised of two governing entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with District Brčko as a de facto third entity.
   Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is mostly landlocked, except for 26 kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coastline, centered around the town of Neum. The interior of the country is mountainous in the center and south, hilly in the northwest, and flat in the northeast. The nation's capital and largest city is Sarajevo. Sarajevo was the host site of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.
   The region of Bosnia is the largest geographic region of the modern state with moderate continental climate, marked by hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Smaller Herzegovina is the southern tip of the country, with Mediterranean climate and topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina's natural resources are highly abundant.

Etymology

The first preserved mention of the name "Bosnia" is in the De Administrando Imperio, a politico-geographical handbook written by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII in 958. However, by this time Bosnia was mostly converted from a manichaistic religion introduced by Slavs to Bogomilism (a Christian sect that Slavic Bulgarians spread to Bosnia). The exact meaning and origin of the word is somewhat cloudy. The name "Bosnia" most probably comes from the name of the Bosna river around which it has been historically based, which was recorded in the Roman Age under the name Bossina. More direct root of the river's names are unknown. Philologist Anton Mayer proposed a connection with the Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning "running water". Certain Roman sources similarly mention Bathinus flumen, or the Illyrian word Bosona, both of which would mean "running water" as well. Another possibility, advanced by P. Anđelić and based on archeological evidence, is that he was crowned in Mile near Visoko in the church which was built in time of Stephen II Kotromanić's reign, where he was also buried alongside his uncle Stjepan II. Following his death in 1391 however, Bosnia fell into a long period of decline. The Ottoman Empire had already started its conquest of Europe and posed a major threat to the Balkans throughout the first half of the fifteenth century. Finally, after decades of political and social instability, Bosnia officially fell in 1463. Herzegovina would follow in 1482, with a Hungarian-backed reinstated "Bosnian Kingdom" being the last to succumb in 1527.

Ottoman era

The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia marked a new era in the country's history and introduced tremendous changes in the political and cultural landscape of the region. Although the kingdom had been crushed and its high nobility executed, the Ottomans nonetheless allowed for the preservation of Bosnia's identity by incorporating it as an integral province of the Ottoman Empire with its historical name and territorial integrity - a unique case among subjugated states in the Balkans. Within this sandžak (and eventual vilayet) of Bosnia, the Ottomans introduced a number of key changes in the territory's socio-political administration; including a new landholding system, a reorganization of administrative units, and a complex system of social differentiation by class and religious affiliation. Their efforts proved key during the turbulent period following Tito's death in 1980, and are today considered some of the early steps towards Bosnian independence. However, the republic hardly escaped the increasingly nationalistic climate of the time unscathed. With the fall of communism and the start of the break-up of Yugoslavia, the old communist doctrine of tolerance began to lose its potency, creating an opportunity for nationalist elements in the society to spread their influence.

The 1992-1995 Bosnian War

The 1990 parliamentary elections led to a national assembly dominated by three ethnically-based parties, which had formed a loose coalition to oust the communists from power. Croatia and Slovenia's subsequent declarations of independence and the warfare that ensued placed Bosnia and Herzegovina and its three constituent peoples in an awkward position. A significant split soon developed on the issue of whether to stay with the Yugoslav federation (overwhelmingly favored among Serbs) or seek independence (overwhelmingly favored among Bosniaks and Croats). A declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia in February and March 1992 boycotted by the great majority of Bosnian Serbs. The turnout in the independence referendum was 63.7% and 99.4% voted for independence. The controversy lies in the fact that the referendum failed to surpass the constitutional two-third required majority. But Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence nevertheless. Following a tense period of escalating tensions and sporadic military incidents, open warfare began in Sarajevo on April 6. and 1.8 million displaced. This is being addressed by the International Commission on Missing Persons.
The Bosnian government charged Serbia of complicity in genocide in Bosnia during the war at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In its verdict (2007), the Court found that Serbia hadn't committed or conspired to commit genocide. It also concluded that Serbia wasn't complicit in genocide. It also dismissed Bosnian claims that genocide has been committed on the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It did, however, find that Serbia had violated the obligation under the Genocide Convention to prevent the specific instance of genocide that occurred at Srebrenica in 1995, and that genocide wasn't committed by institutions of Republika Srpska.

Politics and government

As a result of the Dayton Accords, the civilian peace implementation is supervised by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina selected by the Peace Implementation Council. The High Representative has many governmental and legislative powers, including the dismissal of elected and non-elected officials. More recently, several central institutions have been established (such as defense ministry, security ministry, state court, indirect taxation service etc.) in the process of transferring part of the jurisdiction from the entities to the state.
   The representation of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is by elites who represent the country's three major groups, with each having a guaranteed share of power.
   The Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Bosniak, Serb, Croat), each elected as the Chair for an eight-month term within their four-year term as a member. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly by the people (Federation votes for the Bosniak/Croat, Republika Srpska for the Serb).
   The Chair of the Council of Ministers is nominated by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives. He or she's then responsible for appointing a Foreign Minister, Minister of Foreign Trade, and others as appropriate.
   The Parliamentary Assembly is the lawmaking body in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of two houses: the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives. The House of Peoples includes 15 delegates, two-thirds of which come from the Federation (5 Croat and 5 Bosniaks) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is composed of 42 Members, two-thirds elected from the Federation and one-third elected from the Republika Srpska.
   The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the supreme, final arbiter of legal matters. It is composed of nine members: four members are selected by the House of Representatives of the Federation,two by the Assembly of the Republika Srpska, and three by the President of the European Court of Human Rights after consultation with the Presidency.
   However, the highest political authority in the country is the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the chief executive officer for the international civilian presence in the country. Since 1995, the High Representative has been able to bypass the elected parliamentary assembly, and since 1997 has been able to remove elected officials. The methods selected by the High Representative have been criticized as undemocratic. International supervision is to end when the country is deemed politically and democratically stable and self-sustaining.

Administrative divisions

Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina covers some 51% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's total area, while Republika Srpska covers around 49%. The entities, based largely on the territories held by the two warring sides at the time, were formally established by the Dayton peace agreement in 1995 due to the tremendous changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina's ethnic structure. Since 1996 the power of the entities relative to the federal government has decreased significantly. Nonetheless, entities still have numerous powers to themselves. The Brcko district in the north of the country was created in 2000 out of land from both entities. It officially belongs to both, but is governed by neither, and functions under a decentralized system of local government. The Brčko district has been praised for maintaining a multiethnic population and a level of prosperity significantly above the national average.
   The third level of Bosnia and Herzegovina's political subdivision is manifested in cantons. They are unique to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, which consists of ten of them. All of them have their own cantonal government, which is under the law of the Federation as a whole. Some cantons are ethnically mixed and have special laws implemented to ensure the equality of all constituent peoples.
   The fourth level of political division in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the municipalities. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided in 74 municipalities, and Republika Srpska in 63. Municipalities also have their own local government, and are typically based around the most significant city or place in their territory. As such, many municipalities have a long tradition and history with their present boundaries. Some others, however, were only created following the recent war after traditional municipalities were split by the IEBL. Each canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of several municipalities, which are divided into local communities.
   Besides entities, cantons, and municipalities, Bosnia and Herzegovina also has four "official" cities. These are: Banja Luka, Mostar, Sarajevo, and East Sarajevo. The territory and government of the cities of Banja Luka and Mostar corresponds to the municipalities of the same name, while the cities of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo officially consist of several municipalities. Cities have their own city government whose power is in between that of the municipalities and cantons (or the entity, in the case of Republika Srpska).

Geography

Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia (932 km) to the north and south-west, Serbia (302 km) to the east, and Montenegro (225 km) to the southeast. The country is mostly mountainous, encompassing the central Dinaric Alps. The northeastern parts reach into the Pannonian basin, while in the south it borders the Adriatic. The country has only 20 kilometres (12 mi) of coastline,
   When it was a part of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina financed many large construction projects throughout that country. The Highway "Bratstvo i jedinstvo", a pan-Yugoslavian project, which linked Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Zagreb (Croatia) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Skopje (Macedonia), was financed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the lack of direct benefit to that region. The funneling of capital to that project resulted in an increase in unemployment and a decrease in production in the region.
The war in the 1990s caused a dramatic change in the Bosnian economy. GDP fell 75% and the destruction of physical infrastructure devastated the economy. While much of the production capacity has been restored, the Bosnian economy still faces considerable difficulties. Figures show GDP and per capita income increased 10% from 2003 to 2004; this and Bosnia's shrinking national debt being positive trends, but high unemployment and a large trade deficit remain cause for concern.
   The national currency is the Euro-pegged Convertible Mark (BAM), controlled by a currency board. Annual inflation is the lowest relative to other countries in the region at 1.9% in 2004. The international debt was $3.1 billion (2005 est) - the smallest amount of debt owed of all the former Yugoslav republics. Real GDP growth rate was 5% for 2004 according to the Bosnian Central Bank of BiH and Statistical Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
   Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the highest income equality rankings in the world, ranking eighth out of 193 nations. Overall value of foreign direct investment (1999–2007):

1999: 166 million €
2000: 159 million €
2001: 133 million €
2002: 282 million €
2003: 338 million €
2004: 534 million €
2005: 421 million €
2006: 556 million €
2007: 1.628 billion € *Total (1994 - 2007): 4.6 billion €

The top investor countries (1994 - 2007) in Bosnia and Herzegovina are:

Austria (1,294 million €)

Serbia (773 million €)

Croatia (434 million €)

Slovenia (427 million €)

Switzerland (337 million €)

Germany (270 million €)

Italy (94,29 million €)

Netherlands (63,52 million €)

United Arab Emirates (56,70 million €)

Turkey (54,81 million €)

All Other Countries (892,54 million €)

TOTAL FDI (4.6 billion €) Foreign investments by sector for 1994-June 2007:
Lonely Planet, in ranking the best cities in the world, ranked Sarajevo, the national capital and host of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, as #43, ahead of Dubrovnik at #59, Ljubljana at #84, Bled at #90, Belgrade at #113, and Zagreb at #135. Tourism in Sarajevo is chiefly focused on historical, religious, and cultural aspects (see Sites of interest in Sarajevo). Bosnia has also become an increasingly popular skiing and Ecotourism destination.

Demographics

Bosnia is home to three ethnic "constituent peoples": Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. The former are overwhelmingly Muslims, whereas Serbs tend to be Orthodox Christians and Croats Catholics. A Y-chromosome haplogroups study published in 2005 found that "three main groups of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in spite of some quantitative differences, share a large fraction of the same ancient gene pool distinctive for the Balkan area".
   In 1910 Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 1,898,044 where 825,918 (43.49%) were Orthodox, 612,137 were Muslims (32.25 per cent), 434,061 were Catholics (22.87 per cent) and 26,428 (1.39 per cent) others.
According to the 1931 census, there were 2,323,555 persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Orthodox 1,028,139 (44.25 per cent); Muslims 718,079 (30.90 per cent); Catholics 547,949 (23.58 per cent); other: 29,388 (1.27 per cent) of the total population.
   The list of victims of the 1941-1945 war, made in 1964, is kept in the Documentation of the Federal Bureau of Statistics in Belgrade. It contains the names of 179,173 persons killed in the war born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This list isn't complete. Large population migrations during the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s have caused a large demographic shift in the country. No census has been taken since 1991, and none is planned for the near future due to political disagreements. Since censuses are the only statistical, inclusive, and objective way to analyze demographics, almost all of the post-war data is simply an estimate. Most sources, however, estimate the population at roughly 4 million (representing a decrease of 350,000 since 1991).
   According to the 1991 census, Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 4,377,033. Ethnically, 1,902,956 (43.47 per cent) were Bosniak, 1,366,104 (31.21 per cent) Serbs, and 760,852 (17.38 per cent) Croats, with 242,682 (5.54 per cent) Yugoslavs. The remaining 2.38 per cent of the population - numbering 104,439 - consists of various other ethnicities. According to 2000 data from the CIA World Factbook, Bosnia's largest ethnic groups are Bosniaks (48.0 per cent), Serbs (37.1 per cent) and Croats (14.3 per cent). Likewise, 40 per cent of the population are Muslims, 31 per cent are Orthodox Christians, 15 per cent are Roman Catholics, and 14 per cent are listed as other.
   There is a strong correlation between ethnic identity and religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as is shown by the fact that 95 per cent of Bosniaks are Muslims, 95 per cent of Croats are Catholics whilst 95 per cent of Serbs are Orthodox Christians. Tensions between the three constitutional peoples remain high in BiH and often provoke political disagreements.

Culture

Literature

Bosnia has a rich culture, including poets such as Antun Branko Šimić, Aleksa Šantić, Jovan Dučić and Mak Dizdar and writers such as Ivo Andrić (who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961), Meša Selimović, Branko Ćopić, Miljenko Jergović, Petar Kočić and Nedžad Ibrišimović.
The National Theater was founded 1919 in Sarajevo and its first director was famous drama-play writer Branislav Nušić. Sarajevo philharmonic orchestra was founded in 1923. From 1946 Sarajevo opera and Sarajevo Balet started; until year 2000, it had over 1000 theater shows and 300 ballets and operas. The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo was founded in 1981. MESS is International theater festival founded during the war in 1992.

Visual arts

The visual arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina were always constant; from prehistoric era, through original medieval tombstones (stecak) to paintings in Kotromanić court. However, only with arrival of Austro-Hungarians in Bosnia real painting renaissance have begun. First artists that were educated in Europe academies appeared with the beginning of 20th century. With their talent and imaginative force we can point out: Gabrijel Jurkić, Petar Tiješić, Karlo Mijić, Špiro Bocarić, Petar Šain, Đoko Mazalić, Roman Petrović i Lazar Drljača. Their ascenders are: Ismet Mujezinović, Vojo Dimitrijević, Ivo Šeremet, Mica Todorović and others. After World War II we've artists like: Virgilije Nevjestić, Bekir Misirlić, Ljubo Lah, Meha Sefić, Franjo Likar, Mersad Berber, Ibrahim Ljubović, Dževad Hozo, Affan Ramić, Safet Zec, Ismar Mujezinović, Mehmed Zaimović ... ARS AEVI (founded in Sarajevo 1995) is international cultural project of Visual Arts and includes famous world artist.

Music

Traditional Bosnian and Herzogovinian songs are ganga, rera, and from Ottoman era the most popular is sevdalinka. Pop and Rock music has a tradition here as well, with the more famous musicians including Goran Bregović, Davorin Popović, Kemal Monteno, Zdravko Čolić, Johnny Štulić, Edo Maajka, Dino Merlin and Tomo Miličević. Also, it would be unfair not to mention some of the talented composers such as Đorđe Novković, Esad Arnautalić, Kornelije Kovač, and many pop and rock bands, for example Bijelo Dugme, Indexi, Zabranjeno Pušenje, who were among the leading ones in the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia is home to the composer Dušan Šestić, the creator of the current national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina and father of singer Marija Šestić, and pianist Sasha Toperich.

Film

film-makers are Mirza Idrizović, Aleksandar Jevđević, Ivica Matić, Danis Tanović (oscar winner for best foreign movie with his No Man's Land), Ademir Kenoviċ, Benjamin Filipoviċ, Jasmin Dizdar, Pjer Žalica, Jasmila Žbaniċ, Dino Mustafić, Srđan Vuletić, and finally most awarded Emir Kusturica. Sarajevo Film Festival, founded in 1994, has become the biggest and most influencing in southeast Europe.

Cuisine

spices; but usually in very small quantities. Most dishes are light, as they're cooked in lots of water; the sauces are fully natural, consisting of little more than the natural juices of the vegetables in the dish. Typical ingredients include tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, courgettes, dried beans, fresh beans, plums, milk, and cream called Pavlaka. Bosnian cuisine is balanced between Western and Eastern influences. Bosnian food is closely related to Turkish, Greek, and other Mediterranean cuisines. However, due to years of Austrian rule, there are many influences from Central Europe. Typical meat dishes include primarily beef and lamb. Pork isn't widely used, due to the large Muslim portion of the population. Some local specialties are ćevapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilaf, goulash, ajvar and a whole range of Eastern sweets. The best local wines come from Herzegovina where the climate is suitable for growing grapes. Plum or apple rakia is produced in Bosnia.

Sports

The most important international sporting event in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the hosting of the 14th Winter Olympics, held in Sarajevo from the 8th to the 23rd of February 1984.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has produced many athletes. Many of them were famous in the Yugoslav national teams before Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence.
Some notable local Olympians were:

Rome, 1960: Tomislav Knez and Velimir Sombolac (football),

Munich, 1972: Abaz Arslanagić, Milorad Karalić, Nebojša Popović, Đorđe Lavrinić, Dobrivoje Seleć (handball)

Moscow, 1980: Mirza Delibašić and Ratko Radovanović (basketball)

Los Angeles, 1984: Zdravko Rađenović, Zlatan Arnautović (handball) and Anto Josipović (boxing). The Borac handball club has won seven Yugoslav National Championships, as well as the European Championship Cup in 1976 and the International Handball Federation Cup in 1991.
   The Bosna basketball club from Sarajevo were European Champions in 1979. The Yugoslav national basketball team, which medaled in every world championship from 1963 through 1990, included Bosnian players such as Dražen Dalipagić and Mirza Delibašić. Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly qualifies for the European Championship in Basketball. Jedinstvo Women's basketball club, based in Tuzla, has won the 1979 European Championships in Florence.
   The Tuzla-Sinalco karate club from Tuzla has won the most Yugoslav championships, as well as four European Championships and one World Championship.
   The Bosnian chess team has been Champion of Yugoslavia seven times, in addition to winning four European championships: 1994 in Lyon, 1999 in Bugojno, 2000 in Neum, and 2001 in Kalitea. Borki Predojević (from Teslić) chess club has also won two European Championships: Litohoreu (Greece) in 1999, and Kalitei (Greece) in 2001.
   Middle-weight boxer Marjan Beneš has won several B&H Championships, Yugoslavian Championships and the European Championship. In 1978 he won the World Title against Elish Obeda from Bahamas. Another middle-weight boxer, Ante Josipović won the Olympic Gold in Los Angeles, 1984. He also won Yugoslavian Championship in 1982, the Championship of the Balkans in 1983, and the Beograd Trophy in 1985. Football is the most popular sport in B&H. It dates from 1903, but its popularity grew significantly after the World War II. At local level, Sarajevo (1967 and 1984), Željezničar (1972) have both won the Yugoslavian Championship. The former Yugoslav national football team has included a number of Bosnian players, such as Josip Katalinski, Dušan Bajević, Ivica – Ćiro Blaževć, Ivica Osim, Safet Sušić, and Mirsad Fazlagić.
   In football, the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team hasn't qualified for a European or World Championship. Bosnian national teams have struggled to draft the best national players. Many players born in Bosnia and Herzegovina choose to play for other countries due to their ethnic identification and because of higher salaries offered by other teams. For example Mario Stanić and Mile Mitić were both born in Bosnia, but play for Croatia and Serbia respectively. Other internationally famous players from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have made similar choices, are: Zoran Savić, Vladimir Radmanović, Zoran Planinić, Aleksandar Nikolić and Savo Milošević.
   Bosnia and Herzegovina is the current world champion in paralympic volleyball. Many of the players lost their legs in the War of 1992-1995.

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