Bosnia and Herzegovina

In ancient times Bosnia was part of the Roman Province of Illyria. When the Empire was split, Illyria was divided, with Dalmatia (modern Bosnia & Croatia) becoming part of the Western Empire and Dacia (modern Serbia and Montenegro) part of the Eastern Empire. The Romans lost control of Dalmatia in 455 to the Ostrogoths, and the area became inhabited by Slavs in the 7th century.

The first mention of the name "Bosnia" is in the De Administrando Imperio of Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the middle of the 10th century, in which he mentions Bosnia and Rascia as a part of the Serb lands. In the late 11th century Bosnia separated itself from Serbia into an independent principality but its population was still overwhelmingly Serb. In 1137, the region came under Hungarian control, but preserved a signifant degree of autonomy. By the mid-14th century Bosnia was de facto an independent state. Bosnian ruler Tvrtko Kotromanić was crowned King of Bosnia in 1377.

Bosnia was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1463 to 1878. During this time, Christian children were separated from their families and raised to be members of the Yeni ǥri (new troops) and became Muslims.

There was also a heavy migration of Serbian Orthodox Christians from the region around Belgrade, which settled in the north of Bosnia. Also Romanian Orthodox Christians from Wallachia settled in this area and mixed with the Serb population. Many have also moved to today's Croatia in a region that was called Morlachia and came under Catholic influence.

Nationalistic movements in this region started in the 19th century. The Catholics and Orthodox considered themselves to be Croats and Serbs, respectively. The Bosnian Muslims where ethnically claimed by Croats and Serbs.

After being ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire for 40 years, Bosnia became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918. Bosnia and Herzegovina was established as a republic of Yugoslavia in 1945, when the country was re-organized as a federal state under Josip Broz Tito.

The declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February of 1992. The Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina provided for three constitutional nations: the Serbs, Croats and Muslims. No major constitutional changes were to be granted short of a unilateral agreement from all three sides. The Croats supported the bid of the Bosnian Muslims and voted for independence in the referendum. Three years of bloody civil war between the Serbs, Croats and Muslims followed. This war was fueled by Yugoslavia under Slobodan Milosevic and Croatia under Franjo Tudjman in what appeared to be attempts to take over the region.

On November 21, 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the inter-ethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on December 14, 1995). The Dayton Agreement divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska. In 1995-1996, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place, with about 20,000 troops as of August 2001.

Through out this conflict the international community, especially the United Nations, have made fatal errors in evaluating the whole situation.

The United Nations' International Police Task Force in Bosnia was replaced at the end of 2002 by the European Union Police Mission, the first such police training and monitoring taskforce from the European Union.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina rotates among three members (Muslim, Serb, Croat), each elected for a 4-year term. The three members of the Presidency are elected directly by the people (Federation votes for the Muslim/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 is 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 Muslims) and one-third from the Republika Srpska (5 Serbs). The House of Representatives is comprised 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.

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. The district of Brcko is not part of either entity. The Federation is further divided into 10 cantons:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia is located in the Western Balkans, bordering Serbia and Montenegro to the east and Croatia to the north and south-west. The port city of Neum in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is the only link to the sea.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Next to Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav Federation. For the most part, agriculture has been in private hands, but farms have been small and inefficient, and food has traditionally been a net import for the republic. The centrally planned economy has resulted in some legacies in the economy. Industry is greatly overstaffed, reflecting the rigidity of the planned economy. Under Josip Broz Tito, military industries were pushed in the republic; Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. Three years of interethnic strife destroyed the economy and infrastructure in Bosnia, causing unemployment to soar and production to plummet by 80%, as well as causing the death of about 200,000 people and displacing half of the population. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates on a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Acording to the 1991 census, Bosnia is 44% ethnicly Muslism, 31% Serb, and 17% Croat. At that time 6% of Bosnians listed their ethnicity as "Yugoslav". There is a strong co-relation between ethnic identity and religion; 88% of Croats are Roman Catholics, 90% of ethnic Muslims practice Islam, and 99% of Serbs are Orthodox Christians.