Bosnia and Herzegovina

Article Outline

Introduction; Land and Resources; The People of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Culture; Economy; Government; History

Ethnic Discord

Before the war, the rural Bosnian population lived largely in concentrations of each ethnic group, but the concentrations were so interspersed as to resemble a leopard’s skin. The Muslim population was concentrated mainly in central and eastern Bosnia (bordering Serbia) and in the far west (bordering Croatia). Concentrations of Serbs separated those of the Muslims. Croats were mainly concentrated on the northern and southwestern borders with Croatia, with some Croat pockets in central Bosnia. Serb military campaigns in 1992 and 1993 and Croat campaigns in 1993 and 1995 were aimed at expelling others from areas claimed by these groups. By the end of the war almost all non-Serbs had been expelled from Serb-claimed lands in eastern and northern Bosnia, and non-Croats from Croat-claimed lands in southwestern Bosnia. In turn, most non-Muslims had left land under Muslim control in northwestern Bosnia.

The largest cities had mixed populations in 1991, but the war and its aftermath made them almost homogenous. Banja Luka, 55 percent Serb in 1991, was almost 100 percent Serb by 1993. It is the capital of the Serb Republic. Mostar, 34 percent Croat, 35 percent Bosniak, 19 percent Serb, and 10 percent “others” (who registered no ethnic affiliation) in 1991, had by 1995 been divided into an almost purely Croat western part and an almost purely Bosniak eastern part, with very few Serbs or “others” left in either. Under the terms of the 1995 Dayton peace accord, which ended the war, Sarajevo, located in the Bosniak-Croat federation near the boundary of the Serb Republic, is a united city under federal Bosnian control. However, the city’s population changed from 49 percent Bosniak before the war to 90 percent by 1996, and the Bosniak authorities have permitted few non-Bosniaks to return.

The return of refugees was mandated by the international community at the time of the Dayton agreement, but had not occurred in any great numbers by the end of 1998. This was especially true of the return of people into areas where their group was in the minority after the war. In April 1998 Croats in the western town of Drvar rioted against the return of Serbs, attacking refugees and burning buildings used by the UN. In June 1998 up to 820,000 people within Bosnia remained displaced from their previous homes. In general, the political leaders of all groups have engaged in cultural projects aimed at ensuring that the ethnic groups regard themselves as inherently different from one another, with conflicting cultures and interests.

Education

Education is compulsory and free for all children from ages 7 through 15. Secondary education is also free. Wartime destruction or damage to schools disrupted education for many children, although “war schools” were created in other buildings. There are officially four universities in the country, in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, and Mostar. The university in Mostar, however, has split into two unrelated institutions, a Croat university in western Mostar and an Islamic one in eastern Mostar.

Way of Life

Until 1991 Bosnia had an urban population that aspired to the standard of living of western Europe and was increasingly intermingled ethnically by residence, occupation, friendship, and marriage. The rural population remained more divided ethnically and less well-off. As a result of the wars, religious identification and adherence to religious rules has risen among Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. Many Bosniak women have adopted Islamic dress styles that had not been common, at least in cities, before the war. The destruction of the economy has thrust many previously working women into traditional female roles as housewives and mothers. Members of all groups favor a diet that is heavy on roast meats and bread.

The People of Bosnia and Herzegovina section of this article was contributed by Robert M. Hayden.

Culture

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Bosnia’s diverse population has made the country’s cultural life rich. Epic stories, a form of traditional oral literature, were still sung throughout the country well into the 1950s. Bosnian urban love songs, largely Muslim in origin, were popular throughout the former Yugoslavia.

Literature, Film, and Music

Ivo Andrić, a Serb who was raised Catholic in Bosnia, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1961. His novels include Na Drini ćuprija (1945; The Bridge on the Drina, 1959), in which a bridge from the Ottoman period symbolically united the peoples of Bosnia. The novelist Meša Selimović was of Muslim origin but said that he wrote Serbian literature. The film director Emir Kusturica, also of Muslim origin, made internationally acclaimed films in Sarajevo. His film When Father was Away on Business was a finalist for the Academy Award in the United States for best foreign film in 1984. That film had a cast and crew that included Muslims, Serbs, and Croats. Through 1991 the Bosnian rock group Bijelo Dugme was extremely popular throughout Yugoslavia, playing music influenced by the various traditions of Bosnia.