BOSNIA | What Next for Republika Srpska?

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a stunningly beautiful country. But it is also a country mired in difficulties. In the midst of ongoing constitutional deadlock, there has been growing debate about the future of Republika Srpska (RS), the Bosnian Serb entity that was created under the 1995 Peace Agreement. In recent years, Bosnian Serb leaders have increasingly threatened to break away and form their own independent state. This in turn has led to growing calls by many Bosniaks for RS to be abolished. So, what is the answer?
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In 1995, the Dayton Peace Agreement brought a final end to the bitter and bloody three-way war between the Bosnian Muslims (now known as Bosniaks), Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats. To do this, it saw the Serbian breakaway state of Republika Srpska reintegrated into Bosnia-Herzegovina alongside the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. But while at first the new arrangement seemed to be making progress, over the past 15 years tensions have been growing. Today, many regard Bosnia as a dysfunctional state. As well as growing calls for secession by nationalist Bosnian Serb leaders, most notable Milorad Dodik, the Bosniaks have been calling for greater decentralisation, with some even suggesting the complete abolition of the Republika Srpska - an entity that many see as the product of genocide and ethnic cleansing. But as tempting as it may be to view this as the solution to the country's difficulties, RS is not the problem that many present it as bring. Instead, the problems lie elsewhere. Indeed, a successful Bosnia needs to be built on respecting Bosnia's territorial integrity and the legitimacy of Republika Srpska.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction and Titles
0:50 Bosnia and Contested Peace Agreements
1:54 Background to Bosnia-Herzegovina
2:34 The Collapse of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War
4:23 Interlude: Banja Luka to Teslić
4:58 Rebuilding Bosnia-Herzegovina
6:36 Growing Tensions over Republika Srpska
9:22 Should Republika Srpska Be Abolished?
RELATED PLAYLISTS
Current Issues and Disputes • CURRENT ISSUES AND DIS...
International Relations, Conflict and Security in South East Europe and the Balkans • SOUTH EAST EUROPE
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FURTHER READING & USEFUL SOURCES
Government of Republika Srpska www.vladars.net/eng/Pages/def...
Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina www.predsjednistvobih.ba/
Dayton Peace Agreement peacemaker.un.org/sites/peace...
Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina www.constituteproject.org/con...
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Kosovo: The Path to Contested Statehood in the Balkans amzn.to/35jiBN2
The Foreign Policy of Counter-Secession amzn.to/2Qinm5t
My other books amzn.to/2MlP13u
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KEYWORDS
#Bosnia #RepublikaSrpska #BosniaHerzegovina
#InternationalPolitics #CurrentAffairs #InternationalRelations
#Secession #Statehood #Independence
#InternationalLaw #InternationalHistory Balkans
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[@JamesKerLindsay]

So, I have had another go at an on location video. I spent a really wonderful week in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina - in Republika Srpska, one of the country's two entities. It really is stunningly beautiful. And highly recommended for a visit. But one can't ignore the problems that Bosnia faces. But as I hope to show, the situation is a little more complex than either side (or any of the sids, if one also includes the Bosnian Croats) would like to make out. So, can the sides really learn to accept one another? Thoughts and comments below. (Apologies for the sound in the second half. I did everything I could to try to fix it. But it wasn't really as I would have liked it. Still, I hope that it is OK.)

[@dimitrivaljean6085]

Why are you so anti-nationalist in most of your videos? It almost feels like you are a globalist, which honestly is just as bad if not worse than nationalism.

[@ToastieBRRRN]

Just hold plebiscite for Republika Srpska and Croat Bosnia. Modern Bosnia is pretty much tries to reflect the borders of the historical kingdom of Bosnia which last time existed in 1463.

[@craigh2205]

just hold a refrendium that way it will be solved peacefully rather than have another war

[@ruwiki]

when can we expect James Ker-Lindsay's Travel Vlogs? :-D

[@jimmyrussl7112]

Thank you so much for doing this I love the on site videos

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

He's not at his desk 🤣

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Haha! Well observed! 😀 Yes, this was my second ‘on location’ video. I had a wonderful week in Bosnia.

[@zavi7919]

@@JamesKerLindsay I like when you do the “on location” videos. I imagine it’s pretty fun for you as well!

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

@@JamesKerLindsay What was your first on location video?

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

@@FlamingBasketballClub I believe he did a video in Armenia, 1 year after their defeat to Azerbaijan.

[@lincolnlog5977]

@@JamesKerLindsay very cool!!!

[@theepicone1]

I really appreciate your effort to film on site. It adds a level of empathy, humanity, and realism to the conflicts you're discussing. Elements that are unfortunately often missing from foreign videos on the Balkans and to a degree Eastern Europe more broadly that treat the place as some kind of fantasy realm inhabited by nationalistic militants. You filming on location helps communicate that many if not most ordinary people in RS and Bosnia more broadly are just trying to find a situation that works. The current system is hard to reform and work within, this is the real issue and I don't know the exact answer but more people are concerned with creating a functional country with decent services and jobs. In short, thanks for genuine attention. I hope you keep up the great work and enjoy your time in the Balkans with a good rakja and burek!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I love doing these videos. I did one from Armenia in December and it seemed to go down well and so I thought I would give it another go. And it was so lovely to be back in Bosnia. I am very fond of the country. Indeed, I adore the Balkans as a whole - which rather helps given that I have spent so many years working on the region! :-) Seriously, though, you are absolutely right. They key has got to be on helping ordinary people with proper jobs and opportunities and good access to working government services. They are being let down at the moment. And I certainly did enjoy the food and drink. I am not a big rakija fan, though. (I'm a bit of a lightweight.) But burek is great. Then again, nothing beats good Bosnian cevapi. :-)

[@verbal_DK]

@@JamesKerLindsay you love doing these videos?... not only that you are shameless, you are pervert too... how much money Сербс have paid you for your shameless lies and propaganda? EDIT: I would stay on occupied part of Bosnia, If I was you... you won't be safe other places.

[@TO-doubleG]

@@JamesKerLindsay professor, thank you for answering my question. I knew you would answer it and understand that it takes some time to read and answer the questions. Have a great weekend.

[@mobileprinting2876]

bih i bosnjake su zloupotrebili iz amerike i eu da preko bih uvedu radikalni islam u evropu...tokom 92-5 godine u bih su doveli 15 000 arapskih i pakistanskih svetih ratnika mudzahedina...koji su kasnije osnovali kalifat i islamsku drzavu....svi teroristicki napadi na zapadne zemlje su povezani sa sarajevom...bin laden je imao bih drzavljanstvo i obcavao je u sarajevu pilote za napad na new jork...nista to nebi mogli uraditi islamizirani bosnjaci bez pomoci nato zemalja...zasto je nato zemljama potreban radikalni islam u evropi???

[@itsblitz4437]

I blame the U.S. and the Dayton Accords that made Bosnia 🇧🇦 what it is now, they have obviously should have made Bosnia a more centralized government with a single leader.

[@mirk5144]

Anakin: I don’t think the system works. Padme: How would you have it work? Anakin: We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what’s in the best interest of all the people and then do it. Padme: That’s exactly what we do. The trouble is that people don’t always agree. Anakin: Well then they should be made to. Padme: By whom? Who is going to make them? Anakin: I don’t know, someone. Padme: You? Anakin: Of course not me. Padme: But someone. Anakin: Someone wise. Padme: It sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me. Anakin: Well, if it works… Tito lol

[@awddfg]

Dictatorship with a wise and good leader is preferable to a democracy where nothing gets done.

[@nivlacsenoj6264]

@@awddfg I agree with this I mean look at Iraq before 2003 and look at them now, the same thing with Libya. America failed in Syria.

[@whitegluestick6039]

@@nivlacsenoj6264 it's true that a dictator who is wise and not moraly bankrupt can do great things for his nation (libya being a terrific example) but dictatorships will always crumble once said dictator dies it doesn't matter I it takes 2 years or 40 the decline begins with each dictator after that becoming more and more bankrupt and paranoid.

[@nocomment5705]

Tito made the problems to begin with by making artificial borders. The only thing which could make Yugoslavia work was the Cvetkovic-Macek agreement.

[@GS-by7ci]

Perhaps that was exactly it. A combination of upward economic mobility that keeps everyone busy, happy and fed with an added motivator of an OUTSIDE "enemy" like they've been programming all of us with here in the u.s. on the microscale of similar design as Tito used is the only thing that will work 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@mihajlovucic8037]

I've always said it: better 50 years of stagnation than another war.

[@drenicasi345]

If the people didnt emmigrate to the west, they would were at least a war till now.

[@19932603A]

Also, to note that Bosniaks only care about Bosniaks, Serbs only care about Serbs, Croats only care about Croats but NONE of those 3 care about Bosnians (citizens of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and so, they all try to cancel each other's policies out by voting against each other rather than against policies. In short, either the 3 groups make peace with each other OR all 3 of them split from the Federation.

[@NMarkeTech]

The only real path to prosperity is to dismantle the 3 main nationalistic parties. They are all corrupt and selling stories to their people by enriching themselves in the process. There should be a party for Sovereign Bosnia which was always multi-cultural where all people have their religious rights without undermining anyone else's right and leaders should be put in place according to their ability and skills and not party affiliation. Until people agree about this and actually implement it, our lives may be just over...

[@rijadhadzic3396]

that is not true. There are a number of Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks who vote for a person who puts the two ethnicities aside. I'm sure there are serbs as well but that is a smaller percentage.

[@bilic8094]

@@rijadhadzic3396 only the Serbs have changed parties since the end of the war from sds to snsd the Croats stayed the same with hdz same as the Bosniaks with sda.

[@bilic8094]

@@meopen1888 That's all in your head it's some kind of fear or something I have no idea what would you say about Albanians than that tore down borders between countries.

[@billybilal7331]

Serbs changed their party only becouse the all leaders of SDS are in prison for the crime of genocide. However whith the new party in charge they have not changed their politics of enjoying fruits od ethnic cleansing.

[@runer3139]

As a Bosniak, I can only say we do not want war to return. But we do Love our Country. We need to talk and calm down our diferences. I say always we have more incommon than diferences. ❤️🇧🇦

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. As an outsider, but one who knows Bosnia well and has been many times, I can certainly see solutions. But it does take mutual trust and understanding. Sadly, it’s still easier fur politicians to focus on differences to secure their power.

[@alenhuseinbasic899]

Selam Alejkum iz Londonu brate moj, we need to unite all together, enough of this crap we are all tired of it!!

[@igorsukalo9638]

Niko ovdje ne zeli rat, zelimo samo normalne uslove za zivot, normalne plate i prosperitet.

[@serbianwarrior385]

We,Serbs,dont want anything with u muslims.Thats why we have our own Republic🤣🤣🤣

[@MrDeicide1]

@@JamesKerLindsay You do not know Elementary things about bosnia...

[@nabilalhami1681]

Good to see another field reporting video. Also, the transition from 4:23 to 4:57 looks nice, having a travel vlog vibe.

[@logan1769]

Love the background! Always have had interest in Bosnia and how beautiful it is. Great video, James!

[@beardeduke0303]

Bosnia and Hercegovina is an experiment similar to Yugoslavia, just on a smaller scale. How did that end?

[@sanela5936]

Is is not an experiment. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one unit. Yugoslavia was not.

[@mkgzt]

you take nationalism or tribalism away from the equation and that "experiment" will work. Who would've thought getting rid of supremacy ideals would conclude in mutual cooperation?

[@hegemonstrategos3485]

Not really bc the system of Yugoslavia kept ppl at peace while this neo-liberal system only gives decay and war

[@beardeduke0303]

@@mkgzt sounds like a book from a faaaar left side of the shelf. Although appealing at first we all know that it won’t work.

[@itsblitz4437]

@@sanela5936 under Josef Tito, Yugoslavia was pretty much one unit all ethnicities and religions, were united and treated each other like fellow brothers. When Tito died thats when Yugoslavia fell apart.

[@minutte]

I remember very well how war started in Yugoslavia and how it went from bad to worse. Germany had been recently reunified and Kohl government decided that Yugoslavia had to be dismantled. Simple as that. When french and uk governments were uncertain about what stance to adopt, with other countries of the former EEC, in the beginnings of the troubles not yet fully war, all of a sudden Germany recognized Croatia and Slovenia sovereign independent states, without previous talks with other EEC members. From this point on it was impossible to know if there had been possibilities for peaceful or at least less violent solutions like increased level of federalism and autonomies from serbian control inside Yugoslavia. It was no more possible. The german decision triggered the war in Bosnia, Bosniaks claimed too an independent state like fresh Croatia and Slovenia. Basically Germany insisted in splitting Yugoslavia in mono-ethnic nations. The mantra about the sacred right of self-determination and sovereignty was everywhere. Back then it was said that CDU had never lost the german imperial and revengeful atavism, which had been indeed kept alive by the fact that pro-eminent former imperial and nazi high-level civil servants were co-opted into Adenauer government (Hans Globke for instance and many others). Only few years afters, the creation of a multi-ethnic Bosnia made then no sense, it was the opposite of the mono-ethnic stance. Even less when considering that after in 1999 USA decided to cut off Kosovo and make it a sovereign nation, so singing again the mono-ethnic song.... Double standard .... For some reasons EEC with Germany leading, and USA, seemed to be doing just an anti-serbian policy in fact. Since then, geographic diversity of ethnies has failed, with populations tending to gather together in geographic entities along ethnical lines. Which, well, was what Germany and USA were advocating elsewhere in Balkans, and, in Kosovo. RS should just become part of Serbia. The problem is the small Brchko canton that seems to be kept more or less artificially diverse with Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs, just in order to keep the Western and Eastern cantons of RS topologically separated, what became obvious over the years, is that Germany/USA/EU want to keep a small and weak Serbia, because the serbian-russian connection. and what is potentially trouble is NATO wanting Bosnia-Herzegovina in NATO, because bosnian serbians ie. RS are of course opposed.

[@northernstar4811]

"I remember very well how war started in Yugoslavia and how it went from bad to worse. " Are you sure? Do you remember how Serbian President Milosevic illegally annexed the autonomous areas of Tito`s Yugoslavia, i.e: Vojvodina & Kosovo? Do you remember how Serbian president Milosevic stole $1 billion USD from the joint federal Yugoslav bank located in Belgrade? Do you remember how armed Serbs started to shoot at Yugoslav police officers killing a dozen of them in May 1991, all this while Yugoslavia still existed? I guess not...instead you blame "foreign powers"...

[@minutte]

@@northernstar4811 yes I remember. As I wrote: it went from bad to worse. It was bad but exterior influences made it worse. I am 55 and the husband of a first cousin of mine, now in his 70s, is from Skopje so he was yugoslavian citizen, then unsure, then macedonian. They used to drive to Skopje every summer and from our place Yugoslavia was just around the corner. In fact he became worried already when Tito died (at which time I was just 15, started just being politically concerned) and used to tell summer after summer: it's going to be bad. But then the policies from foreign powers made it worse. As I wrote: impossible to tell how Germany, France, EEC could have avoided full war, make people compromise. Three significant countries have different ethnies under one citizenship : Spain , Belgium and Switzerland. CH is the one with the most relaxed confederal structure. And these countries have more linguistical differences than Yugoslavia had excepted for albanian. So, a question was: could it be possible to transform Yugoslavia in something Swizz-like? the point with Germany is that they deliberately had the project to turn the rich northern part of Yugoslavia, into a zone of influence and economic sphere. The interest that EEC caused among slovenians and croatians, as an area of wealth compared to poor southern parts of Yugoslavia was used by Germany. Then the millenary old prejudices against Orthodox played in too. Basically EEC, specially Germany didn't try to play the confederal option that was at some point even proposed at least by Tudjman, in order to tame nationalistic inflation on both sides (croatian, serbian). When Germany forced EEC in a fait accompli, to recognize independant Croatia and Slovenia it was over: war would spread. then the referendum in Bosnia in 1992 was a very bad idea, because of course the 1/3 of serbian population wouldn't vote. Yet EEC and USA validated it and made B-H a UN member and then around the 2008/2010 a NATO candidate. Wtf , the country isn't even stable and run as a UE protectorate? And now what? 30 years after, the pluri-ethnic demographics of Bosnia it still there, just that it has naturally been "decanting" from mixed cantons to mono-ethnic ones and basically the country could be cut clean in three chunks: Croat, Bosniak, Serbian. When in the end 80's, Tudjman insisted in mono-ethnic Croatia it meant that Serbs and others would sing the same song. It hasn't changed. Again look at Switzerland: three languages, french, german, italian, with also mostly a topology matching the languages with some transitional hybrid/bi- or tri- lingual areas, yet a working confederation. What is different in Bosnia-Herzegovina is stronger religion difference catholic, muslim, orthodox. If this must be a key criteria then B-H is doomed and should just split.

[@yugoslavia_operator128]

@@northernstar4811 That is false, first, vojvodina was already part of the Allied Republic, second who was killing police offiers? Third what about foreing powers, it is true, how come all of them jist hurried to help carve it up,only causing more problems that we have to deal with today. If Tito was alive, Milosevic,Tudjman and other traitor scum would be dealth with by spending rest of their lives on Barren island.

[@DzIVDzAN]

@@northernstar4811 autonomous Area of Serbia not Yugoslavia, and how that only Serbia has autonomous areas but not eg Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina is 90% Serbs area why should be autonomous? Do you remember how TO of Slovenia, Croatia, BiH and police units start to attacking JNA (regular and international recognized forces of Yugoslavia) in their barracks, do you remember when Yugoslav police officers be captured in jail and discharged from duty cos they are Serbs?

[@northernstar4811]

@@DzIVDzAN "how that only Serbia has autonomous areas but not eg Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina," Well, you have to read history and look at some old maps to understand that. Kosovo was annexed by Serbia only in 1912, you can have a look at Serbia`s border from 1910 to see the original border of Serbia. What is called Vojvodina was part of Croatia & Hungary ( Austria-Hungary) before 1918. Serbia annexed this territory after 1918.

[@lvoldum]

Fantastic with an on location video - makes it all seem even more relevant. I really appreciate your dedication to detail - as having your own name tag in different alphabets/languages...😉👍

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much Dano. I’m glad you liked the video. And the name tag was fun to do. Always interesting seeing one’s name in a different language! 😀🙏🏻

[@satrapish]

Its not diveded because it was never unifed, its a comunity of 3 nations that were always forced by foreign powers to live together never by their choice.

[@vladimir-qx9sd]

bullshit. national identification with neighboring countries by the orthodox christians and catholics on the basis of common religion exclusively is a relatively recent phenomenon in bosnian history that occurred partly from intentional propaganda and manipulations and partly out of confusion about and conflation of religious, national and ethnic identity. that's how you have devout bosnian 'croats' with 'bošnjak' ('bosniak') as their last names for example.

[@satrapish]

@@vladimir-qx9sd There is no "bosnian history" when we speak about todays BiH, its not the same teritory and it was never formed as an etno-state of the Bosniaks. Those stories you can only preach among Bosniak nationalist like the 99 Cirlce etc. No one will believe it outside of this. 3 nations are forged and they identify as nations, this is the reality, myths that speak about "what happend in bosnian history" are only fairytales

[@PanSerbism]

@@vladimir-qx9sd Bošnjak is a historical term for all inhabitants of Bosnia. Only in 1993 after the historical meeting at the very historic centuries old Holiday Inn did you Muslims come up with the idea to rename yourselves Bosniaks

[@vladimir-qx9sd]

@@PanSerbism i'm not a muslim first of all. don't know why you assumed that. and i don't disagree with your comment-i don't think that the distinction between bosniak and bosnian was relevant before, but i was referring to how there is a distinction between how those terms are used now, whether one likes it or not. i personally don't care about the distinction but you cannot ignore it if you want to have a coherent discussion since many do use and understand those two terms differently.

[@minyme]

Lol! Your review is funny not true at all. Read about history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[@thetraveller1612]

A good update. I think you have summarised the situation quite well. Too many opposing forces, it appears this will become another frozen conflict to add to the growing list. Regarding the recent tensions in the Agean and Eastern Med between between Greece and Turkey, the rhetoric between the two are increasing. How did they get to this point and what are your thoughts on resolving what is largely a hangover from this dismemberment of the Ottoman empire where Greece increased its territory on several occassion largely assisted by Europe at the expense of present day Turkey.

[@ZIVELASRBIJA3]

I uploaded new Serbian video🇷🇸💯

[@Fyrlss]

WOOOOOW !!! Becoming a travel vlogger + making such reports was an amazing idea!!! Well done, sir... Well done!!! Thorough research, objective point of view and a very well organized presentation. In addition to all that, now we are served with the delicacy of getting HD images and videos from the place referenced in the video. Professor, you are spoiling us!!! You are raising the bar very high for others in your category... I'm a big fan!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so I much! I’m really glad you liked it. Yes, I love the idea of doing some videos like this from time to time.(Even if it presents a lot of new technical challenges.) And thanks so much for the incredibly kind words of support about the channel! :-)

[@mobileprinting2876]

bih i bosnjake su zloupotrebili iz amerike i eu da preko bih uvedu radikalni islam u evropu...tokom 92-5 godine u bih su doveli 15 000 arapskih i pakistanskih svetih ratnika mudzahedina...koji su kasnije osnovali kalifat i islamsku drzavu....svi teroristicki napadi na zapadne zemlje su povezani sa sarajevom...bin laden je imao bih drzavljanstvo i obucavao je u sarajevu pilote za napad na new jork...nista to nebi mogli uraditi islamizirani bosnjaci bez pomoci nato zemalja...zasto je nato zemljama potreban radikalni islam u evropi???

[@HCUhardcoreUnited]

I think Israel and Cyprus will figure out their problems before these people do...

[@tim01263]

Hi James, I really enjoy your videos and your insight. Your way of presenting geo-politics is by far the best I've found on KZbin! Many thanks!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it!

[@shomiiii96]

As a Bosnia Serb, I must say the analysis of the situation is very well done. Bosnia & Herzegovina could work as a country, RS is not the problem. Federation has been disfunctional since 2006 I think, I don't even remember when's the last time Croats and Bosniaks agreed on something in their entity. Everything was/is being resolved on the Canton level. For instance, if you need to go to a hospital or chance your inhabitance in a different canton, there's a lot of paperwork to be done. Feels like Bosnia & Herzegovina is divided into 11 entities. Serbian position is following: If you can't make your bloody Federal government work, with 2 of the constitutive peoples, how the hell do you expect us to believe that a government with 3 constitutive peoples with work. Bosnia with 2 entities is feasible, but if you can't make it work, don't expect us to carry that burden of all 3 sides on shoulders of one entity. *MUST READ * Another thing worth mentioning is the corruption of politicians of all 3 sides, whose only interest is to ripoff state money. Bosniak, Croatian and Serbian politicians often work together when it comes to talking shit. For instance, when people realize a politician is corrupt, that corrupt politician calls for aid from the other corrupt politicians who are not of the same ethnicity. So, when Bosniaks figure out how Bakir Izetbegovic is corrupt, Dodik (Serb) and Komsic(Croat) start talking shit and verbally attacking the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so the Bakir would come to Bosnia's rescue as the defended of its constitution, and the Bosniak folk turn their eye from his corruption to what the Serbs and Croats are doing. Now, apply this recipe again, this time Dodik is the corrupt guy, and Bakir and Komsic will talk shit, making the Serb folk turn their eyes from Dodik's corruption to what Bosniaks and Croats are doing. And likewise for Croatia politicians. Current thing in that cycle is Croatian rights in the Federation. Once that gets boring, its gonna go towards RS disassembly, and then about RS independence... And that's how Bosnia works. No shit is done by the government, only shit is talked. And normal people get depressed and tend to migrate elsewhere.. mainly Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.

[@popularshows6433]

Corruption is the only thing that keeps this country from working.

[@hercg1967]

I was born in Ljubuski, I like to retire back home, I wish for peace no more war, I have friends on both sides, one thing I don’t like is arabs moving there

[@Aboleo80]

RS is highly centralized where Serbs have complete authority. Serbs are OK with with centralized government in RS but not on BiH level. Federation on other hand is very decentralized just like the whole country is. Problem is that Bosniaks want to make it more centralized like the RS and Croats naturally completely reject that. In fact everything you have said is proof that only strong centralized government can effectively rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[@sal78sal]

ok, they wont move there, they want to go to england. Bangladeshis will move to Bosnia. Its already happening. @@hercg1967

[@1234canadianguy]

Once again I really loved your latest on-location video. It's one thing to explain geopolitical issues in the lecture hall (or in this context a studio), it's another thing to explain those issues on the ground where that said issue is occurring in real time to which I strongly prefer the latter. Given my huge passion for travel, combined with a joint honours degree in political science and public administration from the University of Ottawa in Canada where I recently graduated from, hopefully I'll have the opportunity to travel the world soon and learn about various geopolitical issues and dynamics on the ground. I strongly believe it provides a much more fulfilling learning experience and goes beyond what one can learn from lecture halls and textbooks. I really look forward to your next on-location video and the virtual travel experience it can make.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much Robert. It was really nice to be out and about again. :-) In fact, I am hoping to do another on location video fairly soon, fingers crossed. I wont say where or when just yet, but I am really excited about it.

[@stanislavstoimenov1729]

If I didn't know which country I'm looking at, I would have swore that this is Bulgaria, just 10 or 15 years ago. It's uncanny how similar we're here on the Balkan peninsula.

[@organic3132]

We are one nation, devided in many tribes by western countries. We should look our own interes, and work together. Serbs, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Bosnians…. we have same mentality, same blood.

[@froglifes6829]

@@organic3132 Too many turks in Bulgaria

[@josefowitzer]

I know, you are so much more advanced now.

[@filippetrovic4891]

Good video, mostly objective. One thing that you said that is mostly incorrect is that many Bosnian Serbs see Bosnia as their homeland above Serbia. Bosnian Serbs acknowledge Bosnia, but Id say 90+% of people would tell you their Serbian identity is more important since Bosnian as a nation is a failed project. On the other hand, lots of people embrace their regional Bosnian heritage, but for Serbs it's similar to Posavina Serb, Vojvodina Serb, Šumadija Serb or any other region in EX Yugoslavia. Some deny they're being Bosnian (in regional sense) in spite of Bosniaks (which tried to make monopoly over the historical rights over Bosnia), but there aren't many of those. All in all, Dayton made a solid ground for stabilizing Bosnia, but the main problem is all three sides feel enraged over the war and mostly choose nationalist leaders that give them unrealistic hope for their side to prevail over the other two. Without Dayton there isn't Republika Srpska, but also there isn't any kind of Bosnia as well.

[@neokorteks2009]

I second that.

[@mdza]

I 3rd that, from Banja Luka.

[@TotilaTheGoth]

To me as Bosnian Serb, being Bosnian is a part of me that I won't give up to Muslims. But being a Serb is more important than the regional identity.

[@frankswarbrick7562]

@@TotilaTheGoth Is this a religious conflict as much as anything else?

[@user-uf7mi4lt5y]

@@frankswarbrick7562 Religious conflict among relatively secular population...

[@andreifrancisco3850]

Love the accordion music and the party in the background!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I’m really glad you liked it. I added some music in my Armenia video and it seemed to go down well. I thought to do it again and found a really lovely impromptu practice session by these musicians when I was in Banja Luka. :-)

[@gamarro15]

Your on site videos are great. I really appreciate the extra effort 😃👍

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it. I love doing them when I get a chance. I really hope to be able to do more of them. In fact, fingers crossed, I’m hoping to do a couple of very special ones in August! 🤫🙂

[@FOLIPE]

From my point of view here in Latin America, I tend to be suspicious of the idea that tutelage of national politics by foreign entities will lead to more positive outcomes than native political arrangements. Maybe Bosnia is particularly messed up, but this mentality that people outside know the red lines better and define the right terms of dialogue seems to me to have proven to be, historically, mostly counter-productive.

[@greatwolf5372]

Srpska and Croatian dominated areas of BiH would both prefer to split off from the Bosnian state but the American and the European imperialists wont allow that.

[@popularshows6433]

Because native minorities use neighboring countries to go towards dissolving country.

[@freshname]

Foreign interference is the only thing stopping the next massacres. But it won't be too long though until it all erupts once more.

[@TheLocalLt]

@@greatwolf5372 Bosnia would not be a viable entity if it was just Bosniak areas, see the map of Bosnia circa 1993, it would be just a few landlocked cities and river valleys

[@dinomerdzic4518]

Nas narod uopste nema probleme iz medju sebe, nego sa onima u vladi. Tjeraju nas da se svadjamo da nas drze u razdvoju, dok oni kasiraju. Kad ugasimo ekrane, pustimo malo pozitivne muzike i druzimo se zajedno vidimo da smo braca i sestre. A zamisli da radimo zajedno sta bi mogli napraviti, Balkan moze biti najjaca regija svijeta i najbolje mjesto za ziviti! Ljubav i veliki pozdrav braco i sestre 🇷🇸🇭🇷🇲🇪🇧🇦🇸🇮🇦🇱🇧🇬🇷🇴🇬🇷💙

[@envadd.6556]

takvo misljenje je najvise zatupljeno medju Bosnjacima, na zalost to nije slucaj kod drugih bas ne u mjeri gdje bi se mogle desiti neke promjene.. To se najvise vidi po komentarima inako se nekad cini drugaicje uzivo... ovdje pisemo ono sto mislimo

[@sinisafljankovic9600]

Velika istina! Niko ne moze zaustaviti narod Bosne da zive zajedno, pogotovu “NE” korumpirani politicari koji trenutno vladaju u BIH.

[@novakfilipovic2343]

​@@sinisafljankovic9600 zasto bi zivjeli zajedno kad smo vec jednom probali i vidjeli da ne ide?

[@dainomite]

Very informative James. Thank you for sharing. I do enjoy the 'on location' videos! they highlight the beautiful country and as you point out, the realities on the ground.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I do love doing these videos. I hope to do more when I can.

[@Solo-vh9fm]

I’m glad to have found your channel. It’s everything I like finding out about

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. Great to hear it. And a very warm welcome! :-)

[@profesor1992able]

Fantastic video. So much informative and impartial. i look forward to visiting Sarajevo, BiH in a fortnight.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Hi Albert, thanks so much! I hope you have a lovely time over there. Sarajevo is great. And Bosnia really is a wonderful country. In the meantime, I hope all is well with you.

[@wessexexplorer]

Superb video and great to see you on location. As an instinct I would opt for allowing the two halves to unite with their neighbours. This might well temper the antagonistic attitudes. Very interesting to hear how this is much more complicated than this.

[@TheLocalLt]

That would leave the Bosniak portion as an unviable rump state and lead to war, that’s exactly what happened in 1992 when Serbia and Croatia made a secret deal to partition Bosnia, leading to war

[@a.e.a.]

@@TheLocalLt There is also a Muslim Bosniak majority living in the Sandzak region of Serbia and Montenegro, who would also want unification with their Bosnian brothers, further complicating the situation.

[@balkandebunking8030]

@@TheLocalLt that’s not what happened. If Croatia and Serbia had agreed to split Bosnia, then Croats would have never gone for Bosnian independence. They could’ve easily split it up within Yugoslavia

[@balkandebunking8030]

@@a.e.a. they can’t unite, they’re nowhere near the Bosniaks in the middle of Bosnia so how on earth can they unite. And there’s less than 200k Bosniaks there

[@rinaldoongeri4826]

@@TheLocalLt Why do you assume it as "unviable"? San Martino, Liechtenstein and Andorra are also micronations that exist. Why would a Bosnian micronation not work?

[@Exposetheworld]

I am literally writing an MA dissertation on Bosnia (specifically how the Dayton Agreement has impacted interethnic communities in Bosnia). The timing of your video and it's insightful contribution are of immense help to me. Thank you so much for your work.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. So glad it helped. Very good luck with the dissertation! :-)

[@vuca11300]

Well, wish he know what he talkin about.

[@Exposetheworld]

@@vuca11300 Can you explain how he does not?

[@aleksandar8082]

@@Exposetheworld he's right and bright. good luck with your MA.

[@jansobieski6240]

It is Bosnia and Herzegovina not just Bosnia,two different regions.

[@ahmedsalkan]

Insightful analysis. Stability is the key, everything else should fit in as time progresses. We mustn't forget that we have a generation-long heritage of authoritarianism which resulted in the biggest crash in a long time. It takes time and effort to recuperate afterwards. They say three-generations-time is the minimum required for a healthy society to form after a period of ideological vacuum - if all the necessary conditions are met. One step at a time I guess. Thank you for the kind words about our mountains and your understanding!

[@wojciechwilkanowski4472]

Another fantastic video. Insightful contextualisation and analysis of a pressing issue, structured and delivered incredibly well, as always. I enjoyed the change-up in scenery too - a busman's holiday? Keep it up Prof.!

[@Todd.B]

Thanks Prof. Hope you are enjoying your time in that beautiful part of the world. Is it me or is this perhaps the most complicated situation you've covered so far. I'd like to see in a couple of months when your book is released to have the co-author on to talk about it, how it came about, what you learned in writing it, ect. It's your channel and your book, you have every right to promote it here, it's completely different from going on someone Elses channel to promote it. Have a great weekend.

[@gloopdogg4861]

He aint covered 1 % of history there,if somebody realy want to understund something just dont read 30 years of history,where he mention that Bosniaks who are Slavs just like Serbs love Turkey ( Otoman empire) who put Serbs in 500 years slavery,where he talk about what Bosniaks under Nazist do to Serbs in WW2 together with Ustaše (Croats),where is Bosniak fight against Austrohungary when all Bosnia was Anex...Somebody please tell me one singl war of Bosniaks and Croats against Nazist,Otomans and Austrohungary when all tham control everything here,just Serbs fight against tirany and fight for freedom,all tham fight for Nazist,Otomans and Austrohungary...This man just want youtube weiws and thats all,just how you put that flag but in realty you gonna do nothing...

[@Trofusky]

Great work, Professor. Very informative and entertaining. I hope in the future you’ll be able to iron out some issues around in-the-field audio like around 5:00. Looking forward to more and hope you can make it out to the field more often!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Yes, it was tricky. Sorry about that. I’m used to the usual set up where I can control the sound. But filming out and about is much more challenging. Unfortunately, these things happen. And I don’t have a crew with me to take care of these things. I just do it on my own! :-)

[@Trofusky]

@@JamesKerLindsay no need to apologize! The video is still fantastic, and you’re just getting your footing on on-the-ground stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed the explanation of viewpoints; I’ve always thought a good political commentator can make you side with multiple opinions, disprove them, then force the audience to come up with their own beliefs by the end of their time. You absolutely did that with this video, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[@mobileprinting2876]

bih i bosnjake su zloupotrebili iz amerike i eu da preko bih uvedu radikalni islam u evropu...tokom 92-5 godine u bih su doveli 15 000 arapskih i pakistanskih svetih ratnika mudzahedina...koji su kasnije osnovali kalifat i islamsku drzavu....svi teroristicki napadi na zapadne zemlje su povezani sa sarajevom...bin laden je imao bih drzavljanstvo i obucavao je u sarajevu pilote za napad na new jork...nista to nebi mogli uraditi islamizirani bosnjaci bez pomoci nato zemalja...zasto je nato zemljama potreban radikalni islam u evropi???

[@sulaymankindi]

thank you. I might not agree with your conclusions, but appreciate the fact that you did an on the ground assessment, instead of an ivory tower pronouncement as others would do

[@nikolagrubac4925]

If you don’t mind explaining what part you don’t agree with regarding his conclusion. Just curious

[@sulaymankindi]

@@nikolagrubac4925 I feel bad that you have posed your question so politely, yet I feel uncomfortable giving a full reply. KZbin is unfortunately not a forum for civilised discourse amongst people with differing views, but a shield for anonymous cowards to hijack a conversation with insults and curses. This much I can say is that firstly the Prof seems to have focused his intercourse with a single party. Whether he had a prior bias or not, that surely impacts his assessment. Secondly, he offers window dressing for a system that I'd think everyone agrees has failed. That makes no sense to me. It's as if he's saying to children, "You are disobedient. Whether you like it or not we are your parents. That can't be changed. All that needs to be changed is your behaviour and then we'll tweak some of the house rules."

[@TheLocalLt]

Thanks for the great video professor! These on location videos are always the best, it has an old school Peter Jennings Special type of feel, especially with this one being in the Balkans. I definitely agree that the now-seemingly constant threat of Bosnian Serb secession is a Sword of Damacles hanging over Bosnia-Herzegovina, but that Sarajevo does not help the situation when it antagonizes Banja Luka and threatens to abolish its autonomy. As you mentioned, the opposing threats feed off of each other in a vicious escalatory cycle. As you’ve talked about before, the Office of High Commissioner has at times done things that are unhelpful, even if sincere. I definitely agree that the Dayton Agreement, as unworkable as it can be, is the only possible solution. More idealistic solutions were proposed (Vance-Owen Plan, etc), but unfortunately due to the interests of various factions the war continued to the point where Dayton was the only solution, and even that was barely salvaged at the 11th hour. As you’ve mentioned, it was kind of a diplomatic miracle that they came to any deal at all. Thus I don’t know if I’d agree with your statement that the 2009 European Court decision means Bosnia’s constitution is “discriminatory”, it states that it violates recent human rights statutes set forth by that particular international body, but that very constitution was of course put into place by, not only agreement of the three parties, but also facilitated by another international body, namely NATO, that has many of the same members which make up the European Court. In any case thank you for the video and generating discussion on these topics!

[@TO-doubleG]

Prof. Ker-Lindsey, thank you for the very informative material and great analysis. I would agree that the Dayton agreement is holding the country back, it needs to be updated, if that's possible. However, I doubt that abolishing the status of RS would solve the problem. In contrary, it would inflame nationalist sentiments in the region. As the unilateral declaration of secession by the RS authorities would. The Bosnian case is so complicated. The EU membership could be the answer. Yet, we know examples of secessionist aspirations and independence movements (Catalonia, for example ) within the EU as well. Meanwhile, I know you have made several videos about Kosovo, and I have watched them all, but could you please share your opinion on why the West is so persuasive in recognizing this region as a state? I read today that Olaf Scholz have said that if Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, it will not be accepted into the EU. I mean, what's the political reason behind it? Is it because Yugoslavia was (and Serbia is) a Russian ally and the West wanted to split the former Yugoslavia into as many pieces as possible? Or is it because Serbia would be another huge country in Europe with a substantial demography and territory, had it kept or absorbed all Serbian-populated territories of the former? Thank you.

[@bilic8094]

I also seen what Scholz said today in Belgrade he might as well rip up the Serbia path to EU paper work today I'm all for a fair political solution for both sides but that offer is a non starter.

[@TO-doubleG]

@@bilic8094 of course. It's an ultimatum.

[@artman12]

Two big countries in the UN Security Council need to recognize Kosovo for Kosovo to be seen as a legitimate country- Russia and China. Russia’s views may be ignored given the current situation but China’s views can’t. As for membership to the EU, Spain will reject Kosovo’s membership without Serbia’s recognition because of what it fears about Catalonia’s independence.

[@fra604]

It's not about recognition, it's just about finding a common ground and diplimatically find a solution. The problem is that Kosovo will not accept to be part of Serbia again. It's also not really in Serbia's interests to have two million Albanians in a country of not even seven million (that's almost a fourth of the citizens of Serbia that are fervidly anti-Serbia). How I see it is that there is simply no way that Serbia can find a beneficial diplomatic solution that does not involve recognizing Kosovo as an independent state (and I would say that Scholz would agree with me) It's really not because of Serbian-Russian relations (if anything, Albanians in Kosovo would vote against Russia) and it's not because they want to break it up either (it's counterproductive, Serbians look at Russia more since they don't feel welcomed by the EU). They simply don't want a potential war that could drag those two states down. They learnt their lesson in Cyprus: EU membership pushes candidates towards fixing their problems more than anything else and accepting them in before they fix them is harmful. In short, they don't want two messy states in the EU, and, to start negotiating, Serbia has to recognize Kosovo

[@eazyemco]

Serbs are not ready to be part of the civilised European family. Serbs are holding back Bosnia.

[@discospaghetti6744]

Could you do a video dedicated to the Bosnian Croats and their current political issues?

[@hasibhakanovic6682]

First CC in Mostar built in 1866 by Turks. 😀

[@richardrodriguez843]

I have a question: when will you do a video about bolivia and the summit of americas? I think there is interesting developments happening over there and I want to know if you could a video about those topics in regards to bolivia and the summit of the americas.

[@FOLIPE]

Not only Bolivia, but a video on the Summit of the Americas would be interesting, although I wonder if it would fit the theme of the channel since the issue there is more geopolitical, and the issue of human rights is not nearly as significant

[@redhammer9910]

Thank you for your insights, most enlightening. I don't live in Europe but I watch what is currently unfolding with a deep concern. Differences will always exist as will people who seek power control and exclusive influence. It is so incredibly important to have free and open press. Watching today the partisanship of the press is of grave concern, not just for truth and accountability but for democracy and human rights themselves. Truthful and factual balanced historians play an important role in keeping the ship steady in absence of all the above.

[@biglebowsky6586]

As a Bosnian Serb i must say that this video is really good. And message is pretty simple, namely both sides should accept reality, Bosnia is here to stay as well as RS, RS cant seceede but also cant be abolished. Thats it, even tho its only a start it would help a lot. However, this isnt the only problem on ethnic level since there is Croat-Bosniak problem, thats kinda bevoming worse with years. And that one is more than just Croats demanding 3rd entity, its also about the Croat member of presidency and how he is elected as well as how Croats should be elected in other central goverment offices or FBiH offices. I hope you will make a video about that too since not much people outside this area knows about this problem.

[@bilic8094]

Call it by the real name Republika Srpska don't shorten it the Sarajevo media does all the time because they don't like to recognize it.

[@biglebowsky6586]

@@bilic8094 RS means Republika Srpska, if Sarajevo means they are achiveing something by calling it RS they are dead wrong. Its shorter this way, i do the same with FBiH.

[@_ald1n_698]

Rs can be abolished and will one day

[@biglebowsky6586]

@@_ald1n_698 It cant and it most definetely wont.

[@_ald1n_698]

@@biglebowsky6586 it cant seceedde but it can be abolished. Believe my it will happen soon. Bosnia was without entities for 1000 of years and will be again

[@bilic8094]

Now that was a fabulous on site report I agree with almost everything.

[@smrdljivivlah5879]

when sandzak, vojvodina go. i can agree with this as well after all seems fair

[@GainsHubOfficial]

Well, thank you for making this informal video. I hope you like our country and hopefully Bosnia will become better place to live. Greetings from Bosnia

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I have been fortunate to visit Bosnia many times. I always love going! :-) And I also hope that things will get better. Hvala i pozdrav iz Londona!

[@markosproit]

Could you please provide your sources for these views and list of people (professors of law, politics and other relevant sciences) you talked to? I really need to understand what sources you have used (especially local), before I can make any comments.

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

Certainly your most visually pleasing video to date. What a beautiful country! Amazing content, as always! And I do have a question if I may! Why is it that Serbs and Bosnian Serbs are always depicted as the "bad guys"? It feels like there's more to it than propaganda, somehow, but it's certainly a feeling I grew up with - I was about 10 during the War in Bosnia. I do admit it might be a personnal prejudice I hold, but there's also a socio-historical and even artistic trend in that sense, for example with the movie "A Serbian Film", associating the idea of the Serbs as a nation to all sorts of attrocities, echoing the Bosnian War, obviously. Maybe you can shed some into this and maybe set possible prejudices right?

[@live_free_or_perish]

Most recently may be because of perceived support for Putin. Just speculating 🤔

[@bilic8094]

@@live_free_or_perish It looks like Vlad is closing in on the Danube it shouldn't be too much longer.

[@live_free_or_perish]

@@bilic8094 agreed. Russia will lose most of its strength soon and Ukraine will take back their country. Shouldn't be too long now.

[@bilic8094]

@@live_free_or_perish I hear you I'm all for territorial integrity but I'm afraid the cat is out of the bag.

[@quakeknight9680]

You see the reason is the narative

[@live_free_or_perish]

More broadly speaking it seems the trouble starts when one ethnic group in a region wants more power per person than other ethnic groups in the same region. Often because that group sees itself as superior. And why is it that some large countries can exist with multiple ethnic groups with its borders and others splinter into small countries because they cannot coexist with each other? Reminds me of the Hatfield's and McCoy's or gang wars fighting for turf. But if I'm honest the situation just too complicated and I doubt I'll ever understand the importance people place on their ethnicity compared to who they are as individuals.

[@AnaB012]

When you have Muslims on one side and Christians on another, or nazis and their descendants...it can become important. At the end, it's never about ordinary people but about politicians, big capital and money...

[@EdMcF1]

It reminds me of the coach at the end of the Italian Job, moving in any direction isn't an option, but staying still doesn't seem to be one either, although it is preferable to moving either way.

[@perihelion7798]

Thanks for this. It's just one of the many bubbles that are rising from the bottom of the boiling cauldron that is the current geo-political stew that is cooking the world right now. It has become very dangerous lately. There are so many extreme factors in play right now that it gives me a headache. Where are we headed?

[@glenn07777]

Great analysis. Balanced and well informed. Thank you James.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. Never easy trying to cover these issues but I’m glad you felt it was fair.

[@noahsmith4505]

Thank you, Professor. What parallels can be drawn with Belgium and Quebec? There's several economic opportunities in those two countries and people can freely speak in Flemish/French and English/French. Could integration into the European Union make a material difference, or are the challenges of corruption and recent warfare too much to overcome at this time?

[@Weeboslav]

I thing better comparison here would be Rwanda,as neither Belgium nor Canada had history of ethnic/religious tensions that led to bloody civil wars. The difference between Rwanda and BnH is that Rwanda immediately started the reconciliation and started making something out of their country. On other hand,politicians in Bosnia prosper from conflict and animosity they create,they are the main problem here. I don't thing reconciliation is impossible,but with corrupt politicians that are like "Remember that bloody war we had less than 30 years ago?You wanna round 2 of it?" it's difficult.

[@noahsmith4505]

@@Weeboslav Rwanda is an interesting comparison. But the economic output of most Rwandans is much lower than the output of most Bosnians. Also Bosnia is quick driving and flying distance to European Union countries, while Rwanda has made big jumps in economic output.

[@houseplant1016]

Believe me, it is a myth that here in Flanders everything is going good. Our education is getting lower and lower in the PISA ranks and we are having a massive labour shortage, we don't even have enough teachers! Some schools have started with even giving no exams straight away and giving fun workshops, while our education level is decreasing with the year. Our energy security is gone and we'll face an energy crisis if the French multinational Engie doesn't help us as quick as it can. Our federal government (formed after very long negotiations) is showing cracks again and right wing extremists are probably gonna win the next election.... They promised to make Flanders independent whether it is supported by the other regions or not.... Get ready for a rough ride if you live in Flanders.

[@houseplant1016]

@@Weeboslav You have ethnic and religious tensions in Belgium 1. Flemish speaking VS French speaking. The Flemish have been treated bad under the Walloons and the French. To this day the national day of Flanders is the day where they beat the French.... In 1302... Just until last century the Flemish language became recognized. 2. There were protestans tensions between Catholics. That's a logic one, I guess.

[@noahsmith4505]

@@houseplant1016 No doubt. But economic security across multiple groups in a country is one of the main paths toward avoiding wars and coup d'etats. After all the Arab Spring was, after many years of tension, sparked by the suicide of a cart vendor who didn't have the "right" permits. And a lot of Americans voted for Trump because they didn't have economic security.

[@semira4161]

Thank you very much for this video!!

[@branedan8620]

Great video, nice that you went there.

[@vanessaanddaddy7754]

Self determination should recognise by every country. War never solve problems rather destruction and lost of lives. Ideology is solved through dialogues

[@bobmcbob9856]

Saying Bosnia is a single indivisible state is like saying Yugoslavia or the USSR, or the British Empire were single indivisible states. It’s a very faulty, end of history mentality mainly held by westerners who see the grand geopolitical status quo as good because it is good for their countries, and who thus seek to maintain it while working on internal reform only and avoiding territorial changes. While I’m not necessarily saying RS should secede, I’m saying that worldview is faulty. When do we decide that countries become indivisible? Did it happen when the USSR fell and the Cold War ended, when the end of history was proclaimed? Evidently not, we accepted the breakup of Yugoslavia as legitimate. Do we accept the new millennium as the cut off? No because we accepted the secession of South Sudan and Montenegro. Do we say the world should be frozen after that? Well what happens to the secessionist movements in East Turkestan, Catalonia, RS, Kurdistan, the Rakhine State, West Papua, etc? They all have widespread support and can be justified in one way or another. I highly doubt Britain or the US, for example, would complain if East Turkestan seceded from China because it supports the general geopolitical goals of the global west, namely weakening its main economic and ideological opponent, China. They would certainly oppose the secession of RS as they are fairly invested in Bosnia’s survival. China or Russia would probably have the opposite reactions, and many countries might say both regions have equal right to self determination and that both can legitimately secede. Most importantly, a lot of secessions, whether we think they should happen or not, can happen, and someone proclaiming that states are now indivisible doesn’t make it so. Bosnia can and very well may break. Many support it, many oppose it, the breakup, if it happened, would certainly lead to atrocities, but it CAN happen and both sides have moral arguments for or against balkanization that are justifiable. So saying Bosnia is indivisible and that people must accept that is a fantasy. Bosnia is divisible, just like any country, just like as much as Serbs claim Kosovo can never be separate from Serbia, it evidently CAN, the question is only whether it should, and in both situations there are legitimate arguments for both sides. I certainly have opinions on various separatist movements, but I am not deluded enough to think that history is over and that the countries that exist today will exist till the end of the world. I imagine the world map will be as strange in a hundred years to us as our world map would be to someone from the interwar era, and beyond that the world can and will be totally unrecognizable. So yeah, there is no question as to whether Bosnia is divisible, it definitely is. The question is merely whether it should be divided, and you are clearly of the opinion that it should not, which is fine, you just should not state that desire to see Bosnia survive in one piece as if it were an irrefutable law of the universe.

[@allianceofunitedcommunitie5541]

There is very contradictory theory: 1. Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire dissolution after ww1, is self determine and justice. But Sudeten people has no right of self determine ??? But Hawaii and Texas have no right of self determine ??? But Native Americans have no right of self determine ??? But British and French Colonies have no right of self determine (Colonies independence is after ww2, not ww1) ??? 2. USSR and Yugoslavia can dissolve, because of inalienable right of self determine. But Ukraine and Serbia can immediately deny the inalienable right of self determine of its victims (Donbass, Kosovo). 3. West support Kosovo, but against Donbass; Russia support Donbass, but against Kosovo; Serbia against Kosovo, but Serbia support Srpsk Republic; Kosovo support itself, but deny Donbass ??? 4. South Sudan and Bangladesh can be independent, but others can't ???? !!!!! 5. French colonizers dream of the indivisible France with Algeria, British Empire dream of indivisible 13 colonies. They all become to history. There is no indivisible sovereignty state, because every sovereignty state is based on defeating previous sovereignty states.

[@bobmcbob9856]

@@allianceofunitedcommunitie5541 I'm not 100% sure I understand what you mean, but if my understanding is correct, I think you and I agree that the principles of self determination and of national indivisibility are often applied not based on a consistent set of moral values but based on what is geopolitically useful to the country in question.

[@allianceofunitedcommunitie5541]

@@bobmcbob9856 Yes. 1. Self determine is moral and justice and correct; national indivisibility is dog bit dog. Because UN charters and international law are passed by nations (slave master), how could possible for them to allow self determine (liberated slaves) ??? 2. When countries do anything, it is always their interests and benefits (geopolitics, money, oil, against competitor), it is never based on justice and moral !!!

[@charleshimes1634]

THE COMMENTS HERE BY Bob McBob and Alliance of United Communities of Advanced are the "gold standard" of all comments on this page. The sentence above, (If I've placed my comment here correctly) is the "bottom line" which sums it all up nicely..."WHEN COUNTRIES DO ANYTHING, IT IS ALWAYS THEIR INTERESTS AND BENEFITS (geopolitics, money, oil, against competitor), IT IS NEVER BASED ON JUSTICE AND MORAL (values). I congratulate you both on your insights. (By the way, I am in favor of RS re-uniting with Serbia and parts of Ukraine re-uniting with Russia. "Bosnia", I believe is not going to have any longevity.

[@izetkukic2316]

rs is simply a piece of Hercegovina , krajina and vrhbosna . thats it . an administrative region made of parts of diferwnt regions

[@VladTevez]

In Cyprus, many are showing Bosnia to demonstrate what would happened if the Annan Plan was voted in favor. P.S. In your previous video comment section, there was a bot with your profile photo

[@slod.3712]

Prof Lindsay, sending compliments your way for this recent clip. Rarely seen in mainstream media an overview that is comprehensive, nuanced and focusing on the entire picture of Balkan conflicts. Depersonalizing the issues and focusing on the detremental nationalistic politics is at the heart of the problem for change to better the lives of the people there.

[@mmajst0r]

When you come to the last point why republics in Yugoslavia (as well as Kosovo in Serbia) didn't follow the same concept - to stop questioning their secession from yugoslavia/serbia? Is this double standards then?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. It is important to note that the Yugoslav Constitution actually permitted the concept of secession. The problem was that it was not clear whether that right belonged to the Republics or the Nations. Serbia felt that it belonged to the Nations, and so all Serbs should ben able to live in a single state. The others felt that it belonged to the Republics. The matter was looked at by the Badinter Commission. It took a fairly clear line that Yugoslavia was disintegrating and that the borders of the new states should be the republic boundaries. This was actually a fairly uncontroversial position. The same thinking applied to the USSR, where only the top level soviet republics became independent with their borders. It also applies elsewhere. (It is something called uti possidetis in international law.) As regards, Bosnia the standard position is that substage units don't have a right to secede without the permission of the parent state. In this sense, the Yugoslav republics had a right to secede under the constitution. (Although his it exercised that right was open to question.) RS does not. This is a pretty standard understanding to anyone who looks at these issues. I full agree Kosovo represents a problem in all this. But I'm not the person to challenge about this. I have argued as much. www.delfi.rs/knjige/47027_kosovo_-_put_ka_osporenoj_drzavnosti_knjiga_delfi_knjizare.html The problem is that Serbs now judge every situation in the world against Kosovo and can't understand things. But it is actually very simple if you reverse it. Don't see everything as odd compared to Kosovo. Just understand that Kosovo was a stark exception to everything else!

[@bingbong3084]

@@JamesKerLindsay well if one stark exception was allowed , then why shouldnt another one ,i see no other way out of growing resentment. If you allow Croats to ethnically "clean" up the country of Serbs , if you allow Albanians to clean Kosovo of Serbs , and then recognize both as legitimate states , then why should RS where Serbs did the ethnic cleansing suddenly be under obligation to never declare Independence as to not reward ethnic cleansing , since it was already rewarded two times on Balkans , both in case of Croatia (Krajina) and Kosovo ?

[@mmajst0r]

@@JamesKerLindsay Thank you for your answer. I can't find whether you covered this topic, but if not It could be a good idea for your future video: - Legality of secession of former YU republics in relation to the Yugoslavian constitution, regardless what all sides 'feel'. I couldn't find the fact you mentioned that secession was alowed by it. It is just mention that federation is voluntary union of nations and not republics, but also the fact that boundaries of federation can not be changed if there is no permission of all republics. - Criteria on which Badinter commission made their desission. It is interesting - do you know that basis for their decission was not Yugoslavian constitution itself, but the right for independence of colonies I think in South America?? Is this comparable and justified in any way ? - Consequences of secession in exYu on the latter events in Bosnia and Kosovo, as well as on the whole world. And thank you for the book and keep up good work.

[@user-uf7mi4lt5y]

@@JamesKerLindsay The Yugoslav federation consisted of six republics and one of them (Serbia) had two autonomous provinces. It was a constitutional state, however, each of republics (with arbitrary borders made by Communists illegally without any historic or any other evidence) had their own constitutions. The constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time, did permit secession, however, with permission of all three constitutional ethnicities (Croats, Muslims and Serbs). Serbs were, obviously, against the secession since that was not in their interest. Since their will was ignored the war started.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Again, I’m not the person to argue with about this.

[@pasoska_kontrola]

As a Bosnian Bosniak, I have to say that this video is spot-on. You presented the issues as realistically as possible, and were quite objective. You weren’t like other KZbinrs who basically say “Guys, Bosnia is 95% going to break up”. I will definetely subscribe to you :)

[@gloopdogg4861]

Your people brake up Yugoslavia,want country just for "Bosniaks" and that mean just for muslims,im i wrong...Others got same rights or thay dont got rights like you who dont even right full name of a country where you live...

[@pasoska_kontrola]

@@gloopdogg4861 ordinary people don’t want to break up the country. It is the nationalists who want to “Create a homogenous [insert ethnicity] state/seceede]”

[@gloopdogg4861]

@@pasoska_kontrola That aint truth man,ordinary people want independence and "clean" country without Serbs,stop lie and tell the truth,Croats and Bosniaks start to kill Serbs just like in WW2...How Serbs didnt war with Slovenia or Macedonia,thaý want independece but didnt kill Serbs ...First wictims in Bosnia and Croatia is the same wictims from WW2,Serbs...Croatian and Bosniak ordinary people was happy when Nato bomb Serbia,thay support Albanians on Kosovo to take Serbian teritory,but where is that "ordinary" people to say something about Serbs in Albania who dont got rights for Serbian names and last names,how i know all Croats and Muslims who live before war in Serbia still live,can you say same about Serbs in Croatia,Bosniak part of Bosnia and Kosovo...

[@pasoska_kontrola]

@@gloopdogg4861 Ah, so Bosniaks are the ones to blame for everything that happened in Bosnia? Please just shut up and read actual historical texts. Also, fyi, Serbia *did* have a war with Slovenia. Also, you’re portraying it as if every person is just going around looking for Serbs to kill

[@minyme]

Yes you'd say you come from Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 full name of the Republic.

[@arondrecikaj2002]

Finally a true report and true skills about media.U have my subb mate.U really hit the center and I am serb itself.

[@thetirelesscrusader4745]

a very fair and honest analysis of a very deeply divided and complex situation.

[@denissssss8579]

Thanks 🙏 from Bosnia 🇧🇦

[@dekik.979]

I know we Bosnians and Hertzeg have our shortcomings but, if you see 2 brothers or neighbours fight be sure there is a British very close watching. Divide to conqer. (meaning others participated in this creation too). Good journalism btw 👍

[@freshname]

He's not a journalism. He's a political scientist specialised in ethnic conflict, secession, recognition and peace process, mainly the study of Cyprus peace process.

[@sergejol3494]

I hope you injoyed your time in RS in Bosnia, glad you came to mine town in Teslić, which has the most beautiful Spa in country, we have stunning mountain range Borja, also before the monastery Liplje you have switch to left where you can find the best cooked fish in country, maybe wider, you are welcomed to come again into our beautiful municipality 😁👍

[@kw2142]

Wow, so weird to see him not at his desk lol It's like when u see football player in their normal clotheswear for the first time lol Great video

[@domc1364]

thanks for this video, very informative and impartial as always. pozdrav/greetings from prijedor and i hope you enjoyed RS!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much! I had a wonderful time. It was my first time back after a few years and so it was lovely to be there. And the weather was great, which made it all the nicer. Hvala puno i pozdrav iz Londona. :-)

[@truthseeker8273]

We do live in a beautiful country, however from year to year we feel more anxious. Many thought that the war in Ukraine will be a catalyst for a new conflict in Bosnia. Nice to see you doing another take on my country, James. Thank you for your work.

[@charleskristiansson1296]

And NATO is the answer to everything? I doubt it.

[@lincolnlog5977]

Great video!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you very much. It was really lovely to be back in Bosnia. It had been a few years. But I am very fond of it. And after everything that has happened in the world, it was wonderful to be out and about in such beautiful scenery! It really is a stunning country.

[@DavidMFChapman]

Thinking about this made my head hurt then, and it makes my head hurt now. How did the boundary of BH get drawn that way in the first place? Thanks for trying to explain it, though. Perhaps it will take generational change to solve?

[@balkandebunking8030]

Bosnia was a district in the Ottoman Empire and its border were drawn as such at the time. They were then annexed by A-H to the resentment of its population and to neighbouring Serbia. In the 1st Yugoslavia after ww2, the internal borders were all changed, but after ww2, Tito brought the old borders back. In the Yugoslav wars, Bosnia declared independence, despite the central government having control of less than 40% of its territory. That’s a brief explanation

[@balkandebunking8030]

@@Enes-zc9oz yeah and the Bosnia king King tvrtko said he was “the king of Bosnia and Serbs”. Meaning Bosnia as the area and Serbs as the people

[@CreepyMacone]

Because we are not anglos and draw out maps on ethnical basis

[@yellowwasprakija2869]

It should be split along Macek-Cvetkovic lines

[@balkandebunking8030]

@@yellowwasprakija2869 that will never work. What’s your plan for the 2 million Bosniaks?

[@balkandebunking8030]

Those who want the Independence of Republika Srpska are not thinking logically, and neither are those who just want to abolish it. In my opinion the best solution is for Bosnia to look at something similar to the UK model: 1 president and a parliament with seats based on municipalities in the entire country, but also Republika Srpska having its own parliament and autonomy, like Scotland. Great analysis James👍

[@M-SRB]

That would not be possible. The fact is that not a single ethnic group other than the bosniak muslims want this state to exist. Give them their own part and let it die as another failed project.

[@hungjury7482]

I don't think having Srpska as part of Bosnia will ever make Bosnia a functional state. It has no way to actually unify it's people or infrastructure and Serbs will always look towards Serbia in such cases

[@aleksaradojicic8114]

@@hungjury7482 With or without Srpska, Serbs will always look towards Serbia in same way Croats will look to Croatia.

[@filippetrovic4891]

The main problem is that politicians are projecting there incompetency on Dayton agreement, which made pretty solid ground for stabilizing Bosnia. "We are shit at governing country and are corrupt as fuck therefor leaving Bosnia / unitarizing Bosnia" is the solution to all our problems. It's obvious propaganda to anyone who knows how countries and states work. Would anyone say Belgium doesn't work since it's federalised into Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region? I don't think so.

[@hungjury7482]

​@@aleksaradojicic8114 yeah, but there is no reason for it to be part of a separate country, all it does it create additional conflict and simmer tensions with a disfunctional halved state like Cyprus, Lebanon, etc.

[@snokehusk223]

There is only one answer that could fix this situation. A confederation of 3 national entities. Every entity would basically function like it's own state with parliament and president and there could be a president on the country level but only have symbolic position and he would rotate between each nationality.

[@DzIVDzAN]

if you put confederation Bosniaks as major lost lever of majority power and that is what cause war. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

[@snokehusk223]

@@DzIVDzAN what? there won't be war because if they try they will pay dearly, it won't be beneficial in any way, on one side 4 milion Croatians and on other 8 milion Serbs and there is only 2 milion of Muslims

[@DzIVDzAN]

@@snokehusk223 Serbs and Croats are 45% population of BiH and it is 45% of votes at the best, Bosniaks has 51% of population. In confederate BiH you took that lever of majority decision from Bosniaks and that is reason for war, and that had been reason for war in first place.

[@snokehusk223]

@@DzIVDzAN Bosniaks don't have any more rights just because they are a majority. It is a country of 3 constituent nationalities. So they are equal. There will never be a Muslim state so it is best that every nationality has their own entity to rule. Thus prosperity will come to all.

[@billybilal7331]

The division into 3 confederal units would possible only if it was just. Unjust division based on pure force and fait accompli will never be accepted by Muslims Muslims are 53% of Bosnian population If they were offered at least 50% of Bosnian territory they would consider idea of confederation seriously. . However Serbs and Croats insist on keeping the land they occupied and ethnicly cleansed by force during the war Muslims at the moment control only 32% of country and there is no way they would accept confederation on these terms and will therefore insist on unification of the country. Croats who are realy not more than 11% of population are trying to hold to 19% of land they occupied during the war and Serbs who are 32% of population of BH still control 49% of land. Western powers created the unjust peace plan with most compicated federal sistem in world where in reality Muslims were pushed into two enclaves while in the rest of country they were ethnicly cleansed. However even that concessions are not enough for Serbs and Croats becose they feel that they can get even more as they are supported by Serbia and Croatia, Rusia and some right wing anty-Muslim circles in Europe That creates huge resentment among Bosnian Muslims population which, is much more motivated for fight. Children of those inocent people who were exterminated in Srebrenica, Zvornik Prijedor etc. are now in age were they can hold the gun. They can see how much their parents suffered at the hands of Serbs and Croats and how much they are now discriminated in a country in which they are majority. Injustice always creates conflict.

[@DWEthiopia]

Could you do another video on Ethiopia?

[@Canbrdkci]

Thank you for the magnificent video Mr. Lindsay, your analysis is excellent and you really pinpointed the possible ways of the solution. I appreciate your effort to present the video from the first place as well.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. Obviously, it is a very difficult situation. But I do believe that solutions can be found, especially if the sides accept some fundamental ground rules. And it was really good to be back in Bosnia again after a few years.

[@GS-by7ci]

I can't overstate how much I appreciate your videos. The indepth research, time and work you must put into these deeply nuanced subjects and places.. and your ability to convey and create understanding of them in such concise, short and information packed ways is a Godsend that contrasts so widely from the biased/one-sided stories and propaganda meant to emotionally push beliefs in narratives and manufacture concensus used by 95% of news/social political geography of our world around us, here in America Thank you!

[@bojanbabovic111]

To Anglo Americans: kick in *** from Balkan (Serbia all the way to Split, rest shore lines will be Italian).

[@freshname]

@@bojanbabovic111 Hi there! I'm Russian, I live in Moscow and I must say that what you are saying is insanely megalomaniac. Nobody can ever subjugate no-one. Nobody can fully and finally defeat their rivals. It impossible. The only thing such subjection attempts lead to is poverty and devastation.

[@bojanbabovic111]

@@freshname First, i couldn't care less that you're from Russia, Moscow. You're starting your argument with that from what reason???? Who is talking about subjugation? Historical Serbia and Serbs as the only historical ethnicity in the Balkans, have historical right, recognised by international law if anyone has ever taken that into account truly, found easily in documents, on following territories in: Romania, Hungary, entire Bosnia and majority of what's known as Croatia. Northern Albania and Macedonia as well. Western Bulgaria, entire Shopluk territory. Crna Gora has right to be another independent serbian nation and that's it. Everything today, borders, politics, etc... are results of 20th century IDEOLOGIES. ALL OF THEM combined. Used by every conquering Empire, presently by Pax Americana

[@freshname]

@@bojanbabovic111 I did start the argument by this statement to underline the fact that I am not American or Anglo or whoever else. And to your point. History doesn't matter. Evoking history means that we all, Slavic people, should more from where we are (I'm from Russia, you from wherever on the Balkans your are) and get back to our historic oecumene which is Baltic shore of Germany. The only thing that matters is human lives, the sanctity of human lives. Humans live where they live nowadays. They don't live in history books. They live in reality. You can't just say "This land was conquered by some random medieval-Serbian-speaking military leader in XIV century so move away from Thessaloniki, you Greeks". People tend to fight back. And when fighting back they tend to kill. It's impossible to win a war like it's impossible to win an earthquake. And it never amends for nothing. And remember just one more thing. Trading between each other is much more beneficial for modern counties then waging a war between each other. As political economy teaches us, a desire to "restore greatness" through a conflict is one of the most reliable predictors of economic stagnation for the decades to come. I hope the country you live in abandons the dreams of its supposed past greatness as soon as possible and starts working to make it prosperous. Might God help you with this.

[@bojanbabovic111]

@@freshname I am SERB, before word Slav ever existed. I am dinaric, genetics older than entire Europe. I will not read any of this nonsense.

[@zuborest]

Thanks for this brief lesson. Being a Ukrainian I’m not studying Yugoslav conflicts in order to project out situation better.

[@mauricioprimus2610]

Greetings from a Serbian from Bosnia! Both wars in Bosnia and in Ukraine are truly tragic. Brother vs brother, neighbour vs neighbour. However we pray for peace to come as soon as possible. Take care!

[@kristijannedic3635]

Well said and done!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you very much Kristijan. I know that a lot of nationalist Serbs and Bosniaks didn’t like the message, which hopefully confirms why it is the best approach.

[@kw2142]

hey i'm a fellow subscribers & love your stuff & been subscribed with you for a year now or so. Just wanted to give u some constructive criticism. I think at times, the camera is bit too close to your face, and just need to zoom out a tad as your face can dominate the screen lol. Just my opinion of coz! Keep up the good work! You manage to simplify complicate topics so succinctly

[@bobmcbob9856]

The problem with Bosnia is that it fundamentally inherited the same struggles Yugoslavia had, just switching up the ethnic dynamic. The problem can be defined basically as core-periphery tension. The “core” being the largest ethnic group which holds the capital, in Yugoslavia that was the Serbs, in Bosnia it is the Bosniaks, and the periphery being the other ethnic groups that make up huge portions of the population generally fear domination by the core group (in Bosnia’s case Serbs and Croats, in Yugoslavia’s case Bosniaks, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Albanians). The core will always push for unitary government and centralization as those provide a number of economic benefits to the country at large and give the core group the privileges it believes it deserves as both the largest group and the group that fought and bled the most for the country’s creation. The Bosniaks today behave much as the Serbs in both iterations of Yugoslavia did. The peripheral groups will always seek autonomy and decentralization as they seek to avoid domination by the core group which they often have some kind of historical tensions with. The peripheral groups tend to be reluctant members of the union who are not really invested in its continued existence. They may either be willing members who have since become disillusioned because of what they see as domination by the core (the Croats in both Yugoslavia and Bosnia fill this role) or completely unwilling members in the union who didn’t really have a choice and have wanted to be part of a different country from the beginning (Yugoslav Albanians and Bosnian Serbs are good examples of this, the Macedonians in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia are also a decent analogue). Of course there are differences, most notably that Bosnian Serbs are in the unique position of going from part of the core group in Yugoslavia to a peripheral group in Bosnia, which only makes the desire to leave even stronger. Now I’m not saying the core or the periphery is right in either state, I’m just pointing out the division. If Yugoslavia couldn’t work and its breakup was a good thing, then the breakup of Bosnia is also ultimately a good thing, though much like the breakup of Yugoslavia it can only be achieved through undeniably horrible bloodshed. Of Bosnia can manage to stay together, than a larger union like Yugoslavia is (and was) just as feasible if it follows/had followed whatever model Bosnia uses to survive. Now I have some pan Slavic leanings myself so a successful Bosnia as an example to build a new and improved more equal Yugoslavia from is an appealing idea, but I also don’t think such a thing is to be expected and is more akin to having a pet dragon than any realistic good idea. One thing of note that have yet to mention in the half of the video I’ve seen so far is the high representative. The HR is a foreigner appointed by a council of mainly western nations to oversee the implementation of the Dayton Accords. He essentially has the power to depose public officials, ban them from ever holding office again, and pass laws without the approval of Bosnia’s own legislative branch. And he is, again, a foreigner, a German, whose only real oversight is the US & EU. The existence of the HR has been criticized by all 3 ethnic groups and the council of Europe and generally, giving a foreigner near absolute power in Bosnia is seen as a horrible mess at best and an EU equivalent to a Resident in a British colonial protectorate at worst. There are many calling for the office to be abolished or to be occupied by a local. The HR is behind a lot of the reductions in Republika Srpska’s autonomy, which inspires a lot of anger among the Serbs. Not only are they losing autonomy, it is not even happening through the internal processes of Bosnia’s government but being imposed on them by a foreigner, a German no less (after fighting in 2 world wars to avoid political domination by German states, this is symbolically a big deal, and of course add onto that the more general anti western and anti NATO sentiment remaining from the wars in the 90s). That’s not to say there would not be cries of “Bosniak domination” and infringement on Serb rights if this was done by a local government, but the wounds would certainly sting less, and you can see this by how often Bosnian Serb politicians denounce the HR as illegitimate and his rulings as illegal.

[@pvtmcfinger3770]

The thing is that Yugoslavia was a federal state and federal states are supposed to be equal, which is why other people opposed Serbs rightfully. Take a look at United States, there are bigger and larger states, but they're all equally represented in the Senate and are united by the federal government. Bosnia is not a federal state. Sure it does have some elements of a federal state, but being internationally recognized in the war, the Dayton Bosnia is a successor of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is supposed to be a short-term state that will unite people who fought against each other until they overcome their differences and create their own constitution. This is of course idealistic even for today, especially for today when nationalism is on the rise again and this is exactly why the High Representative and the intervention of international community is needed. Additionally, not only that the agreement cannot be reached, but "peripheral" ethnic groups as you call them are doing their best to make the country dysfunctional which is an additional argument for HR. Also, it is a bit hypocritical to mention current HR and him being a German and connecting it way back to world wars. That is exactly the nonsense Serbs mention which gives me an inclination you're a Serb. First of all, past has nothing to do with it. Second of all, chetnik forces have collaborated with the Nazis if you want to talk about history. And third of all, previous HR's weren't German, it has nothing to do with ethnicity. One last misconception is that HR has no idea what is going on in the country, but he does. He's living in Bosnia and watching every political move that is made. Some don't like him because he's on their schemes. And don't tell me he's unwanted by all three people because Dayton was signed by leaders of those people and Dayton included HR's office.

[@milebobic3458]

@@pvtmcfinger3770 Yugoslavia was a federal state drawn up by a group of communist leaders in a closed room. There could have been a federal Herzegovina, a federal Dalmatia, a federal Vojvodina, a federal Slavonia as well. Or all these federal states could have had tottaly different borders. Borders are constructs of political moments in history not some heavenly bestowed truths or cosmic axioms. I don't see you saying state borders can't be changed in the case of Kosovo.

[@pvtmcfinger3770]

@@milebobic3458 no matter what federal states were made, there would be no chance for one state to have superiority, which Serbs wanted in order to create the greater Serbia. As for borders in general, I don't see how it's relevant to all this. Bosnia is not a federal state.

[@milebobic3458]

@@pvtmcfinger3770 It will never be a republic in these borders. Only if the Bosniaks accept the secession.

[@pvtmcfinger3770]

@@milebobic3458 and Bosniaks will never accept the secession. That's why we need international community and HR's office to enforce the rules.

[@skogstjuven2098]

There will be no more Turkish pita made from Posavina's golden wheat.

[@Dubbudha]

The current state construction with its focus on nationalities seems to be doomed to fail. As you mentioned the term "canton", why did they not copied the constitution of Switzerland? I think that would have led to a much better outcome and more stability.

[@bilic8094]

You simply can't compare the peoples Bosnia has a violent past going back through history.

[@Dubbudha]

@@bilic8094 Switzerland had a violent past too. For a long time the german speaking part ruled over the french and italian speaking. From a religious point of view there were catholics and protestant. There was even a civil between the rather conservative catholics and rather liberal protestants. Nowadays religion isn't a big thing but until maybe 100 years ago that still was an important question and intermarriage was not very common. I think with the swiss system the country would gain a lot of stability as it makes it difficult for fanatics on all sides to gain too much power in the government.

[@Dubbudha]

@@bilic8094 Yeah, the main problem seems to be that serbians and croats see themselves not as citizens of their country first. They see themselves as serbs and croats first and than as citizens of 🇧🇦. I've never met a german, french or italian speaking swiss who see himself as a german, french or italian.

[@Untrus]

OMG I watched this video before but I did not realize that is My City Teslic I’m from a small village right at the outskirts called Irice

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Really!? I know Teslić well. I’ve been many times. :-)

[@Untrus]

@@JamesKerLindsayYes our mayor Milan Miličević was just elected as the new president of SDS the second biggest Bosnian serb political party let’s hope he brings some major needed change to the region he is a great Mayor

[@aleksakrivosija8248]

Great video as always, James, showing the true complexity of the situation, rather than slapping on a useless 'simple' solution! One thing I'd like to know is your opinion on the recent summit of the Open Balkans initiative - what do you think about Abazović hinting at the possible inclusion of Montenegro in it? Do you think it's a viable solution for building cooperation and trust between the countries in the Western Balkans? The prominence of cooperation between Belgrade and Tirana has me thinking that Rama and Vučić might be trying to create a factual Greater Albania and Greater Serbia in the region, by forming an 'unholy alliance' between the two. In that case the more "problematic" entities in the region (Kosovo and RS) would have a lessened role, and would therefore be much less likely to cause instability. What are your thoughts on that?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks Aleksa. The Open Balkans initiative is really interesting. I am actually a great supporter. But I have been seeing some criticism from certain quarters calling it is all a Russian conspiracy and a plot by Serbia to control the region. (Interestingly, the voices seem to be from those who are most openly anti-Serbian.) This is of course rubbish. This is a very positive development that is encouraging the countries of the region to build contacts and cooperation in the absence of EU membership. It has been openly endorsed by the EU and the US. I certainly think it should be applauded.

[@aleksakrivosija8248]

@@JamesKerLindsay Certainly, the main voices against the Open Balkans were, as expected, from Priština and Sarajevo. A usual take on the "Serb man bad" shtick.

[@edinjelacic2132]

After a long-winded and catastrophic experience that was the SFRY (SFRJ) for Bosnian Muslims, it's difficult if not outright impossible for something like this to be implemented. It's not even being discussed here, but rather it is outright rejected, with the idea being paramount to SFRJ 2.

[@ste2442]

Was in Banja Luka in 98 , used to take our warriors (armoured personnel carriers) on road runs there from gornji vakuf. Wouldn’t mind going back one day for a look around as it’s a really nice country (as are most of the Balkans ).

[@zlatnikoncinitnezore]

BiH changed a lot since 1998. That were post-war years and it was devasted very much. Now its pretty modernised. Not too much, but towns and cities now looks like regular european cities, unlike in that post-war, and post-socialist period.

[@tassosplatis2143]

Another great video James. My personal opinion is that there won't be a war or conflict during these times. There is no appetite. The 90s war is still fresh, and to be honest there is an emigration problem (not only BiH, but all former Yugo states). If there is a war, who will fight it? Sure lots of sable rattling from the politicians. They are the leftovers of the 90s - aftershocks if you will from a large and devastating earthquake. Bosnia may become a failed state, but to take up arms to start fighting again, is a stretch too far. Posturing for negotiation tactics seem to be the course of the day.

[@bilic8094]

I wouldn't count on it many analysits are expecting an attack on northern kosovo in Sept/Oct and one on Republika Srpska in the spring.

[@tassosplatis2143]

@@bilic8094 Kosovo is a different story. Unfinished business. If Albania tries to take it over, Serbia is left with no choice but to intervene

[@NV-di8bf]

Great analysis! Can you please analize to us situation with bosnian Croats, and their claims for lost constitutivity.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I certainly hope to take a look at this issue as well. It is really important.

[@-zorkaz-5493]

A truly fantastic video looking at the real complexities of such a situation, even amongst the views of the people. Hoping to visit this summer too. But what of the effects of rising Serb nationalism amidst the conflict in Ukraine? Would the prospect of Russian backing encourage SR to take a more confident stance?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. Great question. I think there may be an element of Russian encouragement, but the current situation makes Moscow less able than ever to help RS if it did try to break away. An attempted secession would also be a disaster for Serbia, which actually wants to balance between Russia and the West. Supporting an attempt to break away would undermine Serbia’s already bad reputation as the only European country that hasn’t signed up to sanctions. Ut would be left completely isolated and probably face sanctions and other severe repercussions.

[@draganlj7782]

How come Republik of Srpska cant have a referendum about its future cause Bosnia territorial integrity is above everything else while on the other hand Albanians on Kosovo can? How can EU and us have two different oinions on two basicly the same things, regardless the Kosovo and Metohija is universal thing cause we can se in Ukraine now that its not. Its a matter of pure power. How come Serbs in Republik of Srpska cant have their independdece day but westerners want them to use the muslim day which comes on a day muslim sniper shot and killed Serrbs in a Sarajevo city center while the wedding celebration was going on? How come parade of Serbian police in Banja Luka ob january 6. is nationalism blooming but videos of muslim with that bands around their head with arabian letters on it isnt? Thats just kids playing, right? How come muslims can build their power plant on their rivers without asking anybody but when Serbs want to build something, powerplant, airport or whatever they need muslims aproval. Ofc the answer is always negative. How can muslim representative talk in UN or aproving sanctions on Russia when for such things country needs aproval of all three representatives? Ofc with the western help. Why is nobody talking about neccesity for high representative to be elected iand aproved by Security council of UN and they havent been for decades. And even the latest one doesnt have it but it still doesnt makes no problem for him to act like regular one

[@draganlj7782]

Has any of you westerners ever wondered what happened to 150.000 Serbs which lived in pre war Sarajevi, out of some 350-400k inhabitants? Or we are allowed to talk only about muslim losses and Serbian nationalism. Oh and Russians backing that nationalism ofc BS. In a country completly run by west and nato eventhough it is not part of the same alliance, constant talking about russians and serbs nationalism? My Good

[@-zorkaz-5493]

@@draganlj7782 Oh I'm perfectly aware of extremism in both parties, in Macedonia you get to see ridiculousness such as a village with three old houses with a brand new mosque due to Saudi and Turkish funding. Which is fine with the West because in my eyes the West's interest in the region has always been to support such movements (the irony being that even Albania does not want a greater Albania) so as to weaken any remnants of anything that has the potential of being anti-Western or pro-Russian. Serb nationalism exists but is targeted above other movements because of its potential to (big maybe) some day lead to Serbia's non-alignment to the West, especially now they've been revoked from EU candidates. Same with Kosovo after Yugoslavia, of course Serb nationalism existed even then but thousands of Serbs (some of whom we know) lost their homes from one day to the next because somebody moved into them and said "you can have your stuff but we're keeping the house" - the UN's excuse to move in was a perfect scam, a shootout between militia and the Serbs that they dressed up to look like a massacre approved by the OSCE (we knew somebody involved who got too drunk at a bar). The reason I bought up Serbian nationalism in this context today was that indeed the situation with Russia could have affected that party, but that isn't to say there are no other parties involved. In geopolitics I consider the West to be a side like any other, just with greater pull and resources to get approval from the UN, but no international institutional is foolproof or uncorruptible, I agree. Of course any resident of the Balkans who saw the bombing of Serbia knows this.

[@draganlj7782]

Serbian non aligment with the west? Ofc you count on that to happened. Two days ago we had a german cancelar visiting us. And he came here and dictated his precious thoughts. Serbia must recognise Kosovo and Metohija independece (fool doesnt even know that it is just one more war on waiting list just the right chance comes along). Serbia must impose sanctions on Russia, so we can lose one protector in international affaires that keeps us safe from our western "friends", and we must gave up Republik of Srpska. Or should i say it can still exist in some kind of building afministration but all the important stuff will be run by Sarajevo. Just as long as anybody still wonder why are we siding with Russia. And all of that for a gray chance that we will domehow, someday be a part of that eu. Proccess of joining it is taken so long that from some 80,90% of people for it is currently at some 30% of people which are for joining eu. And if the question is should we recognised Kosovo and Metohija for joining eu result is some 85% of people are against it. So neither eu sees us as a member neither do we any more

[@Teapoid]

Hey James, I had already made this comment on your community post and wanted your opinion on my assessment; If Republika Srpska is abolished as a whole or is reduced it will mean the Serb conspiracists and ultranationalists are proved right in a justification to restart the insurrection. As domino effects tend to go; There's going to be no better way to unite the Serbian nation than to give us something to be afraid of, so if the US naturally were to back a weakening of Bosnian Serb rights and autonomy you could expect the backlash to perhaps go as far as tensions in Montenegro restarting & the Montenegrin people forcing the government to withdraw from NATO ASAP. If this were to occur I could also see Bosnian & Kosovo Serbs smuggling weapons in the same way they tried in the late 2000's for self defense when they were still legitimately afraid of being ethnically cleansed. Only this time they will be used in perhaps a new insurgency or at the very least used to destabilize the nation they've found themselves tied as part of. The current Bosnian system is undeniably terrible and unsustainable, it needs to be reformed. One of my suggestions in making administration easier is to make Bosnia more of an actual federation than 2 lumps forced together competing for power. What this means is maybe making Republika Srpska 2 entities for north and south, and allow the regions to do minor border adjustments to better match ethnic makeup and physical terrain. IMO a Croat entity is long overdue in its creation, aswell as border adjustments of the cantons. Even then though I know the government restructuring is more important than any domestic borders to the success of Bosnia it still should be considered. Sadly I don't see Bosnia succeeding in restructuring its government because the first thing the 2 entities will do is ignore what actually needs to be done and try to grab as much power as possible, I'm not sure Bosnia can be restructured without provoking conspiracists and ultranationalist tensions. Dayton is the only thing holding together Bosnia and Dayton is a system that will destroy Bosnia. There’s no good solution here.

[@M-SRB]

Why do you think that in an event of someone questioning the existance of Srpska that the serbs in Bosnia and serbs in Serbia would not react with arms? The army of Bosnia is a weak mix that will not defend the country together. They could declare independance in a second and then they would probably either face sanctions or defend themselves from Sarajevo.

[@Teapoid]

@@M-SRB I’m saying that they will, which is why it’s stupid to even consider a full abolition of the Serbian republic

[@filippetrovic4891]

The sole entrence of Montenegro into NATO is against majority of Montenegrin population, so that problem was created long ago. There wasn't even a referendum on the topic. The thing is Đukanović and other serbophobes didn't care a bit since they thought Serbian factor (which is really prominent) can be silenced and overvoted as long as he wants to, but he know acknowledges he made a big mistake.

[@Intreductor]

Should it come to war, no one will fight it. 3.4 million population figure is an illusion because people leave the country in droves. No one will fight for a deranged and failed state. Not to mention if by some miracle some conflict would happen, EUFOR is there in force, Austrians having sent hundrets of additional troops and Germany also planning to send more.

[@AmarEcd1233]

@@M-SRB Bosnian Army is definitely stronger than some angry serbs with weapons, if you were talking abt the Serbian Army then sure but Republika Srpska just barely has any means to defend itself.

[@SirCampalot1]

Well done, Prof. Ker-Lindsay. My wife is from Banja Luka and we spend a lot of time in a village just to the north of it where we have a vikendice (little weekend house). I agree entirely with your assessment but would like to add that part of the blame is that the Dayton agreement was a stopgap measure meant to end a war and not as a constitution meant to rule a country. Predictably, once the fighting stopped, America and, more to the point, Europe walked away and no longer tried to get the sides to evolve the agreement into a working constitution in which all three sides were required to integrate all government institutions. The entities now work as de facto separate nations. The Federacija is as corrupt as it is divided and Dodik operates the RS as a personal fiefdom to rule and exploit as he wishes. I am of the opinion that Bosia has been neglected by the international community to the point where it is beyond saving. However tragic, stability may actually be found in letting the country be absorbed by the ethnic states around it and creating a smaller Bosniak state around Sarajevo. This is a terrible solution and an outright defeat of the ideals that lead to democracy. But it is preferable to a new war or even the status quo: endless instability that prevents economic growth, ever increasing poverty and a brain drain that sends the countries most capable young people abroad in search of greener pastures. Only one thing is certain: it can't go on like this.

[@hasibhakanovic6682]

Which would set a precedent for every nationalist movement in every country in the former Yugoslavia. This 'genius' prescription would immediately entail war, because Bosniaks will not accept ghettoization, and prior to the war inhabited nineteen twentieths of the today's habitable Bosnia-Herzegovina, and have rockets that can reach Belgrade and Zagreb. Bosniaks are a majority in the Neretva & Vrbas valleys Croatia wants to claim as its territory. If Bosniaks are ghettoized, they will be exterminated, that means there are only Serbs and Croats to fight, which will only change the nature of the conflicts. BIH is in every other country's interest other than Serbia's and Croatia's in maintaining stability. Serbia and Croatia punch far above their weight. There is no way BiH goes in 2022 if those countries can't write an end to BiH's existence with overwhelming military dominance in 1993.

[@SirCampalot1]

@@hasibhakanovic6682 Well, I didn't say this was a good solution. There are no good solutions. This is the best of bad choices. It's a way to break what is a paralysing and possibly eternal stalemate. But you're right in the sense that Bosniaks have no reason to trust their neighbors to behave themselves. It is, after all, the Balkans.

[@bilic8094]

The most logical solution would be three entities within the country that way no one could try to dominate the other.but the international community wants a new mini Jugoslavia that won't work that's like putting broken glass back together.

[@MarkoKraguljac]

@Prof James Ker-Lindsay Can you shed some more light on unconstitutional independence referendum held in 1992.? If they were not so hasty and forceful, could war be avoided even if diplomacy would take years, maybe decades, to move things either way? Was that move, now 30 years in the past, indicative of the same general idea/push/will that is underneath events to this day?

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

Now I know why you were in Bosnia! I am LOVING these location videos!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much Roger. Yes, I spent a really lovely week there. First time back in several years. And glorious weather. It really is a stunningly beautiful country. I was showing a friend some pictures this evening from a village on one of the hills. If you look one way, you could be in Tuscany. You then turn around and you could be in Switzerland.

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

@@JamesKerLindsay Well this is lovely!

[@BozaCukuranovic3223]

Oddly enough, there was even a short-lived episode of a civil war between Muslims themselves during the Bosnian war, fought by the central gvt in Sarajevo on one side and the enclave of Bihac/Cazin on the other, the latter being a territory surrounded by the Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb forces at one point.

[@randomtanker4355]

Do you mean by APZB of Fikret Abdić?

[@BozaCukuranovic3223]

@@randomtanker4355 Yes, indeed, couldn't remember the name.

[@eazyemco]

Fikrets traitors have been on the enemies side since day one of the Swebian aggression. It took us 4 years to take them down. But we took them down. Oddly enough there were thousands and thousands of Serbs fighting on the Bosnian side. But you Serbs always forget to mention that. Why?

[@randomtanker4355]

@@eazyemco yea i read that a small number of serbs and croats served in ARBIH, but i know of only one officer (i forgot his name), he was the chief of staff or something

[@Xzizia92]

@@randomtanker4355 Jovan Divjak, Stjepan Šiber, Željko Knez, Dragan Vikić, and others were all highly positioned within ARBiH. There were both Serbs and Croats fighting on the side of the Bosniaks against the aggression on their country (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

[@YuureiInu]

I've been to Banja Luka last month and it was the most calm and safest city I've been to.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Agree. It is a very safe place. Interestingly, as I filmed this video outside the presidential office I had no questions about what I was going or why I was there. However, I should note that I did meet some suspicion in the other location. But that was in a more remote area that had also been on the front lines in the war.

[@YuureiInu]

@@JamesKerLindsay Yes I'm talking just about the city. Lots of visible police cars, vast majority of drivers are on the Scandinavian level of driving and walking at night doesn't fell scary. Also I felt like there like plebs walking around in t-shirt.

[@IAmTheOnlyLucas]

Answering the age-old question once posed by renowned IR Scholar Thad Castle, the Professor HAS been to Bosnia!

[@user-tj2dj7vq2x]

Welcome to Republika Srpska Professor. I hope you enjoy your stay :-)

[@meopen1888]

yeah, he should enjoy it while it lasts, as just like snow, it will be gone soon

[@user-tj2dj7vq2x]

@@meopen1888 you've been saying that for the last 30 years 😉

[@UvekOn]

Why is Bosnia so special and for example Sudan (South Sudan), Indonesia (East Timor), Serbia (Kosovo and Montenegro) are not? Why Ukraine teritorial integrity is important even if most of the people in Crimea (have status of republic in Ukraine) want independence or join Russia (Donbas too with those two republics) and Serbian is not? For example today Olaf Scholz german chancellor said that if Serbia wants to join EU it needs to recognize Kosovo's independence. Why Cyprus don't need to recognize Northern Cyprus? Why is important to brake Serbia, Sudan, Indonesia and not Ukraine, Bosnia or Cyprus, why is independence of Taiwan is important and independence of Somaliland is not? We have a lot of wars for independence (Nagorno Karabakh, Iraqi Kurdistan, Yemen etc...) and for some is ok to secide and form their own countries and for some is not aloved. Again why some people can rebel and gain indipendence after civil war and others can't. Answer is becouse of geopolitical interests of great powers, manly of USA and UK, it's as simple as that. And i think that UK is expert in playing with peoples lives, and USA was great student, aaand we are geting few more players. God help us all.

[@Tribuneoftheplebs]

I think because Kosovo is 93% Albanian (with the serb majority parts being further in North in Kosovo so there can be negotiations there.) The population being so overwhelmingly non-serbian makes it hard for anyone to support Serbian claims over Kosovo. Do Serbs actually want these Albanians in their nation or do they want to ethnically cleanse them and take just the land?

[@UvekOn]

@@Tribuneoftheplebs Same goes for RS or Northern Cyprus, Crimea, Somaliland, Palestine etc... And also those 93% are result of ethnic cleansing. The question stays, why is ok for Kosovo to get independence and Somaliland or Palestine is not? And about North of Kosovo, acording to Germans, USA, UK... it's non negotiable, Kosovo territorial integrity must remain intact.

[@bilic8094]

@@Tribuneoftheplebs Do you agree with the west recognizing the donbas and Crimea as Russian since the population is Russian ?

[@TheLocalLt]

That’s unfortunately just how the world works: Serbia and America haven’t got along since the late 80s, while Germany and Croatia have in various forms gotten along well for a hundred+ years. Thus the eventual result, following both the unification of Germany and rise to power of a Serb nationalism in Yugoslavia that threatened Croatian interests, was 30 years of Balkan policy from America and Germany designed to reign in Belgrade’s power and counter it by promoting Croatia’s interests. Repeated Serb political and military excesses didn’t earn them many sympathizers globally either. I do sympathize with the situation Serbia was in once the wheels started moving on Croatian and Slovenian independence, but let’s not be naïve about geopolitics.

[@abc-eq9so]

There is no right or wrong. I’ve figured out that long time ago and I don’t argue with people about it :) sheeple will follow what they think is right

[@thomassenbart]

Good analysis

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you very much!

[@funguykel]

One thing I will say about the Balkans is that it's never boring. Enjoyed your insight. However, one topic you appeared to have left out is religion.

[@SerbAtheist]

'Even if they joined Serbia they would be a provincial backwater' Complete bullsh*t! Banja Luka would be one of the top 4 cities along with Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš, the Podrinje region would become central and extremely integrated with what is now Western Serbia, while Trebinje in East Herzegovina would very much gain in strategic importance. We were outvoted when the country was forming, then forced to be part of it by the barrel of a gun, and then for 25+ years what little autonomy we had was constantly undermined. Serbs do not want 'compromise' anymore. We want out. It's as simple as that.

[@iskanderaga-ali3353]

Being 4th city in Serbia doesn't make you not a provincial backwater

[@iskanderaga-ali3353]

@Anonymous Bosch You clearly haven't been to Luton

[@ilija623]

Bravooo, svaka ko u Njegoša. Al bukvalno mi to prošlo kroz glavu kad je to pričao xD

[@devilsadvocate7389]

Keep “wanting”… Podrinje you talk about has been ethnically cleansed and genocide was committed. That will never be part of Serbia. You can accept that or start another war for it.

[@SerbAtheist]

@@devilsadvocate7389 Podrinje was 50-50 split between Serbs and Bosniaks. You got Goražde, you got the whole of urban Sarajevo and you also got the Drvar Krajina which is almost exclusively Serb. As for wars, we don't even have to do anything in that regard. We just have to make Bosnia as dysfunctional as possible. Good luck stopping that.

[@Estreka]

Firstly, great format! It's nice to see you out and about enjoying the culture. I've spent some time in B-H, particularly in the Croatian parts, and the tension isn't always palpable. I find a lot of the anger and distrust is amongst older generations, with younger folks simply wanting to go on with their lives. Now, I should say I have deeper ties with Croatia and that certainly tinges the lens through which I see. I would say most of the disagreement is generational rather than sectarian, though that's certainly not always the case. As is always the case with B-H, there are too many moving parts and unpredictable possibilities to make any kind of forecast on the future of the country. But I personally think the war was recent enough that open conflict is unlikely in the near term. And after a generation or 2, it's possible the populace will grow stronger bonds rather than fraying them.

[@mdza]

The younger generation don’t really care because they already live in divided and homogeneous regions, thats why I don’t believe people will make stronger bonds, we are straying each day more and more from eachother, it already feels like living in a different country when you visit Serbian, Croat or Bosniak cities, which wasn’t the case before the war. I come from Banja Luka, where Serbs form 90% of the population, before the war it was ~57%, you could get a glimpse of other ethnicities, have Croat or Bosniak friend, but nowadays its mostly Serb, we don’t get into contact with other ethnicities.

[@thomasullmann7447]

You seem to like to visit countries I've cycled to. Sadly these conflicts are often dominated by chestbeating nationalists. I've been to nearly all former Yugoslavian countries and the comon theme is yugostalgia. Various people suffered at the hands of others from their own ethnic groups such as one Serb family I remember who pretended to be muslim as they did not want to wave a flag outside the front of their house to show they were serbian. Younger Bosnians often go to University in Serbia, Serbs have holiday homes in Montenegro. The countries continue to be interwoven. It would be really interesting to know the demographic diversity behind differing views in Yugo-slavic countries.

[@user-uh2yp9if5w]

Coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina,I can tell you it is a beautiful country with wonderful people whatever nationality. We would easily find the solution for the existing issue if there were no so much pressure from foreign countries trying to make us do what suits them best and not what suits us best. Times are changing and I do hope that people of Bosnia will not make mistakes from the past.

[@alenhuseinbasic899]

Pozdrav iz Londonu brate moj, I agree, Bosnia is being played with by bigger and more powerful countries pulling it's strings like we are a puppet. We should unite all together, and recognize that our religious and ethnic diversity is a positive thing rather than a reason for conflict. In my opinion, BiH should all be united together, under one strong president figure who can unite everyone as Tito did. No Federacija BiH or Republika Srpska, we should be together. The existence of such states just further drives us away from each other as Nationalist politicians brain wash us into hating each other.

[@froglifes6829]

@@alenhuseinbasic899 yes yes because it was "bigger and more powerful countries" that attacked vukovar...yes yes because it was "bigger and more powerful countries" declaring war on croatia and bosnia...yes hmmm okay...Cope

[@Bosnian-patriot]

​@@froglifes6829yes its true Yugoslav army was way stronger than Bosnian army. Like 10× more strong

[@froglifes6829]

@@Bosnian-patriot stronger yet the bosnians won? stronger yet the croats defeated them in less than 5 years? nice logic. Croats were stronger which is why they won against the yugoslav army.

[@Bosnian-patriot]

@@froglifes6829 we only won due to the UN and NATO they killed and bombed a lot of četniks and their hideouts