Croatology, Vol. 12 No. 2. - 3., 2021.
Original scientific paper
The existence of the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Martina Miljak
Abstract
Exactly 25 years after the signing of the General Framework
Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which settled the War
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is still no social, political and economic
stability, the establishment of which was expected upon the signing of the
peace agreement. Society in Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided at all levels.
Primarily political and territorial, and in terms of tolerance of members
of the constituent peoples, which makes it difficult to establish common
state values, the possibility of peaceful coexistence of Bosniaks, Croats,
Serbs and others and building a state with unique generally accepted state
characteristics. The Croatian people are the oldest indigenous people in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with its continuous emigration that began
during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has not stopped to this
day, the question of its existence is threatened. The research which is the
base for this paper, was conducted by the method of an electronic survey
on a sample of 350 randomly selected Bosnian Croats. The results of
the survey indicate general dissatisfaction of Croats with life in Bosnia
and Herzegovina (94,90 % of respondents), which is primarily caused
by: high levels of corruption, general feelings of insecurity, distrust in
the legal and political system and unequal position of Croats in relation
to Serbs and Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fact that large
number of Bosnian Croats have a stronger sense of belonging to the
Republic of Croatia than to Bosnia and Herzegovina and that the 34,00
% of respondents among Bosnian Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and
35,70 % of them in the Republic of Croatia feel like a foreigner, the poor
economic conditions in the state, the selective population policy of the
high-developed (European) countries and the chain migration indicate the
urgent need to resolve the Croatian question in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
otherwise the Bosnian Croats from the constituent people could become
just one of the Others.
Keywords
Croats; Bosnia and Herzegovina; demographic trends; Dayton Peace Agreement; Croatian question.
Hrčak ID:
272134
URI
Publication date:
6.12.2021.
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