Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
The political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina were created by the Dayton Agreement, which recognized a second tier of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, comprising two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), with mostly Bosniaks and Croats, and the Republika Srpska (RS) with mostly Serbs – each governing roughly one half of the state's territory. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina itself has a federal structure and consists of 10 autonomous cantons.
| Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Administrativna podjela Bosne i Hercegovine Административна подјела Босне и Херцеговине | |
|---|---|
 Administrative divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska entity (1), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity (2), Brčko District condominium (3) | |
| Category | Federated state |
| Location |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Created | 14 December 1995 |
| Number | 2 entities and 1 condominum |
| Populations | 83,560 (BD) – 2,219,220 (FBiH) |
| Areas | 493 Km² (BD) – 26,110.5 Km² (FBiH) |
.svg){kind=link}
OverviewEdit
The Federation and the Republika Srpska governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. Each has its own government, flag and coat of arms, president, parliament (FBiH) and assembly (RS), police force, customs, and postal system. The police sectors are overseen by the state-level ministry of safety affairs. Since 2005, Bosnia and Herzegovina has one set of Armed forces.
The Inter-Entity Boundary Line is not determined by natural geographical features of the country. It rather follows the military front-lines as they were at the end of the Bosnian War. On the ground, there is no active border between RS and FBiH, and one would generally not know the difference when crossing from one entity into another.
The city of Brčko in northeastern Bosnia is a seat of the Brčko District, a self-governing administrative unit; it is part of both the Federation and Republika Srpska. The district remains under international supervision.
The Federation is further divided into ten cantons, which are then subdivided into municipalities. Republika Srpska is divided directly into municipalities.
| Name | Area | Population | Ethnic groups | Munic. | Status | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federation of BiH Federacija BiH Федерација БиХ |
26,110.5 km2 | 2,219,220 | Bosniaks (70,40%) Croats (22,44%) Serbs (2,55%) |
79 (including 16 cities) |
Entity | 
|
| Republika Srpska Република Српска Republika Srpska |
24,532.8 km2 | 1,218,107 | Serbs (82.95%) Bosniaks (12.69%) Croats (2.27%) |
64 (including 8 cities) |
Entity | 
|
| Brčko District Brčko Distrikt Брчко Дистрикт |
493 km2 | 83,516 | Bosniaks (42.36%) Serbs (34.58%) Croats (20.66%) |
N/A | Self-governing district | 
|
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Bahtić-Kunrath, Birgit (2011). "Of veto players and entity-voting: institutional gridlock in the Bosnian reform process". Nationalities Papers. 39 (6): 899–923. doi:10.1080/00905992.2011.614224. ISSN 0090-5992.
- Belloni, Roberto (2009). "Bosnia: Dayton is Dead! Long Live Dayton!". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 15 (3–4): 355–375. doi:10.1080/13537110903372367. ISSN 1353-7113.
- Bose, Sumantra (2005). "The Bosnian State a decade after Dayton". International Peacekeeping. 12 (3): 322–335. doi:10.1080/13533310500074028. ISSN 1353-3312.
- Cooley, Laurence (2013). "The European Union's approach to conflict resolution: Insights from the constitutional reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina". Comparative European Politics. 11 (2): 172–200. doi:10.1057/cep.2012.21. ISSN 1472-4790.
- Hayden, Robert M. (2005). ""Democracy" without a Demos? The Bosnian Constitutional Experiment and the Intentional Construction of Nonfunctioning States". East European Politics and Societies: And Cultures. 19 (2): 226–259. doi:10.1177/0888325404272679. ISSN 0888-3254.
- Keil, Soeren; Kudlenko, Anastasiia (2015). "Bosnia and Herzegovina 20 Years after Dayton: Complexity Born of Paradoxes" (PDF). International Peacekeeping. 22 (5): 471–489. doi:10.1080/13533312.2015.1103651. ISSN 1353-3312.
- Perry, Valery (2015). "Constitutional Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Does the Road to Confederation go through the EU?". International Peacekeeping. 22 (5): 490–510. doi:10.1080/13533312.2015.1100082. ISSN 1353-3312.
- Sebastian, Sofia (2009). "The Role of the EU in the Reform of Dayton in Bosnia-Herzegovina". Ethnopolitics. 8 (3–4): 341–354. doi:10.1080/17449050903086948. ISSN 1744-9057.
- Touquet, Heleen; Vermeersch, Peter (2008). "Bosnia and Herzegovina: Thinking Beyond Institution-Building". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 14 (2): 266–288. doi:10.1080/13537110801985120. ISSN 1353-7113.