Bosnia and Herzegovina – shared past, different fates

This article is dedicated to the study of the process of proclaiming the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result of the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The author of this article focuses not so much on the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia, but specifically on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the most interesting examples of a post-Yugoslav state. The author emphasizes the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990, as well as the further work of the Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991. An important part of this article is the analysis of the secession of the Assembly of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its independent work. The reasons for the separation of the Serbian people into a separate independent Assembly in the fall of 1991 are explored, as well as the proclamation of the Republic of Srpska itself in January 1992. The methodology of this article is based on a systematic and interdisciplinary approach, which contributed to solving the tasks set. The work employs historical, comparative, and historical-genetic methods, as well as an institutional method that allowed for the study of the roles of the National Assemblies of BiH and RS and to assess their functioning and effectiveness. The novelty of the research lies in the special approach to studying the work of political institutions in BiH, which significantly influenced the entire political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time. The main conclusions of this research are the theses that Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and lacking a dominant ethnic group, was doomed to internal conflicts due to the diverse interests and aspirations of the Muslim (Bosniak), Serbian, and Croatian communities. Analyzing the end of 1991 and, above all, the illegal work of the Assembly of BiH and its decision to declare independence against the will of Serbian deputies, it can be concluded that this was the first illegal step taken by the Muslim-Croatian coalition. Constitutional provisions were violated, yet even today these events are presented only as facts and are not publicly examined as the primary and initial cause of the formation of a separate Assembly of the Serbian people and the Republic of Srpska as a whole, as well as all subsequent events on the political scene of BiH.