Mapping post-Dayton BiH

Whilst the peace accords achieved their immediate purpose of putting an end to the bloodshed, they also froze the ethnic divisions in place and bequeathed an extremely complex system of government, which has made governance extremely difficult.

Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises two entities: the Federation of BiH (further subdivided into 10 Cantons) and Republika Srpska. Formally part of both entities is the Brcko District, a multiethnic, self-governing administrative unit.

Each election, the scope and scale of the apparatus become even more visible as citizens are asked to vote for:

• Three members of the national tripartite presidency;
• A president and vice-presidents for each entity;
• Representatives for 13 parliaments/assemblies at national-entity-cantonal levels.

In parallel, a vast public sector has emerged to support the existence of multiple parliaments, governments and hundreds of ministries at different levels of governance. For a small country with a rapidly declining population, the BiH governance system is often referenced as one of the most complex in the world.

This is why we have decided to map out the post-Dayton BiH governance by focusing on the overall state apparatus at all three levels and the associated elements from the international community. Produced infographics contain contextualized information and visual attributes, allowing you to assess the intricacies of the existing system.