IFIMES: Politicians are emerging in BiH who, like Zaev in Macedonia, want to lead the country out of crisis

LJUBLJANA, (Patria) - The spirit of Zoran Zaev and Macedonia is increasingly and significantly present in the region, and will be felt most in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to its multi-ethnic character, according to an analysis by the International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) from Ljubljana, which regularly analyzes events in the Middle East and the Balkans.

"The upcoming general elections in BiH, which will be held on October 7, 2018, could produce a 'Bosnian Zaev'," state the authors of the IFIMES analysis, reports the Patria news agency.

The Ljubljana-based institute reminds that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is similar to the situation in Macedonia before Zoran Zaev came to power, who, with the concept of "One Society for All", managed in a relatively short period of one year to eliminate many divisions in Macedonian society, free the captured state from foreign regimes, and relax relations among different ethnic communities within Macedonia itself.

The analysis states that the spirit of Zoran Zaev is spreading throughout the region, and that this is particularly important for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multi-ethnic state and for the upcoming General Elections in the country.

"Bosnian society is multi-ethnic and heterogeneous like Macedonian society, but throughout history it has allowed for harmony of coexistence in diversity. There is a strong political potential for political forces and politicians to emerge in the upcoming General Elections in BiH, who will work to create one society for all, in which everyone will feel free, primarily as a citizen, and then as a member of a certain ethnic or religious community. Politicians like Denis Bećirović (SDP) and several others are emerging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who want to work on building precisely such a society for all citizens, which is being built in the Republic of Macedonia under the leadership of Zoran Zaev. Thanks to such positive policies, Macedonia has come into the focus of regional events and has become the number 1 country in the region," it is stated.

The authors of the analysis remind that Zaev's rise to power in Macedonia was not well received by autocratic regimes in the region. As they state, hated clerical-nationalist regimes found it difficult to accept the reality, i.e., the arrival of the new Macedonian Government and Zaev in power. The prevailing political path, which most political leaders in the region have gone through, was based on expressing patriotism, which later grew into nationalism and chauvinism, and in the final phase, open fascism. The concept of a civic state and a "Government for citizens" or "One Society for All" first bothered Aleksandar Vučić, who was closely connected with Nikola Gruevski's regime. Vučić, through his political actions, is still trying to conceal Serbia's multi-ethnic character. Zaev's arrival also bothered the regimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the concept of a civic state focuses on the citizen or national, and is not based on ethnic, religious, or any other grounds. This is precisely how all European countries are organized, unlike the already existing ethnic enclaves in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the announcement of the formation of a new enclave for Croats in BiH through the announced changes to the Election Law in BiH.

(The complete analysis is available here)