why did the Bosnian war start?

Answer 1

"After the death of Tito on 1980-05-04, ethnic tension grew in Yugoslavia. The death of Tito removed what many Yugoslavs and Westerners saw as the country’s main unifying force. The legacy of the Constitution of 1974 was used to throw the system of decision-making into a state of paralysis, all the more hopeless as the conflict of interests had become irreconcilable. The constitutional crisis that inevitably followed resulted in rise of nationalism in all republics and provinces: Slovenia and Croatia made demands for looser ties within the Federation, Albanian majority in Kosovo demanded the status of a republic, Serbia sought to achieve control over Yugoslavia."

"In Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. On 1992-01-09 the Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate "Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina". The referendum and creation of SARs were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and declared illegal and invalid. However, in February-March 1992 the government held a national referendum on Bosnian independence from Yugoslavia. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the BiH and Federal constitution by the federal Constitution court and the newly established Bosnian Serb government; it was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. The turnout was somewhere between 64-67% and 98% of the voters voted for independence. It was unclear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied[citation needed]. The republic's government declared its independence on 5 April, and the Serbs immediately declared the independence of Republika Srpska. The war in Bosnia followed shortly thereafter."

"Breakup of Yugoslavia" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia

"The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina came about as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Crisis emerged in Yugoslavia with the weakening of the Communist system at the end of the Cold War. In Yugoslavia, the national Communist party, officially called Alliance or League of Communists of Yugoslavia, was losing its ideological potency, while the nationalist and separatist ideologies were on the rise in the late 1980s. This was particularly noticeable in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to a lesser extent in Slovenia and Macedonia."

"On the first multi-party elections that took place in November 1990 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the three largest ethnic parties in the country won: the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action, the Serbian Democratic Party and the Croatian Democratic Union."

"The Serb members of parliament, consisting mainly of the Serb Democratic Party members, but also including some other party representatives (which would form the "Independent Members of Parliament Caucus"), abandoned the central parliament in Sarajevo, and formed the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 24, 1991, which marked the end of the tri-ethnic coalition that governed after the elections in 1990. This Assembly established the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 9, 1992, which became Republika Srpska in August 1992. The official aim of this act, stated in the original text of the Constitution of Republika Srpska, later amended, was to preserve the Yugoslav federation."

"After Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a referendum on independence as well. The decision of the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on holding the referendum was taken after the majority of Serb members had left the assembly in protest."

"These Bosnian Serb assembly members invited the Serb population to boycott the referendum held on February 29 and March 1, 1992. The turnout in the referendum was 64-67% and the vote was 99.43% in favor of independence. Independence was declared on March 5, 1992 by the parliament. The referendum and the murder of a member of a wedding procession on the day before the referendum were utilized by the Serb political leadership as a reason to start road blockades in protest."

"War in Bosnia and Herzegovina" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_war

Answer 2

Long-standing and complex rivalries between Bosnia-Herzegovina and the indigenous Serb and Croat populations of the country who were backed by Serbia and Croatia respectively. It's a complex and difficult to understand conflict, you should have chosen something else if you had the choice.

Answer 3

Do not use the website above if you want the truth -- much of the info is focused on blaming the U.S.

Your answer should include the staple comments about Tito his death and aftermath, christian-Muslim dichotomy, communism, Ottoman Empire and its retreat, culture and cycle of violence.

Answer 4

See below.