The Impact of Socio-Political Crises on the Resilience of Critical Actors - A Case Study of “Bosnia and Herzegovina”

Abstract

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country rich in natural resources and geo-strategically positioned in the heartland of the Balkans, which through its turbulent and inspiring history was the desired goal of various conquering empires. From the ancient Romans, through the Ottomans, Austro-Hungarians, Germans and all the way to the closest neighbours. On that difficult path of building a thousand-year statehood, it was affected by various socio-political crises that left a mark and, as a rule, slowed down its economic growth and self-sustainability of both the socio-political system and the general state of security of its critical subjects and infrastructures. In its different stages of statehood and statehood, Bosnia and Herzegovina faced different types of threats, from passive to active resistance, from frequent riots to open wars and opposition to invaders and usurpers of its territory and its wealth. Looking at our history, we learn from our ancestors, preparing based on their experience for the modern challenges of today. It is of great importance for scientists, researchers and practitioners to apply analytical - synthetic and general - social methods of data collection, in order to properly set themselves according to the definition of research problems and objectives, and to determine the methodology that will lead to effective and applicable solutions satisfying social and scientific objectives. Analysing the problem of determining and organizing the area of protection of critical subjects and infrastructures, we cannot help but notice one of the biggest threats to the vital lifeblood of the Bosnian society, namely its complex socio-political organization and the influence it generates as such on all segments of sustainability and security. This work contributes to the development and strengthening of the preventive security awareness of all those who in the future will deal with strengthening the capacity to protect critical entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.