The Development of Bosnian Diplomacy Immediately Before and During the Aggression Against Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Diplomacy in the conditions of aggression represented a painstaking multi-layered job, which was not easily implemented. The development of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s diplomacy should be observed immediately before the declaration of independence of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1992, because significant events took place a year earlier that would to a certain extent affect the recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state, as well as the international positioning of this country due to the war period. Although official Bosnian diplomacy can only be spoken of after the recognition of the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the establishment of competent state institutions, the year 1991 was extremely important, because the lobbying carried out by Bosnian politicians at the time on the international level, both in the West and in the East, was of great importance. importance, which certain international leaders confirmed when recognizing the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina or establishing official diplomatic relations in the first months of 1992. Immediately before the holding of the Referendum on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government of the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina had intensive contacts with officials from outside the then Yugoslavia, which was a kind of prerequisite for the later establishment of official diplomatic relations. The aim of the paper is to present the key events that were of great importance in the establishment of diplomatic contacts of Bosnian officials with the rest of the world, to clarify how Bosnian diplomacy developed in the conditions of aggression against the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.