Forthefirsttimeinnearlytwocenturies,oneethnicgroupnowconstitutesanabsolutemajorityofBosniaandHerzegovina’spopulation:theBosniaks.Itisanunlikelydevelopmentgiventhat,scarcelythirtyyearsago,theyweretargetedforexterminationandexpulsionbySerbia’sSlobodanMilosevic.EvenastheBosniakcommunityfoughttosurvivetheseatrocities,itsimultaneouslycameunderattackfrommilitantsledbyCroatianpresidentFranjoTu?man,whoattemptedtopartitionBosniaandHerzegovinabetweenZagrebandBelgrade.Improbably,theBosniaksandtheBosnianstatesurvivedthesecampaigns.Butthecountry’sfractioussectarianpost-warorderhasproducedtheworld’smostconvolutedconstitutionalregime,alwaysteeteringonthebrinkofcollapse.JasminMujanovicilluminatesthesourcesofcontemporaryBosniakpoliticalidentity,tracingtheevolutionofareligiouscommunityintoasecularnation,andsheddinglightonthefutureofanationatacrossroads.HeexplorestheideaofBosniaandHerzegovinaasa’nationalhomeland’,considershownarrativesofgenocideinfluenceself-identity,andprobeshowdemographicchangesareputtingpressureonthecountry’spoliticalframework.ThefateofBosniaandHerzegovina’speaceanddemocracyrestsontheBosniaks’shoulders--andwithit,thestabilityofallSoutheasternEurope.
