Hooray! I got my sock passport back! I can go somewhere for a bit before they take it away again to glue in the residence permit sticker.

Remember Sarajevo in the haze?
Same spot right now.

These aren't photos from different countries—it's all Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's just that Serbs prefer to hang the Serbian flag, Croats hang the Croatian one, and only Bosniaks hang the yellow-blue version, and even then not always. Even on official buildings!

I was really surprised by such blatant separatism, but it turns out the whole thing is much more complicated: people were literally forced to accept the current flag.

To understand how this happened, let's rewind to 1995. The war had just ended. The world was worried things might flare up again, so the EU and USA decided to put a... temporary "administrator" in place. They created the position of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they appoint the person from outside themselves (still do!). And they gave this position two superpowers:
1) fire ANY official in the country suspected of breaking the law
2) make a decision independently if the authorities can't agree

And this isn't just an empty threat. Over two hundred officials have been removed under this system. They didn't even spare presidents. Though sometimes they missed the mark: a Croatian president was removed in 2005, but later all charges were dropped—though by then it was too late to reinstate him. But he did win the election again in 2015. And a Serbian president apparently got fired purely over political disagreements. Cases like these really do look like blatant abuse of power.

In 1998, the country was choosing its symbols, but the government couldn't agree for a long time. That's when they used the superpower: the High Representative imposed their own design for the coat of arms and flag. So now people hang whichever one they prefer, rather than what they were ordered to.

This concentration of power in one person's hands, combined with vague criteria for when to apply the rules, naturally drew criticism. The US eventually stopped participating in this arrangement, and Europe decided in 2008 to finally abolish the position and even set a final date. But this move triggered a wave of disappointment among Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens and even more criticism. The local government was reasonably seen as corrupt and unable to function effectively without external oversight. So they left everything as is indefinitely.

But Sarajevo is drowning in smog. You can barely make out the silhouettes of the skyscrapers.

Check out this adorable Herbalist!

Almost every city in Bosnia that I visited is located in a river valley nestled between hills. In summer it looks incredibly picturesque, but in winter the fog and smog get trapped in these valleys and just linger. Many people heat with firewood or coal, which only makes it worse. That said, you don't really smell the smoke, but it's still not pleasant to spend a lot of time in such conditions.

I've always been amazed at how one midnight of the year stands out from all the others. People suddenly start hoping, believing, and eagerly anticipating something magical. And you can't help but get caught up in the collective mood. If that's not magic, what is?

Peaceful skies in the New Year!

Thank you for reading!

​​"Two heads are better than one, so three must be even better!" thought Bosnia and Herzegovina, and decided to elect three presidents at once: a Serb, a Bosniak, and a Croat. The three of them mess around serve as president for the entire 4-year term. You can't be elected more than twice in a row, but you can with a break in between. Two of them have even done this already (a Croat and a Bosniak). Nevertheless, the country has 14 (!) living former presidents.

One of the three is appointed chair, and the position rotates every 8 months. Over 4 years, that's exactly 2 complete cycles.

Decisions are made collectively, by unanimous consent. But on controversial issues, this doesn't work at all. For example, Bosniaks and Croats would be happy to recognize Kosovo's independence, but the Serbs are categorically opposed.

Elections are also complicated: Croats living in the Serb Republic have to vote for the Serbian representative, while Serbs who moved to the Federation can't vote for him, even though they'd really like to. It's a mirror situation with the other candidates.

And the real problem is that the presidents' ethnicities are iron-clad in the Dayton Accords. Representatives of other peoples can't be elected. There was a case at the European Court of Human Rights against B&H brought by a Jew and a Roma because of such discrimination. The court ruled back in 2009 that the rules need to be changed, but the system hasn't been reformed since then.

And that wraps up today's civics lesson. And in the photo below is the building in Sarajevo where the presidents meet.