Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast. Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the 26 kilometres  of coastline on the Adriatic Sea surrounding the town of Neum. In the central and southern region’s  of the country’s  the located is mountains. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a temperate continental climate with hot summers and cold snowy winters.

The country is home to three ethnic groups, or so-called constituent peoples, a term unique for Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a regional rather than ethnic distinction, and Herzegovina has no precisely defined borders of its own. Moreover, the country was called just "Bosnia" (without Herzegovina) until Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the nineteenth century.

Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared  independence during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. . The country's capital is Sarajevo. The official languages ​​of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a parliamentary republic, which has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. However, the central government's power is highly limited, as the country is largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third region, the Brсko District, governed under local government. The country is a potential candidate for membership to the European Union and has been a candidate for NATO membership since  2010 when it received a Membership Action Plan at the summit in Tallinn. Additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union . On 2010, the country started a 2-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Following the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the South Slav kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (soon renamed Yugoslavia). Political life in Bosnia at this time was marked by two major trends: social and economic unrest over property redistribution, and formation of several political parties that frequently changed coalitions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has several levels of political structuring, according to the Dayton accord. Most important of these levels is the division of the country into two entities: The Republic of Serbia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina also has four "official" cities. These are: Banja Luka, Mostar, Sarajevo, and East Sarajevo. Cities have their own city government whose power is in between that of the municipalities and cantons.