Preface
Obviously the sea is right in front of you, why is it so difficult to go to sea once?
In today's international trade, the importance of the coastline is self-evident, with the coastline and the corresponding ports, you can better carry out various trade cooperation, so as to develop your own country's economy.
However, in the Balkans of southern Europe, there is a country that, despite having a stretch of coastline and building a new port as a result, has not been able to function as it should, for various reasons.
The Death of the Civil War
This country with only 24 kilometers of coastline is Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the reason why Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing such a dilemma has a lot to do with the collapse of Yugoslavia in the nineties of the last century.
Historically, due to its geographical location, the Balkan Peninsula has gradually become a "powder keg" that triggered a full-scale war, and in 1914, the Serbian Princip assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, thus triggering the First World War.
And Sarajevo, where Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated at that time, is in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After World War II, under the strong leadership of Tito, the Balkan Peninsula eventually formed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
Thanks to Tito's excellent leadership, in the early days of Yugoslavia's establishment, Yugoslavia's economic development made remarkable achievements through the common efforts of various ethnic groups, which greatly improved the living standards of the Yugoslav people.
However, with Tito's death, serious problems arose in Yugoslavia's internal economic development, and the contradictions between various ethnic groups became increasingly apparent, which eventually led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
However, the collapse of Yugoslavia, once an important country, brought about continuous war.
Throughout the nineties of the last century, a number of member states that were once subordinate to Yugoslavia broke out into a long period of conflict, and among them, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which covers an area of just over 50,000 square kilometers, had an even more serious conflict.
It turns out that although the total population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not large, it is a multi-ethnic place, and the main ethnic groups in this area are Croats, Bosniacs, and Serbs.
Due to the serious ethnic contradictions here, it led to the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which broke out in the nineties of the last century, in which the shelling of civilian areas and the killing of civilians were repeated.
In the end, under the mediation of the international community, the two sides of the conflict signed the Dayton Accords, and this bloody war was temporarily suspended, but the trauma of this war for Bosnia and Herzegovina remains.
This is because the agreement signed this time does not completely resolve the contradictions between the various factions within Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, despite being a sovereign state, has two sets of almost unrelated administrative bodies.
It can be said that there are still various internal contradictions in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, but we can find from the history of other countries in the world that if there is a good momentum of economic development, then the internal contradictions can be improved to a certain extent.
So, how is the economy developing in Bosnia and Herzegovina? The answer is very poor, so why is that?
Coastline of little use
For a long time, Bosnia and Herzegovina was in fact a poverty-stricken zone within Yugoslavia, and it was perennially needed for the Yugoslav side to mobilize funds from economically sound regions to support it economically.
However, after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was already very poor, faced very difficult economic development problems.
The most important point is that the sea, which was once easy for a Bosnian and Herzegovina, has been blocked by the issue of national borders.
For a modern country, it is difficult to develop without a coastline, and many landlocked countries will encounter difficulties in developing their economies, and the situation that can be developed like Switzerland can only be considered a special case.
Therefore, at the beginning of the Yugoslav breakup, the Bosnian people actually faced great difficulties in their lives, because they themselves belonged to the poor region, and after the breakup of Yugoslavia, due to the lack of economic assistance from other regions, as well as the impact of internal wars.
Life for Bosnia and Herzegovina has become more difficult, but it has also attracted the attention of the international community, especially in Western countries, where many people sympathize with the poor Bosnia and Herzegovina and want to help Bosnia and Herzegovina (although their sympathy is mainly due to the deep involvement of NATO countries in the Yugoslav civil war)
Perhaps for this reason, the Croatian side, after independence, "returned" to Bosnia and Herzegovina a stretch of coastline with a length of only 24 km.
Although the length of the coastline is not large, it is also a very important place for Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop its economy, so Bosnia and Herzegovina can invest a lot in this coastline.
However, even so, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a small outlet to the sea, is subject to Croatian influence at every turn.
Judging from the map, this estuary is located in the interior of the Peljesac Peninsula in Croatia, and the north and south of the peninsula are completely controlled by Croatia, so for Bosnia and Herzegovina, if you want to go to sea, you still need to look at Croatia's face.
It can be said that for Bosnia and Herzegovina, such a situation is very "aggrieved", although the relationship between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia is not bad now, but who knows what the future holds?
epilogue
"Without the rise of a great power, how can there be the dignity of small people?"
Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina can only defend a small area of access to the sea, and in the process of developing its own economy, it faces many obstacles, largely due to the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the nineties.
However, "the past has become the dust of the past", and it is hoped that today's Bosnia and Herzegovina can find a way to develop its own economy and pursue a better life.
Resources
Baidu Encyclopedia: Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Paper: "Bosnia and Herzegovina, why is it a "European powder keg"? September 23, 2022
Let's live: "Football Geography School: Yugoslavia's Past Events: Zheko's Homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Reduced Version of Yugoslavia" March 20, 2021
Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China website: Country (Regional) Guide for Foreign Investment Cooperation – Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022 Edition)