“The Father of the Bosniak Nation”: Personality and Politics of the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31168/2073-5731.2023.3-4.07Keywords:
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, Islam, party, Presidium, independence, warAbstract
The article covers the personality and activities of the first President of independent Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović. The article is based on original Bosniak and Serb sources and English-language literature and aims to analyze the political views and values of A. Izetbegović, establish the basic facts related to his political and military activities. The author examines Izetbegovic’s political career, his role in the pan-Islamist organization “Young Muslims”, and the formation of his political views. He examines and analyzes Izetbegović’s main works – “The Islamic Declaration” and “Islam between East and West” that belong to the trend of political Islam. The author also analyzes Izetbegovic‘s political platform, the armed putsch in April 1992, and Izetbegovic‘s military and political activities during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Faced with inevitable social and political changes, Izetbegovic’s regime was incapable to accept them and relied on conservative nationalist ideas. The ideology of Izetbegovic’s Party of Democratic Action was based on political Islam and pursued the goal of building a unitary Islamic state. Izetbegović initiated the referendum for independence that led to a civil war. Izetbegovic regarded any demands of national autonomy for Serbs and Croats as “a partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina” and rejected all plans for a peaceful settlement that were offered by international mediators. The strategic objectives of A. Izetbegovic’s regime were creation of an Islamic state, destruction the Republika Srpska, and expulsion of Serbs from the BiH territory.
Received: 02.06.2023.
Revised: 02.06.2023.
Accepted: 12.09.2023.
Citation
Bezruchenko V. I. “The Father of the Bosniak Nation”: Personality and Politics of the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović // Slavic Almanac. 2023. No 3–4. P. 133–170 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2023.3-4.07
