1.

0 General Information
Position in the World
The country that I will be describing for this particular task will be Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Bosnia is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering the driatic Sea
and !roatia. The e"act coordinates are ## $$ %, &' $$ E. Bosnia(s total area is about
)&,&*+ s, k- which is about slightly s-aller than .est /irginia.
Country Data
A) Population
Bosnian population has a current low of
0,+1#,0'' 23uly *$$* est.4 because of the
ethnic cleansing and war 2&++*5&++14.
B) Gross National Product
The 6ross %ational 7roduct of Bosnia was
-easured back in &++$ and it was 8S9
:&$,11;,$$$,$$$. 7ublic 9ept was not
available.
E"ports ranged fro- *0,*;&,$$$,$$$ to
*0,0$$,$$$,$$$ and i-ports were at a
steady *&,&0$,$$$,$$$.
C) a!or Products
Bosnia has -any productions that include the following< steel, coal, iron ore, lead,
zinc, -anganese, bau"ite, vehicle asse-bly, te"tiles, tobacco products, wooden
furniture, tank and aircraft asse-bly, do-estic appliances, and oil refining.
D) "orm #f Go$ernment
Bosnia(s govern-ent is the E-erging =ederal 9e-ocratic >epublic and the capital of
Bosnia is Sara?evo.
%) National &an'ua'e
@anguages spoken in Bosnia include Bosnian, !roatian, and Serbian.
") &an'ua'e (ariety spo)en *y the people you +ill meet
Bosnian, !roatian, and Serbian are all the sa-e with -inor accented words and
i-perfections. The languages are as si-ilar as A8S !aliforniaB English to A8S
BostonB English. There are only -inor variations.
G) &iteracy ,ate
The adult literacy rate C is +#.&C for -ales and ;'.$C for wo-en. The schools
include a -andatory ' years of pri-ary school, # years in secondary school, and #
years in universities and acade-ies.
-) a!or race. ethnic and reli'ious 'roups
The Serb 0;.&C, Bosniak #'C, !roat &#.0C, other $.)C 2*$$$4
The ter- ABosniakB has replaced Dusli- as an ethnic ter- in part to avoid confusion
with the religious ter- Dusli- 5 an adherent of Isla-.
The religions include Dusli- #$C, Erthodo" 0&C, >o-an !atholic &)C, 7rotestant
#C, and other &$C.
I) /trate'ic interest in Bosnia
ccording to Secretary of 9efense .illia- 3. 7erry and his speech that was delivered
on 3une ;, &++) clai-s, A.e do have a security interest in preventing the violence
fro- spreading and fro- sti-ulating a broader European war. .e do have a security
interest in li-iting the violence and the flow of refugeesB. The 8S had so-e interests
but no real vital national security interests in Bosnia.
0.0 Cultural Patterns
Belief /ystem
The people of Bosnia before and after the ethnic war have been sort of laid back
rela"ed and without the day5to5day troubles that an 8S -erican would e"perience
throughout his day. I have heard and read nu-erous state-ents before the ethnic war
that said, A%o where in the world, do you work less and earn as -uch as in BosniaB.
These state-ents are true. s I visited Bosnia in the su--er of *$$*, I noticed that
people were not affected by the war at all but that they were strengthened and still
believed that taking it day by day is necessary in order to feel alive. Bosnians have
standard beliefs that revolve a lot around religion. They have a word called the
AgrehotaB which basically -eans if you do so-ething that -akes so-ebody else
happy, you in return will achieve happiness too because of 6od. There is definitely a
religion based belief syste- in Bosnia.
(alue /ystem
Bosnians tend to value well being and AlivingB -ore than anybody I have ever
seen. If a ?ob is too hard, a Bosnian will first consider the effects of the ?ob on hi-
and his fa-ily and then take it if it suits his needs. lso, when I visited Bosnia last
su--er of ($*, I have never seen people that love to eat as -uch as they do. %o
-atter if it is breakfast or lunch, it has to look good, s-ell good, taste good, and be
available in nu-erous ,uantities. They value fa-ily over anything and will go to any
depths in order to -ake their fa-ilies happy, even if it -eans sacrificing their well5
being.
Norms
Being that Bosnians focus a lot on well being, they in also have and e"pect
friendly characteristics fro- anybody they see and -eet. 7eople of Bosnia and
especially kids are raised to be so-ewhat individual but are -ostly raised to trust and
rely on friendship. A=riendship is easily achieved but once it is achieved it is easily
lostB Fone ter- that I caught while talking to a guy -y age during -y visit in Bosnia.
ppropriate behavior is e"pected during throughout the day for all, no -atter if it is a
0$5year5old -an or a &$5year5old child. In both situations behaviors have to be at it(s
best but during fa-ily gatherings, respect to the elderly is always show and their
privacy or AbubbleB is never invaded, only respected. lthough people have to be at
their best behavior -ost of the ti-e, goofiness and acting in a hu-orous way is
usually done around teenage friends and with relatives but even then, respect is
shown.
1.0 Cultural Patterns
1.1 ctivity Erientation is Bosnia is very low due to the ethnic war that lasted
fro- (+*5(+1. Social >elations Erientations are very high and respected due to
the fact that Bosnians fit -ore into the collectivis- di-ension. Self5
Erientations ?ust like everywhere e"ist but are not encouraged due to the low
Individualis- rate. .orld Erientation is not a priority due to the lack of
stability in Bosnia and it(s slow recovery rate.
1.0 Bosnia is a very high conte"t culture. The culture revolves around a lot of
overt -essages, which are easily caught and understood because they are
really AloudB. Bosnia definitely has -ore in5groups because of the lack of
econo-ic status.
1.1 7ower distances in Bosnia are only shown towards the elderly and respected
characters such as leaders, teachers, etc. 8ncertainty avoidance is rare in
Bosnia due to the fact that it is a very s-all country and avoidance is not
necessary because the -a?ority of people are already aware of who who is.
Bosnia(s Individualis-5!ollectivis- rate scores at a low F0* while
Dasculinity5=e-ininity scores at a high of ''.
2.0 (er*al Code
2.1 Being that Bosnia was part of Gugoslavia before &++* and the ethnic war,
-ost of the Bosnians still speak and understand !roatian and Serbian. In fact,
?ust like I -entioned before, Bosnian, !roatian, and Serbian are alike in a lot
of ways and can be understood by a Bosnian without a proble-. The national
language of Bosnia is still Bosnian and it is not considered a tone language.
32.2)
2.0 sa-ple of the written language..BstaB is pronounced AshtaB and -eans what.
Bosnians use -ore letters than the 8S alphabet and those letters are s, z, c, c
,dz.
2.1 The language is based on the .estern /arian of the Shtokavian dialect and
uses both @atin and !yrillic alphabet. It is used throughout the whole country
even though before the war, co--unis- played a big deal on Bosnia and it
re,uired all people and citizens of e". Gugoslavia to learn >ussian !yrillic.
The characters are written fro- left to right and use the sa-e rules that apply
to the 8S alphabet syste-.
4.0 Non$er*al Code
).& Bosnian culture, ?ust like Italian culture, uses a lot of hand -ove-ents and a
lot of body language. Tourists should anticipate a lot of touch and voice
interactions in order for the speaker 2Bosnian4 to prove his or her point.
Bosnians tend to use a cal-ing conversation voice, which can ,uickly turn
into an aggressive tone when a point of passion and interest has been hit.
4.0 Ene can e"pect every citizen of Bosnia to use nonverbal co--unication.
High5educated citizens tend to not use as -uch body language as the lower
class citizens.
4.1 Being that Bosnians are really friendly people, the -a?ority of the citizens that
live in Bosnia do not hide their facial e"pressions. In fact, so-e of the people
encourage it because it is a sign of friendliness and effort towards the speaker
or listener.
4.2 /pace F be ready to have it invaded. %ot because people want to start
argu-ents but only because everybody is e"pected to be friendly and there are
no such things such as Apersonal bubblesB.
5ouch 6 e"pect to be touched a lot. %ot only because people need that certain
touch to feel like they are i-portant, but people will walk up to you, touch
you and greet you with a lot of hugging and hand shaking.
5ime 6 ti-e is not of the priority. Even though people have places to be and
things to do, they tend to be rela"ed when it co-es to ti-e. !ertain dates and
ti-es are obeyed like, personal dates, dinners, appoint-ents while certain
ones are not.
(oice 6 the volu-e of the voice depends upon the conversation. So-eti-es
people will talk ,uietly and cal-ing when ?ust rando-ly talking but once a
sensitive and passionate sub?ect has been achieved, people will raise voices to
prove their points. Shouting and yelling is co--on.
/ilence 6 silence, ?ust like in every culture is considered AgoldenB. Even
though in Bosnia, so-eti-es a ,uiet person will be asked, Ahey, why are you
so ,uietHB His space will be invaded so that the ,uestioner can see what is
going on.
4.4 There are nu-erous gestures in the Bosnian culture that are appropriate for
-ales and so-e that are not appropriate for fe-ales. =or e"a-ple, whistling
for a guy is considered nor-al because the -ales, are si-ply calling each
other. If a guy whistles at a fe-ale, then it is considered i-polite because he is
hinting at so-ething.
nother great e"a-ple is the eyewink. It can -ean several things in Bosnian
culture. &. Eye winking fro- a guy to a guy -eans, A good ?obB AI(- ?ust
kiddingB A hinting at so-ethingB. *. Eye winking to a wo-an is i-polite in a
se"ual way because it -eans A are you ready to get out of hereB A do you want
what I wantHB
7.0 5ypifications
The socio5econo-ic status of -y hosts at this point of ti-e is ranked at a
-iddle class level. The ethnic war had a big effect on every class so there is
not a big nu-ber of upper class status.
The level of power in Bosnia is definitely ranked by class ?ust like
anywhere else, but in this case it stays forever. =or e"a-ple, a person fa-ous
*$ years ago, will still be considered fa-ous and be loved. The social
privileges after the ethnic war
do not have any barriers in preventing one fro- doing what heIshe wants to
do.
The education level of -y hosts is e"tre-ely high. The Bosnian education
syste- is -uch -ore co-ple" than the education syste- in the 8S. Jids in
the first grade are e"pected to be addingIsubtracting, -ultiplyingIdividing and
reading, writing, and speaking in an educated -anner. Every host is highly
educated in the fields of -ath, history and writingIreading.
The typical fa-ily of -y hosts will consist of a husband and a wife and &5
* kids and 0 -a"i-u-. They would have to be -iddle aged with usually &
grandparent re-aining and kids about 05) years apart.
The religion of Bosnian hosts is +'C Isla-ic. This ter- has been changed
to Bosniak in order to avoid confusion with the Diddle Eastern Dusli-.
Every host plays a big role in society because society depends on the host.
By this I -ean is that, Bosnia is not yet stable as far as ?obs and financial
abilities so the society %EE9S the worker and depends on hi-. They do not
have ?obs such as outdoor activities yet because of the war, so every host that
is e-ployed or giving favors to hisIher organization plays a big role within
society because HEISHE is i-portant.
8.0 Interpersonal ,elationships
8.1 Bosnian people are very friendly and welco-ing people. They interact
with strangers and foreigners the sa-e way they do with their friends. .hen I
visited Bosnia, even though I did not know -any people, I was i--ediately
accepted into the fa-ily as if I was a long lost friend. They are very friendly
and will treat and act as if the stranger or foreigner is a friend that they have
known for years.
Hugs and touch in general is i-portant for the typical Bosnian. It shows
the- that you as a foreigner or stranger are in fact an"ious to -eet the- and
that you are pleased in return. !o5workers usually are very close friends that
see each other regularly outside of work and their fa-ilies know each other
well.
The wo-en in Bosnia have as -uch power as -en. They are highly
respected at ho-e and in the workforce. They are not si-ply regarded as the
A-other of -y childrenB but they i-pact the society in -any ways by
providing high position services.
=riends are very i-portant to a Bosnian and to the whole culture. They
value friendship very high, even higher than riches. =riends in Bosnia usually
act like they are brothers or relatives. They do not care what belongs to the-
because it belongs to the other person as well. =riends are irreplaceable in a
Bosnian(s life.
8.0 Gift giving and receiving is only done at special occasions such as birthdays,
holidays, etc. !o5workers rarely give or receive gifts fro- other workers. t a
special -ultinational pro?ect dining and drinking is so-eti-es the case,
for-al diners of course. Being that wo-en are at the sa-e standard as -en,
they are included in the dinner and their opinion and presence does -atter and
contribute. Bosnians usually like reciprocal conversations in which they
engage in conversations about relatives or friends. This helps break the ice,
which in return leads to better business deals and respect.
9.0 What is 5a*oo:
Bosnia, like the 8nited States, has taboo behaviors and gestures that are
very -uch alike. I-polite and childish behavior is usually a no5no with people
that they -eet for the first ti-e. !lose friends do act foolish fro- ti-e to ti-e
but with respectable li-its. =oul language and slang is never really a way to
get to know the hosts even though it is used throughout Bosnia. There are
nu-erous gestures such as the -iddle finger, or the whatever hand -ove-ent.
Den are re,uired to have full respect for wo-en in Bosnia. 8nacceptable
behavior such as whistling as a wo-an walks by, talking behind so-ebody(s
back, or si-ply provoking so-ebody is taboo in Bosnia. The sa-e rules apply
to wo-en. In a nutshell, Bosnia is very si-ilar if not the sa-e as the 8S when
it co-es to what(s taboo and what(s not.
;.0 /tereotypes
Bosnians rarely stereotype because Bosnia does not have a -ulticultural
like the 8S. Bosnia is predo-inantly all white, there is no black, Hispanic or
sian person living in Bosnia. So they do not have the developed hate against
the- because nobody ever interacted with any other culture other than white
European and they never had any reason to hate any black or Hispanic person.
They do watch the news and they develop their own definitions of people
outside of Bosnia. They do on the other hand, notice how 7resident Bush was
elected and they start to ,uestion 8S rational thinking and its intellectuality.
They have nothing against 8S -ericans because after all, it is the 8nited
States that stopped the war after a grueso-e #5year tragedy.
10. Additional Information
Bosnia is a great country not only because of its very historical location,
but also because of its beautiful beaches and tourist locations. It has great
history behind it such as the assassination of the ustrian archduke =>%K
=E>9I%%9 in Sara?evo, which the capital of Bosnia in 3une &+&#. The
resulting conflict between Serbia and ustria5Hungary ,uickly escalated into
.orld .ar &. nother great history -o-ent is that Bosnia was the host of the
Ely-pic ga-es in &+'#
The na-es Bosnia and Herzegovina refer to two separate regionsL Bosnia
2its na-e derived fro- the Bosna >iver4 occupies the great -a?ority of the
republicMs territory< Herzegovina is a -uch s-aller area in the south, around
the city of Dostar< its na-e derives fro- the 6er-an Herzog 2NdukeN4, the
title borne by its for-er rulers.