The ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two political entities of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, are its federal units with a high level of autonomy. The cantons were established by the Law on Federal Units (Cantons) on 12 June 1996 as a result of the

Washington Agreement The Washington Agreement ( Croatian: ''washingtonski sporazum'' and Bosnian: ''vašingtonski sporazum'') was a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, signed in Washington ...

of 1994 between the representatives of the Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks. Five of the cantons have a Bosniak majority:

Una-Sana Canton The Una-Sana Canton (Serbian and / Унско-сански кантон; ) is one of the ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the northwest of the country and has been ...

, Tuzla Canton,

Zenica-Doboj Canton The Zenica-Doboj Canton (; hr, Zeničko-dobojska županija; sr, Зеничко-добојски кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the City of Zenica ...

Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde The Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Bosansko-podrinjski kanton Goražde, Босанско-подрињски кантон Горажде), until 2001 Goražde Canton ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Goraždansko-podrinjski kanton, Горажда ...

and Sarajevo Canton; three have a Croat majority:

Posavina Canton The Posavina Canton ( hr, Županija Posavska; bs, Posavski kanton; sr, Посавски кантон) is one of ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the smallest canton with an area of only . ...

West Herzegovina Canton The West Herzegovina Canton ( hr, Županija Zapadnohercegovačka, bs, Zapadnohercegovački kanton) is one of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The West Herzegovina Canton is in the Herzegovina region in the southwest of ...

and

Canton 10 Canton 10 ( hr, Hercegbosanska županija; bs, Kanton 10; sr-cyrl, Кантон 10) or Herzeg-Bosnian canton is the largest of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by area and eighth by population. It mainly covers an are ...

, and the two cantons are regarded as ethnically mixed: Central Bosnia Canton and

Herzegovina-Neretva Canton The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton ( hr, Hercegovačko-neretvanska županija; bs, Hercegovačko-neretvanski kanton) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The canton mainly comprises the Neretva ...

. The most populous canton is Tuzla Canton, while Canton 10 is the largest by area.

Creation

The cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are a result of an artificial application of 1993 Vance–Owen Peace Plan for the

war in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, applied only to one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plan originally foresaw the cantonization of the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantons were to be named after rivers and cities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the tradition from the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

's naming of banates in 1929. The ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were created by the Law on Federal Units (Cantons), enacted by the Constituent Assembly of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 12 June 1996. Of these, five have Bosniak and three Croat majorities, while two cantons are mixed. The cantons with Bosniak-majority are:

, Tuzla Canton,

and Sarajevo Canton, while the Croat-majority cantons are

and

. The two mixed cantons are Central Bosnia Canton and

Jurisdiction

As the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created on the principle of decentralisation, the cantons have strong autonomy which is guaranteed by a long list of exclusive jurisdictions in the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including police, education, cultural policy, housing policy, public services, local economic policy, energy policy, media policy, welfare, tourism and the right of the cantons to introduc taxation and borrow money. Other jurisdictions are shared with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including enforcement of human rights, health and environmental policy, infrastructure, social welfare, tourism and natural resources. Although in some areas the constitution foresaw a mixed jurisdiction between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cantons, such as tourism and energy policy, the cantons are the dominant actors. The principle of decentralisation is especially emphasised in the two mixed cantons, where the decisions regarding core issues, such as education, are left in the jurisdiction of the municipalities.

Governance

The cantons consist of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. A canton has its own government headed by a prime minister. The prime minister has his own cabinet, and is assisted in his duties by various cantonal ministries, agencies, and cantonal services. Five of the cantons (Una-Sana, Tuzla, Zenica-Doboj, Bosnian-Podrinje, and Sarajevo) have a Bosniak majority, three (Posavina, West Herzegovina and Canton 10) have a Bosnian Croat majority, while two of them (Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva) are "ethnically mixed", meaning neither ethnic group has a majority and there are special legislative procedures for the protection of their political interests.

Footnotes

References

Books

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Journals

* {{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of European countries Subdivisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cantons Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 Cantons, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina geography-related lists