ABSTRACT

In a referendum held at the end of February 1992 on independence in Bosnia-Herzegovina, some 1.2 million Bosnian Serbs, over 30 per cent of the population, boycotted the referendum. Nevertheless, since about 60 per cent of the electorate and about 90 per cent of the participants supported that proposition, the legislative body of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared independence. Governments of Western democracies, in turn, accepted the 'will of the majority' and recognised Bosnia s independence. Our question is: Why did Bosnian Serbs not participate in the referendum, thus missing the opportunity to live in a democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina, which its government promised to create?