ZAVNOBiH and the continuity of statehood in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the 20th and 21st centuries
F ollowing the loss of its state independence in 1463 during the medieval era, Bosnia and Herzegovina remained a distinct multi-confessional, multicultural, and geographically cohesive entity until the mid-20th century, under the rule of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, and later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This status persisted until the imposition of King Alexander I Karadjordjević's January 6th Dictatorship in 1929 and the subsequent reorganisation of Yugoslavia into nine banovinas. Between 1941 and 1945, during the Second World War, Bosnia and Herzegovina became the primary battleground for National Liberation and the anti-fascist struggle led by partisan forces against the occupying powers on Yugoslav territory. The idea of ZAVNOBiH emerged within the framework of the National Liberation Movement. After the organisational and political arrangements were made, the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZAVNOBiH) convened on 25 Nove...
