Bosnia goes to polls amid economic woes, ethnic splits

Bosnians vote in a general election Sunday amid mounting social discontent in a country plagued with corruption and ethnic disputes hampering its approach to the European Union.

Nearly 20 years since a devastating war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs Bosnia is one of Europe's poorest countries and remains split along ethnic lines.

Protesters Unite Against Corruption in Bosnia, Bulgaria, and Beyond

by Lili Nikolova and Dr. Alexander Mirescu 

Dozens were arrested and injured during civil demonstrations against high electricity bills in Sophia, Bulgaria, February 2013. (Wikipedia)

Since 1989, popular demands and large-scale protests in Eastern Europe helped to successfully topple communist regimes, usually with support from long-standing anti-communist civil society stakeholders. Every Eastern European country has since made significant advances in creating and strengthening its democratic institutions. Many, such as Poland, Lithuania, and (most recently) Croatia, became members of the European Union and NATO. Those still struggling—Albania, Serbia, FYROM, and Moldova, for example—still see membership in the EU as the pinnacle of their democratic projects.