Relationship dossier
Bosnia and Herzegovina
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
A cooperative partnership shaped by UK support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s stability and security concerns over political developments.
Bosnia and Herzegovina toward United Kingdom
+30Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the United Kingdom in establishing a strategic partnership in 2022, creating a framework for bilateral cooperation, including on security.
United Kingdom toward Bosnia and Herzegovina
+35The United Kingdom has supported Bosnia and Herzegovina’s postwar security, including through international peacekeeping missions, and established a strategic partnership with the country in 2022. In 2022, it also sanctioned Bosnian Serb political leaders over actions it considered destabilizing.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship combines sustained UK engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s postwar security with a bilateral partnership framework. UK sanctions on political leaders over perceived threats to stability are a notable source of friction, but are directed at individuals rather than constituting a general rupture in relations.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Kingdom have pursued a cooperative relationship, including a 2022 strategic partnership focused on security and other areas. The United Kingdom has also supported Bosnia and Herzegovina’s postwar security and constitutional order, while imposing sanctions on Bosnian Serb political leaders over actions it considered destabilizing. These measures reflect substantial engagement alongside concerns about political stability.
Areas of tension
- UK opposition to actions by Bosnian Serb political leaders that it considers threats to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s stability.
Key developments
The United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina established a strategic partnership covering bilateral cooperation, including security.
The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Milorad Dodik and Željka Cvijanović over actions it considered destabilizing.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2022 strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent of ongoing bilateral cooperation beyond security is uncertain.