Mental health in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Navigating Recovery in a ‘Frozen Conflict’

Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), a country with beautiful landscapes, rich history and cultural interconnection, still continues to feel the psychological and social effects of the 1992-1995 war. Thirty years after the Dayton Peace Agreement, the country can be described as a 'frozen conflict' shaped by ethnic divisions, political fragmentation, economic instability and unresolved trauma. These conditions collectively shape Bosnian mental health, revealing that trauma in post-war BiH cannot be understood solely through a biomedical perspective. Psychological distress within such a context is embedded in ongoing political volatility, socio-economic stressors, intergenerational loss, and ethno-nationalistic narratives that affect the lives of Bosnians. This article explains how the socio-political landscape of BiH has shaped post-war psychological experiences, highlights the limitations of universal trauma frameworks, and reviews the development and limitations of the current mental health care system, including post-war community based reforms, institutional fragmentation across entities and cantons, as well as coordination challenges. By situating mental health within social, political, economic and communal realities, this article argues for a more comprehensive and grounded understanding of trauma and recovery in post-war societies like BiH.