The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; abbr. SDA) is a
Bosniak nationalist
Bosniak nationalism ( bs, bošnjački nacionalizam) or Bosniakdom ( bs, bošnjaštvo) is the nationalism that asserts the nationality of Bosniaks and promotes the cultural unity of the Bosniaks. It should not be confused with Bosnian nationalism ( ...
,
conservative political party in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
.
History
The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, as a "party of Muslim cultural-historic circle". It was a realisation of
Alija Izetbegović's idea of an Islamic religious and national party in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. Many members of the
Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
s, took part in the party's foundation. Alija, who was chosen as its chairman, tried to resolve disputes between the Muslim nationalist Islamists led by
Omer Behmen and the left-wing Muslims led by
Adil Zulfikarpašić. The party has its roots in the old
Yugoslav Muslim Organization, a conservative Muslim party in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
.
Yugoslav Muslim Organization was a successor of Muslimanska Narodna Organizacija (Muslim National Organization), a conservative Muslim party founded in 1906 during the Austro-Hungarian era. The Muslim National Organization was itself a successor of the conservative Muslim "Movement for
waqf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...
and educational autonomy" (Pokret za vakufsko-mearifsku autonomiju) that goes back to 1887.
The SDA achieved considerable success in elections after the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in the early 1990s. It founded the newspaper ''
Ljiljan
''Ljiljan'' was a Bosnian weekly news-political and cultural news magazine. It is named after the golden Bosnian lily, which is considered the national symbol of the Bosniak people. It was founded by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) ( bs, Str ...
''. The party remains the strongest political party among the Bosniak population in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In November 2000 the party was defeated by the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
and other parties gathered into the "Alliance for Change", and found itself in opposition for the first time since its creation. After the
2022 general election
The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2022 United Nations Security Council election
* 2022 national electoral calendar
* 2022 local ...
, the SDA became once again the largest party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The party has branches in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and the
Sandžak
Sandžak (; sh, / , ; sq, Sanxhaku; ota, سنجاق, Sancak), also known as Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative dis ...
region of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. One of the goals of the party, outside Bosnia and Herzegovina, is to represent and defend the interests of Bosniaks and other Muslim
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...
in the entire
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
region. In
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
, the SDA merged with smaller Bosniak and Slavic Muslim parties to create the
Bosniak Party
The Bosniak Party ( bs, Bošnjačka stranka, Cyrillic: Бошњачка странка, abbr. BS) is a conservative and pro-European political party of the Bosniak minority in Montenegro. Its founder and first leader was Rafet Husović, while the ...
.
The party is an observer member of the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP).
Ideology
The Party of Democratic Action is the primary stronghold for right-orientated
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
, especially for
nationalists, and
conservatives, and thus they have been described as
national-conservative
National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...
. Besides that, the party has been also described as
Islamist and
Pan-Islamist
Pan-Islamism ( ar, الوحدة الإسلامية) is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Pan-Islamism was ...
,
[ and its leadership has been described by some, to have close ties with the ]Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
, and with current Islamist regimes such as Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Some have even described them as secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
. They support the centralization of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On foreign stances they also tend to be atlanticist
Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and those in Europe (the countries of the European Union, the ...
and supportive of the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.[Xavier Bougarel. "Bosnian Islam since 1990: Cultural Identity or Political Ideology?", Convention annuelle de l’Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), p. 3]
/ref>["Party Politics in the Western Balkans" edited by Vera Stojarová, Peter Emerson]
/ref>
List of presidents
Elections
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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from:01/01/1996 till:22/02/2001 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government
from:22/02/2001 till:23/12/2002 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition
from:23/12/2002 till:12/01/2012 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government
from:12/01/2012 till:31/03/2015 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition
from:31/03/2015 till:25/01/2023 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government
from:25/01/2023 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition
Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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id:Opposition value:red legend:Opposition
Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar
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from:01/01/1996 till:12/03/2001 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government
from:12/03/2001 till:14/02/2003 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition
from:14/02/2003 till:28/04/2023 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government
from:28/04/2023 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition
Presidency elections
Cantonal election results
Notes
*In the 1998 elections, the SDA was the main party in the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, along with the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liberal Democratic Party and Civic Democratic Party.
See also
* Elections in the Party of Democratic Action
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Political parties established in 1990
Islamic political parties