40 years ago, when Rade Jovanović sang: “My village is more beautiful than Paris; beautiful from afar, even more beautiful up close“, that was still true. The schools were full of children. Neighbours helped one another in the fields. Young people gathered every night in another village to dance kolo, hoping to find their future husband or wife. Since that time, villages across Bosnia and Herzegovina have lost not only population and economic activity, but also optimism.
Rural Bosnia and Herzegovina is not empty because people stopped loving their villages; it is emptying because too many people no longer see a future there. As population leaves, shops close, roads are neglected, buses drive less frequently, and public services slowly disappear. What remains is not only a lack of jobs, but a feeling of abandonment.
The tragedy is that the foundations of rural life have not completely disappeared. The land, the homes, the community spirit, and even much of the old infrastructure are still there. What is missing is opportunity.
We need to be honest: liberals are not doing a good job when it comes to understanding and addressing the concerns of people living in rural areas. Naša stranka, as the only liberal party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, gets the majority of its support from Sarajevo and other big cities. Even in smaller municipalities where the party regularly gets good results, the majority of its supporters come from the urban areas. If we, as liberals, genuinely believe in equal opportunity, entrepreneurship, and local initiative, we cannot afford to ignore half of the country's population. Rural citizens should not have to choose between nationalist promises and socialist subsidies; they deserve a liberal vision that offers practical solutions to the problems they are facing.
The simple truth is that rural Bosnia and Herzegovina is not as far from liberalism as many of us assume. Most people are not asking for the state to run their lives; they are asking for the chance to succeed through their own effort. They want good schools, reliable healthcare, fair institutions, less bureaucracy, and the freedom to make decisions about their families, businesses, and futures. They want opportunities for their children without being forced to leave the places they call home.
Aren’t these liberal principles?
To remain vibrant and attractive, rural areas need to have a diversified economy that extends beyond traditional agriculture. Local governments should actively support entrepreneurship through grants, low-interest loans, tax incentives, and business incubators, with particular attention to start-ups and family-owned enterprises that create local employment. Agricultural policy should shift away from inefficient subsidies toward targeted tax relief, lower production costs, and transparent incentives that reward productivity and innovation.
At the same time, rural tourism should be promoted more ambitiously, while governments should create favorable conditions for remote workers and digital nomads by simplifying residency procedures. Expanding economic opportunities beyond farming is essential for building resilient rural economies and making rural communities more attractive to younger generations.
Economic diversification must be supported by modern infrastructure, high-quality public services, and effective local governance. Investment should prioritize better road networks, reliable transportation links, water and sewage systems, waste collection, renewable energy, and universal high-speed internet, ensuring that rural residents have the same access to services and opportunities as those living in urban areas. All levels of government should invest in schools, healthcare facilities, sports and cultural infrastructure to improve quality of life.
It is also important that bureaucracy is reduced through simplified administrative procedures and greater digitalization. Resolving property rights issues, modernizing land registries, and facilitating land consolidation would encourage private investment, while giving rural communities a stronger voice in local decision-making. Together, strong institutions, modern infrastructure, and empowered local communities create the conditions for sustainable rural development driven by individual initiative rather than dependence on the state.
Can liberal ideas revive the village? This question remains unanswered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not because liberal policies have failed, but because they have never been fully implemented.
For decades, rural development has been approached through a narrow focus on agriculture, while issues such as entrepreneurship, infrastructure, cultural life, and quality public services have largely been neglected. Liberal solutions offer a different path; a path that prioritizes private initiative, lower barriers for entrepreneurs, and investment in infrastructure that enables individuals and businesses to thrive. If given a chance, such policies may finally allow rural residents to prosper from their own work and effort. As a result, the main character from Rade’s song might be able to say again that his village really is “more beautiful than Paris”!
Author: Anes Hodžić
“This article was produced by a participant from the European Liberal Youth LYMEC with the financial support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. The opinions expressed in this article are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.”
My Village is More Beautiful than Paris: A Liberal Answer to Reviving Rural Areas