Novi list: Croatian right hosts pro-Trump figures at event featuring BiH partition map

Over the past two days in central Zagreb, Tradfest - a gathering of conservative and traditionalist politicians organised in Croatia by the group Vigilare - brought together a number of right-wing political figures, including Nino Raspudic, Nikola Grmoja and Ivan Penava, as well as representatives of Croatia’s Foreign Ministry and U.S. conservative organisations linked to Trump’s political orbit, according to Novi List.

Among the guests was Brown, head of the International Organization for the Family and a well-known figure in transnational conservative networks close to Trump-aligned circles.

Bosnia panel sparks outrage

One of the most controversial topics at the conference was the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to Novi List, participants discussed the country using a map that effectively envisioned its territorial breakup between a Serb-controlled entity, a Croat entity and a Bosniak-majority remainder.

The panel was explicitly titled: “Bosnia and Herzegovina: a failed state and the necessity of a third Croat entity.”

The presentation that provoked the strongest reaction came from Ivan Pepic, a lecturer at Croatia’s University of Defence and Security “Dr. Franjo Tudjman”, who presented a map dividing Bosnia into three - effectively four - units: Republika Srpska, a “Croat Republic,” a “Bosniak-Muslim Republic,” and the Brcko District.

The proposed “Croat Republic,” marked in red on the map, included western Herzegovina, the area around Mostar, and separate enclaves in central Bosnia and Posavina.

“Such a model with three federal units could ensure equality among the constituent peoples, as is currently the case in Belgium,” Pepic said.

The event triggered strong reactions in both Croatia and Bosnia. In Bosnia, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) condemned the presentation.

A Banja Luka–Belgrade–Washington connection?

According to media reports, the event was also attended by Domagoj Knezevic, a special adviser to Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman. Most party leader Nikola Grmoja defended attendance by saying people do not have to agree with everything said at such a gathering in order to listen.

Alongside Vigilare, one of the organisers was Ordo Iuris Croatia, with support from the Heritage Foundation, the influential U.S. conservative think tank closely associated with Trump-era policy circles.

The question now being raised is whether this type of gathering points to a broader political convergence between parts of Croatia’s nationalist right, Serbia’s leadership in Belgrade, Republika Srpska in Banja Luka, and elements of Trump-aligned conservative networks in the United States - particularly on the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future. That debate is likely to intensify in the coming days, as Croatian and U.S. officials meet at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Dubrovnik.