Bosnia’s political system allows scores of political parties to obtain state financing, and the proliferation of bureaucracies — in addition to the Muslim-Croat and Serb entities, there is a three-person presidency, 10 cantonal administrations and scores of municipalities — has made the government by far the country’s biggest employer.

The Dayton accords among the leaders of warring Serbs, Croats and Muslims — the latter now called Bosniaks — brought an end to the 1992-95 civil war by constructing a decentralized state that gave each a share of power and none of them dominance. The chief American negotiator, Richard C. Holbrooke, who died in 2010, was widely hailed for his diplomatic skill in ending the slaughter. But the Bosnians have since added layers of complexity to the original design that have entrenched the political elite while often hindering economic development.

Overall unemployment is estimated at 27 percent to 40 percent, and as many as 70 percent of young people are said to be without work.

Back-room deals between businesses and those in political power have been a way of life here at least since the Communist Yugoslav days of Josip Broz Tito, who is nonetheless revered here for having kept at bay the ethnic rivalries that nationalist politicians exploited in the 1990s after his death in 1980. The wars that resulted killed more than 100,000 people and caused millions to flee their homes.

Social media — primarily Facebook and Twitter — has recently harnessed long-simmering frustration and anger at state corruption, leading to demonstrations where the gulf between the protesters and the political elite was palpable, and somewhat reminiscent of the recent, far bigger antigovernment protests in Ukraine.

Bosnia has received billions of dollars in aid, and foreign officials and forces have been sent to help coax the ravaged country back to peaceful life. Compared with how things were 18 years ago, there have been achievements. But they have fallen far short of what Western donors and leaders had hoped.