Već iz samog uvida u geografski smještaj Hrvata i Bošnjaka moglo bi se pretpostaviti da je riječ o dvama narodima u bliskoj »srodničkoj« vezi. Da ona uistinu postoji najbolje svjedoči podatak da se u osnovi jedino oni izvorno služe najzastupljenijim, autohtonim govorima u Bosni i Hercegovini. Riječ je o dvjema nacionalnim zajednicama proizišlim iz narodne mase koja je nekoć imala istovrstan ili uvelike ujednačen povijesni razvoj. On se prekida osmanskim osvajanjima i vlašću nad ovdašnjim prostorima te utjecajima koje je ostavila na njima. Posebice posredstvom masovne islamizacije te indirektnim poticajem sveukupne unifikacije katoličke populacije u konačnici pod hrvatskim imenom. S obzirom na taj »lom« i naknadnu posebnost razvoja razumljivo je da hrvatski i bošnjački narod temeljno određuju i posebni ciljevi. Među njih zasigurno ne pripada »pitanje« opstojnosti i cjelovitosti Bosne i Hercegovine jer su u tom smislu stajališta hrvatske i bošnjačke politike ujednačena. Ono što izgleda spornim jest regulacija političko-pravnog suodnosa Hrvata i Bošnjaka prvenstveno unutar Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine. Na toj je razini i nadalje nejasno mogu li hrvatsko-bošnjački odnosi biti utemeljeni na afirmaciji obostrano prihvatljivih ustrojstvenih rješenja te na međusobnom uvažavanju, čemu doprinos može dati i zajednički identitetni fond ili je nužna njihova determiniranost pokušajima političko-identitetne negacije pa i posredstvom ideoloških konstrukcija prošlosti i sadašnjosti? From the very insight into the geographical location of Croats and Bosniaks, it could be assumed that these are two peoples in a close »relative« relationship. That it truly exists is most impressively evidenced by the fact that basically only they originally used the most represented, autochthonous dialects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, the (new) Štokavian-Ikavian (west of the Neretva River and Bosnia) and the Šćakavian-Ijekavian (between the Bosna River and the lower course of the Drina River). We are talking about two national communities that arose from a mass of people that once had the same or largely uniform historical development, primarily due to influences of the West and therefore Catholicism. This developmental uniformity or closeness is interrupted by the appearance of the Ottoman Empire in the areas of today’s Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the influence it left on them. This influence was exerted especially through mass Islamization and through an indirect stimulus to the overall unification of the Catholic population, ultimately under the Croatian name. In light of this »break« and the subsequent specificities of their development, it is understandable that the positions of Croat and Bosniak peoples are partly determined by specific objectives. The »question« of the existence and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly does not belong among them, because in this sense the positions of Croatian and Bosniak politics are uniform. What seems contentious is the regulation of the political-legal relationship between Croats and Bosniaks, primarily within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that level, it is still unclear whether Croat-Bosniak relations can be based on the affirmation of mutually acceptable organizational solutions for Federation and on mutual respect, to which a common identity fund can contribute, or if their determination will necessarily happen through attempts at political-identity negation and also through ideological constructions of the past and present?