Turmoil in the Balkans: Former Yugoslavia

Josh BroachAP World History

The Balkans: Political strife• The main issue concerning the Balkans today is inside of the former

Yugoslavia.• Several ethnicities have gained their own nation following the break-up

and as a result tensions over who exactly deserves what region has caused fighting.

• Accompanying several different ethnicities are religious diversity that came during medieval times with the split of the Christian church in 1054 and the advancement of the Muslims.

• Today there is a mixture of all of these faiths in the region.• Redrawing political boundaries, forming new nations, and secession have

caused numerous political issues in the region since the collapse of former Yugoslavia in 1989

The Balkans: Economic strife• Greece’s development and emergence as the “leader of the Balkans” has really left

behind the rest of the Balkans in the economic aspect.• Greece in recent years has provided economic stimulus to areas in the lower

Balkans.• The Balkans have been excluded in the EU and NATO and as a result have failed to

receive the perks and voice that come along with being in those organizations.• The instability between the Serbs and Albanians in the region have also resulted in

a great deal of economic failure because these ethnicities have ravaged the region in war.

• The Balkans in general are an area not containing the greatest natural resource bank nor do they have the unity to develop a vast trade network.

The Balkans: Violent Past• Before 1054 the Balkans were vastly a region dominated by the

Roman Empire and as a result held a dominant roman catholic base. After the schism, a significant part (especially in the east) became eastern orthodox. These two Christian denominations reigned supreme until around 1400 when the Turks invaded Constantinople and set out to the nearby Balkans where many Albanians and other ethnicities turned largely to Islam. Under the Ottoman empire into the 20th century the Balkans were an outlying province that suffered from an even worse off Ottoman Empire. Following WW1 Yugoslavia was created by a pact of Serbian kinsmen. The region did not stay away from concern for long as the USSR/US conflict cast a shadow on the region and both sides of the conflict ignored issues arising in the area.

Yugoslavia

• The break up of former Yugoslavia in 1991 resulted in the creation of several nations based on ethnic lines. Yugoslavia was not a part of the USSR but held a communist regime that with the fall of communism at the end of the 80’s saw a similar collapse and war. Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Slovenia, Kosovo, and Macedonia, were formed as a result of the break up given the perspective ethnicities of Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Serbian.

Solving the Political Issue

• A common technique to solving the issue of political borders has been new nation forming by ethnic majorities in that region. Croatia and Slovenia were the original group to break away from Yugoslavia followed by Macedonia. Other nations including Serbia separated as well. To solve political confusion the UN had to officially recognize each nation or otherwise step in to combat what the UN considered delusional separatists. The most recently administered nation was Kosovo in 2008.

Solving the Economic issue

• Former Yugoslavia nations are being prepared to enter the UN. Required entry levels will take a much more stable economy in the region that has been aided by a stimulus contribution of 10 billion dollars by “the leader” Greece. The Hellenic Plan as established in 2002 is set out to aid poor economic nations in the former Yugoslavia. Greece also notably brought back to life the South East European Cooperation Process as the only authoritative trade body in the former Yugoslavian sphere.

Bibliography

• "Yugoslavia." Wikipedia. Web.4 Jun 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslavia>.

• Alexandros P. Mallias, "Greece and the Balkans." Web.4 Jun 2009. <http://www.helleniccomserve.com/greecenbalkansmallias.html>.

• "The long story of differences." Web.4 Jun 2009. <http://www.historians.org/Projects/GIroundtable/Balkans/Balkans2.htm>.