NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Dissolution of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a south-eastern European country in the Balkans, a region with a long history of sectarian and ethnic conflict. It was a conglomeration of six regional republics roughly divided on ethnic lines which split up in the 1990s into five independent countries. The most important elements which fostered the hatred that spilt into the civil war are the formation of the first Yugoslavia, the civil war during the Second World War, the overreaching idea of "Greater Serbia" and the Balkan adaptations of Pan-Slavism. The borders dividing the republics were the product of old treaties signed by the great European powers. Among the republics created was ethnically mixed Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia had never been a modern state, moreover, it did not have a clear ethnic majority with “44% Muslims, 33% Serbs, and the remaining population consisting of Croatians and other minorities.” This left "Greater Serbia" open to interpretation, with large tracks of Bosnia and Croatia under dispute as to its proper ownership. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all South Slavic languages, ÐˆÑƒÐ³Ð¾ÑÐ»Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ˜Ð° in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic) is a term used for the three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the very late 1980s and from 2000 and beyond. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Greater Serbia is a name for a Serbian nationalist concept. ... Slavic flag proposed by the Pan-Slav convention in Prague in 1848 Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid 19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic people. ... Bosnia and Herzegovina (also variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ...

The death of Josip Broz Tito

The death of Tito on 4 May 1980 removed what many Yugoslavs and Westerners saw as the country’s main unifying force. It exposed the preexisting tensions is Yugoslavia’s multiethnic population distribution, with no republic being ethnically homogeneous. This resulted in a large Serb minority outside her official borders, which laid the seeds of fear of domination by Croats and Muslims. Ironically these same fears, only inverted, is what pushed Croatia and especially Bosnia-Herzegovina to seceded from Yugoslavia. Moreover, the presence of three competing religions — Catholicism, Islam, and Orthodox Christianity — divided Yugoslavia again, this time on religious lines. This division is significant due to the effect that Yugoslavia’s historical context has upon the religions inter-relations. In Yugoslavia’s case, religion is a more inflamed issue as during WWII Catholics committed genocide against the Orthodox populations. Furthermore, Islam is seen as odd man out by both strands of Christianity, with the Muslims further seen as sympathetic to the Ottoman Empire by the largely Orthodox Christian Serbian population. Religious divides also marked the division between Western-influenced and Catholic Croatia and Slovenia and Russian-influenced Orthodox Serbia. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all South Slavic languages, ÐˆÑƒÐ³Ð¾ÑÐ»Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ñ˜Ð° in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic) is a term used for the three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[2] - is described in the Oxford Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Orthodox Christianity is a generalized reference to the Eastern traditions of Christianity, as opposed to the Western traditions (which descend through, or alongside of, the Roman Catholic Church) or the Eastern Rite Catholic churches. ... now. ...

Reasons for the breakup

Structural problems

Tito’s Yugoslavia was characterised by constant reforms which failed to resolve key national problems. Moreover, the federal system, due to increasing national tensions, and the communist party’s wish to support "national self determination" began to loosen its control. This resulted in the creation of Kosovo, an autonomous region of Serbia, legislated by the 1974 constitution. This constitution broke down powers between the capital and the newly created autonomous regions in Vojvodina (an area of Yugoslavia with a large number of ethnic minorities) and Kosovo (with a large Albanian population). This not only exacerbated Serbian fears of a "weak Serbia, for a strong Yugoslavia" but also hit at the heart of Serbian national sentiment. A majority of Serbs see Kosovo as the "cradle of the nation," and would not accept the possibility of losing it to the majority Albanian population. Albanians were especially feared because they were both Muslims and non-Slavs. Federalism can refer to either: The form of government, or constitutional structure, found in a federation. ... For other uses of the name Kosovo, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Republic of Serbia â€“Vojvodina â€“Kosovo (UN admin. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Distribution of Slavic peoples by language Countries inhabited predominantly by Slavic peoples The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe. ...

Kosovo's special significance was due to the defeat of Prince Lazar, the last King of Serbia. It was said that he was betrayed at the Battle of Kosovo Polje against the invading Ottoman Turks. The devastating defeat was the end of the Serbian kingdom and the beginning of 400 years of subjugation under the Ottomans. However, the first records of the battle weren’t created till 100 years after the battle, and then in the form of a poem. The romantic spin given to this episode of history contributed to the sacred and hallowed nature of the region of Kosovo. The significance of Kosovo in the Serbian mindset was so strong that Serbian children were christened as “little avengers of Kosovo.” This emotional attachment to Kosovo was a major reason for the Kosovo War that broke out in 1999. Prince Lazar, Photo courtesy of freesrpska. ... This is the list of Serbian monarchs. ... This page is about the Battle of Kosovo of 1389; for other battles, see Battle of Kosovo (disambiguation) The Battle of Kosovo Polje was fought on St. ...

This loosened version of the federation, essentially made Yugoslavia a de facto confederacy, placing pressure upon the legitimacy of the regime and engendered resentment in the richer republics. Slovenia and Croatia, the most developed republics were continually frustrated by their inability to further lift their standard of living as they had to subsidize the development of the poor republics in what they described as an "economic black hole." It highlighted the vast differences in the quality of life in the different republics. Tito’s death created further problems, in an effort to ensure his legacy, Tito’s 1974 constitution established a system of year long presidencies, on a rotation basis out of the eight leaders of the republics. Such short terms were highly ineffective. Essentially it left a power vacuum which was left open for most of the 1980s, with only Slobodan Milošević taking the reigns in 1987. A confederation is an association of sovereign states, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... A subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by government in support of an activity regarded as being in the public interest. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Slobodan MiloÅ¡eviÄ‡ Slobodan MiloÅ¡eviÄ‡ (IPA Serbian Cyrillic: Ð¡Ð»Ð¾Ð±Ð¾Ð´Ð°Ð½ ÐœÐ¸Ð»Ð¾ÑˆÐµÐ²Ð¸Ñ›) (20 August 1941 â€“ 11 March 2006) was President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia. ...

Economic weakness

Along with internal structural problems, Yugoslavia was further undermined by economic factors. Yugoslavia’s non-aligned stance had resulted in access to loans from both superpower blocs. This contact with the West opened up Yugoslavia’s markets sooner than the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. The 1973 oil crisis coupled with Western trade barriers, dramatically hindered her thirty years of breakneck economic growth. In order to maintain this, Yugoslavia took on a number of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and subsequently fell into heavy IMF debt. As a condition of receiving loans, the IMF demands certain "liberalisation" of a country’s market place. During this time Yugoslavia incurred $19.9 billion in foreign debt by 1981. This problem was compounded by the general "unproductiveness of the South," which not only added to Yugoslavia’s economic woes, but also irritated Slovenia and Croatia further. However of real concern was the unemployment rate, at 1 million by 1980. The recession lowered the number of consumer products available, which had always been higher in Yugoslavia than in other socialist states. It illustrated to the general public the incompetence of the communist party to run the system. A decade of tightening belts resulted in growing frustration and resentment against the both Serbian ‘ruling class,’ and the minorities who were seen to benefit from government legislation. Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (2005) The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, is an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. ... An American B-2 bomber in flight. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Eastern Europe is the eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... At the height of the crisis in the United States, drivers of vehicles with odd numbered license plates were allowed to purchase gasoline only on odd-numbered days of the month, while drivers with even-numbers were limited to even-numbered days. ... The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance when requested. ... As a market-emphasized descendant of classical liberalism, market liberalism advocates full freedom of markets, without e. ...

The international climate

Yugoslavia was a unique state, straddling both the East and West. Moreover, Tito was fundamental maker of the third world or "group of 77" which acted as an alternative to the superpowers. More importantly, Yugoslavia acted as a buffer state between the West and the Soviet Union and also prevented the Soviets from getting a toehold on the Mediterranean Sea. However, with the rise of Gorbachev, perestroika and glasnost, the West felt secure enough in the USSR’s intentions that Yugoslavia was no longer of strategic importance. The external status quo, which the Communist Party had depended upon to remain viable was beginning to disappear. Furthermore, the failure of socialism all over Central and Eastern Europe once again brought Yugoslavia’s inner contradictions, inefficiencies and ethno-religious tensions to the surface. For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... link titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink title--210. ... A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ; Pronunciation: mih-kha-ILL ser-GHE-ye-vich gor-bah-CHOFF) (born March 2, 1931), was leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. ... Poster showing Mikhail Gorbachev Perestroika ( , Russian: ) is the Russian word (which passed into English) for the economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Nationalism

The perceived disadvantage on the part of the Slovenes and Croatians, the inefficacies of the state, and the "disproportionate" majority of Serbs in the state apparatus allowed nationalist leaders such as Franjo Tudjman of Croatia to whip up nationalistic sentiment in order to demand independence. Tudjman’s reinstatement of the Croatian Checkerboard as the symbol of Croat independence ignited fears of a return to the fascist World War II-era Ustaše state, which was compounded further by circulation of a new currency also named after its Ustaše counterpart. Tudjman’s government-controlled press portrayed the Serb population within Croatia as subversive and imperialistic. Franjo Tuđman (May 14, 1922 - December 10, 1999) was the first president of Croatia in the 1990s. ... During World War II, in April 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded. ... UstaÅ¡e volunteers for the Waffen SS (Domobran Regiment) marching during a parade in the Independent State of Croatia. ...

Slobodan Milošević was a master demagogue. In 1989, the 600th anniversary of Serbia’s historic defeat at Kosovo Polje, Milošević gave a highly provocative speech to one million Serbs, which made reference to the nation's great historic past. Here, Milošević spoke not only of history and nationalism, but "greater Serbia," and the persecution suffered by Serbs in the Croatian and Bosnian territory. Milošević’s answer to the incompetence of the federal system was to centralize the government. Considering Slovenia and Croatia were looking farther ahead to independence, this was considered unacceptable.

At the Yugoslav conference in late 1989 talks broke down. The leaders could not come to an agreement on how to deal with the rotating presidency. Moreover many members were no longer willing to rescue what they saw as a sunken ship. War soon broke out in Slovenia in 1990. After a week, the Slovenes were victorious and the break up of Yugoslavia had begun. The Ten-Day War, sometimes called the Slovenian War (Slovenian: Slovenska osamosvojitvena vojna, Slovenian Independence War or desetdnevna vojna Ten-Day War), was a brief military conflict between Slovenia and Yugoslavia in 1991 following Slovenias declaration of independence. ...

References

Categories: Articles to be expanded | Accuracy disputes | Yugoslavia | Second Yugoslavia Jon Mark & Johnny Almond Markâ€“Almond was an English band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who worked in the territory between rock and jazz. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Australian National University (ANU), is a university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ... The verso of a broadsheet, pamphlet or any printed document is the side that is meant to be read second or the left-hand page of a folded sheet. ...

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