Balkans

The conflict in the Balkans is interesting because for years, reporters and politicians have touted it as being the result of ancient ethnic hatred but that isn’t the case. This class has taught me, if nothing else, that the people of this region lived together peacefully for centuries and any conflicts that have arose among people were based not on ethnic origin but other things like class, ruling party, and so on. In fact, any problems that have arose in the former Yugoslavia have more to do with the issues raised by nationalism that developed during World War II and not centuries of three different peoples living together.

Additionally, I am going to pause every so often to show that at each of the three distinct points of the conflict, the international community and the United States had it within their power to stop the violence. The three distinct phases are Kosovo, secession, and Bosnia and at each point, the lack of action or overreaction of the international community failed to solve the problems that these institutions had within their power to resolve.

The first phase of Yugoslavian disintegration can be attributed to the conditions of the people living in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia. In 1981, t

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Slovenia’s discontent with the rest of the Yugoslav federation can be traced back to the 1970’s when during the oil crisis that took the entire world by storm, Slovenians returned home from their then non-existent Western European jobs.

The Serbs in Croatia reacted to their treatment by holding a referendum which was declared null and void by Tudjman. At approximately the same time, Milosevic attempted to cripple the economy of Slovenia by boycotting Slovenian goods and services in Serbia, Vojvodina, and Kosovo. The Croat flag was altered so that the checkerboard, a long time symbol of Croats and, unfortunately, of the Ustasha, was emblazoned onto the flag. Serb travel had been restricted, Serb participation in government was becoming limited and the military began taking strategic positions with Serb majority areas (Glenny, 93).

Second, what exactly did Yugoslavia mean to the United States.

In March of 1992, the United States pushed for the independence of all four of the breakaway republics (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Macedonia). While in control, they sought to consolidate their hold on lands in eastern Bosnia as well as a section of northwestern Bosnia where large Serb populations lived. The European Community, lead almost unwillingly by Germany, offers to recognize Croatia and Slovenia as independent in January of 1992. As stated above, with the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over. This embargo was similar to that imposed upon Iraq during and after the Gulf War. They reminded the Serbs living in Croatia of the atrocities that the Ustasha inflicted upon the Serbs who had lived there during the Second World War and that the same thing was happening again to the Serbs at the hands of Croat fascists. Up until this point, the official party line in Washington, DC was that the Bush administration would continue to support a united, territorially strong, and independent Yugoslavia. What monetary or economic gain could be made by intervention? I know that last one seems particularly cruel but if we examine the conflict, the people of Yugoslavia and those people alone seemed to be the only ones feeling the effects of the battles.

Alija Izetbegovic, the president of Bosnia and a Muslim, seemed to be for the plan at the summit but once he returned home, quickly changed his mind.

Approximate Word count = 4514
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)

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