Breakup of Yugoslavia: Causes and Conflicts

The Breakup of Yugoslavia: Causes and Conflicts

The late 1980s marked the beginning of a profound economic crisis which provided momentum for opening the external market. This period saw primary disagreements emerge:

• Between the richer republics (Croatia and Slovenia), where the restoration of capitalism was favored, and the most underdeveloped regions.
• Among the distinct ethnic and religious groups that made up the centralist country.
• Between the aspirations of Serbia and Montenegro and the rest of the territories, supporters of increasing their self-governance.

The Communist leaders embarked on a nationalist race headed by Milošević in Serbia and Tuđman in Croatia. In 1990, the first democratic elections were held.

The Yugoslav Wars

War in Slovenia and Croatia

In 1991, Slovenia declared independence. Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina followed, declaring independence in 1992. The federal army's war in Slovenia was brief but escalated in Croatia, where a significant Serb minority existed in Krajina and Slavonia. During the war, significant ethnic cleansing occurred.

War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

There was a Muslim majority who decided to proclaim independence with the support of the U.S. and the European community. However, there was also a significant Serbian minority who rejected independence. The war was accompanied by ethnic cleansing, which Milošević and Karadžić fostered through uncontrolled military actions that caused many deaths. UN troops showed failure to stop the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995. The international community led by the U.S. undertook a military intervention that ended the war in Bosnia. This evidenced the political and military weakness of the EU and its dependence on the U.S. In November 1995, the Dayton Accords were signed, which agreed to keep Bosnia as a single republic, but with two administrative entities: a Croat-Muslim Federation and a Bosnian Serb Republic.

Conflict in Kosovo

In 1998, Serbia increased its ethnic policies. The presence of the KLA independence guerrilla and the increased repression provoked NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999, subjecting Serbia to intense bombing. Thousands of refugees were displaced, many finding refuge in Macedonia.

Aftermath and Outcomes

On June 3, 2006, Montenegro split from Serbia. Milošević ended up at the International Criminal Tribunal, created by the UN in The Hague to judge crimes against humanity. The conflict saw the recognition of Kosovo's autonomy, a step towards its declaration of independence on February 17, 2008.