Ethnic differences between the Balkan republics during the last century are the driving force behind today's war in the former Yugoslavia. Although once united in an uneasy peace with one another under a watered down communist regime, the republics have always been divided by ethnic, religious, and political differences. By the 1990s, these differences reached a flashpoint, and the Yugoslavian republics were headed on a collision course.
Because the Yugoslavian republics had been federally forced together despite their differences, what appeared as relative stability was, in fact, an explosion waiting to happen. Some of the differences leading to the ongoing bitterness and strife between the different republics will be examined. In addition, an overview of past communist rule will show that the republics have always struggled for autonomy, despite strong federal forces. Finally, a look at future possibilities will include a discussion of the probability of peace or continued war.
By the 1990s, the Yugoslavian republics were splintering. On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence. Macedonia and Bosnia soon followed. All that remained of the Yugoslavian federation was Serbia--the most powerful of the republics--and tiny Montenegro. Yugoslavia still had a federal government, but its power was taken over by the government of Serbia.
The Serbian population is the largest in what used to be Yugoslavia. The Serbs number nine million of the former country's twenty-three million people. Most Serbs live in Serbia, but more than a tenth of Croatia's people are also Serbs. Almost one third of Bosnia's population is also Serbian. Montenegrins, and many Macedonians, were originally of Serbian stock. Over centuries, however, these peoples formed their own distinct national identities. Of them all, the Serbs have the most established history of being a united country. Many Serbs want their own unique...