1. Balkanization

2. History of the Balkans
500s-Slavic people from Poland and Russia move to the Balkans
Called “South Slavs” (the Croats, Slovenes and Serbs)
1300s-The Muslim Ottoman Empire conquers the region, causes religious differences
Islamic: Albania, Bosnia and Herz.
Christian: Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia

3. Eastern Europe: A Cultural Crossroads
People moving between Europe and Asia have had to cross this region leaving behind their culture
Many Empires have controlled the parts of the region
Roman Empire
Byzantine Empire
Ottoman Empire
Austria-Hungary
Soviet Union

4. Ethnic Regions in Yugoslavia
Fig. 7-22: Yugoslavia’s six republics until 1992 included much ethnic diversity. Brutal ethnic cleansing occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the civil wars of the 1990s.

5. Ethnic diversity leads to…
Balkanized: used to describe a small geographic area that could not successfully be organized into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long-standing antagonisms towards each other
Balkanization: the process by which a state breaks down through conflict among its ethnicities-as a threat to peace throughout the world, not just a small area.

6. The 20th Century
Most ethnic groups in Eastern Europe wanted their own nation-states
This desire for independence sparked many wars in the Balkan region
WWI
WWII
After WWI the allies created Yugoslavia to unite several Balkan ethnicities that spoke similar languages
Led by Tito from
Yugoslavia brought stability to the region for most of the 20th century

7. Destruction of Multi-Ethnic Yugoslavia
Rivalries between ethnicities resurfaced after Tito’s death breaking the country up
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia during the 1990s
Montenegro in 2006
Kosovo in 2008

8. Ethnic Cleansing: Bosnia
Yugoslavia’s 5 recognized nationalities were able to carve out 5 independent countries
Bosnia & Herzegovina
48% Bosnian Muslim (seen as an ethnicity not a nationality), 37% Serb, 14% Croat
BH Serbs and Croats wanted to unite with the other republics
Began ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims to make their points
200,000 + killed and 2 million fled their homes
Fighting finally ended in 1996 in an agreement that gave each group a portion of the state

9. Ethnic Regions in Yugoslavia
Fig. 7-22: Yugoslavia’s six republics until 1992 included much ethnic diversity. Brutal ethnic cleansing occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the civil wars of the 1990s.

10. Ethnic Cleansing: Kosovo
Following the break up of Yugoslavia, Serbia was still a multi-ethnic state
Serbia still controlled Kosovo with its Albanian majority
Begin campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo
Forced 750,000 of 2 million ethnic Albanians from their homes to refugee camps
NATO intervenes

11. Ethnic Regions in Yugoslavia
Fig. 7-22: Yugoslavia’s six republics until 1992 included much ethnic diversity. Brutal ethnic cleansing occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the civil wars of the 1990s.