Yugoslav Wars: Ethnic Conflicts and the Collapse of Power

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Introduction

The history of humanity can be considered the history of constant wars and military conflicts that shaped people’s mentalities and resulted in the formation of states and international relations. Because of the human nation’s desire to dominate, and the thirst for power, multiple clashes became the inevitable part of our evolution. Unfortunately, being the most violent form of interaction, war has always remained one of the most frequently unutilized tools to resolve conflicts between nations or achieve a certain goal. At the same time, there were multiple cases of civil war, when tensions within a country were so serious that no opportunities for a compromise were found and parties started to attack each other to ensure support to their positions. That is why internal conflicts also became a significant part of our history, impacting the ways states evolve and preconditioning their further raise or failure. In modern history, there are many causes of internal military conflicts that alter countries radically.

Civil Wars and the Post-Cold War Era

Speaking about civil wars, one should remember that they do not start in a moment as there is always a set of reasons that have been topical for a particular period of time and resulted in the emergence of a critical situation. This type of conflict can be determined as a war between citizens of the same country who try to protect their interests. From the definition, it becomes clear that there are two or even more opposing camps trying to grasp the control over the country to ensure that the appropriate political course is selected. In many cases, the reasons for civil conflicts remain the same and include social or ethnic issues, power reconfigurations, economic competition, and unacceptable living conditions (Baker 45). The existence of these factors serves as the stimuli for the initiation of military actions and attempts to change the way a state evolves.

However, when speaking about civil wars that occurred at the end of the 20th century, and later, it is critical to consider the political factor as one of the most potent forces impacting the evolution of nations. The fact is that era was characterized by the opposition of two superstates the USA and the USSR and their allies. Being known as the Cold War, this conflict significantly impacted the international relations and states’ development vectors. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union meant the end of this era and the start of the post-Cold War period, with its unique peculiarities of the international discourse. Having lost a powerful ally that supported particular political forces within a country, many nations wanted to reconsider their future, current ideologies, and relations between ethnic groups comprising them. It resulted in the emergence of multiple clashes and civil conflicts.

In such a way, the post-Cold War era became a period of the rise of various nations that were previously depressed by ideologies or the dominant role of superstates at the international level. However, this change in the discourse meant that some serious alterations to the structure of countries should be introduced. In many cases, some peaceful forms were selected. Unfortunately, in multinational regions or locations characterized by a long history of tensions, this form or resolution became ineffective or disregarded by the representatives of local authorities. That is why civil wars as the method to introduce some new ideas and protect them became one of the most frequent forms of military conflicts. They were also marked by the high level of violence and aggression because of the critical differences in parties and their perspectives on certain issues. The Yugoslav Wars can be considered one of these conflicts that resulted in the collapse of the state and the emergence of new ones.

Yugoslav Wars

Series of ethnic conflicts and wars of independence in the former Yugoslavia became one of the deadliest military clashes after the WWII. This civil war also preconditioned the complete destruction and collapse of the state that was not able to recover. In accordance with the data from the Humanitarian Law Center, about 140,000 people were killed from 1991 to 2001 (Holbrooke 56). The given event in the post-Cold War history still remains one of the most disputable issues as there are many perspectives on why it started and what were the main causes for the aggravation of relations within Yugoslavia and initiation of military actions between the citizens. At the same time, specialists tend to outline a set of the most important causes that should be considered while analyzing this war and its relation to the collapse of the traditional model of global intercourse.

Main Causes

Ethnic conflicts between the representatives of nations comprising Yugoslavia are traditionally taken as the most important factor that preconditioned the high level of violence and inability to make a compromise using peaceful methods. However, there are also two other factors that should be taken into account. First, international power configurations that had been impacting the state for decades failed. That is why the vacuum of power and post-Cold War moods affected the political sphere of the country (Holbrooke 45). Finally, instability and large populations with diverse needs also stipulated deterioration of the situation and the need for the search of some compromising solutions to satisfy the needs of all groups. All these reasons had a strong impact on Yugoslavia and its leader, Slobodan Milosevic, who tried to save the country by using authoritative forms of government and depressing some ethnic groups. In such a way, all these factors created the basis for violent civil war.

Ethnic Conflicts

Thus, as it has already been stated, the extremely rich composition of the state became one of the main causes of the civil war. Socialist Yugoslavia was created after the WWII as a federation of six republics consisting of Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians, and Slovenes. Under the communist regime and the leadership of Tito, the tensions between these peoples were suppressed and relatively managed. However, in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, which also supported the country as the representative of the Socialist block, the lack of powerful ally and restricting force started to impact the lands and preconditioned aggravation of relations between nations that had various cultures and perspectives on the further development (Holbrooke 56). Croatia and Slovenia were the first to proclaim independence and start the civil war as the government forces tried to depress these intentions (Holbrooke 76). Furthermore, Bosnia, with its complex mix of nations, engaged in the struggle. In such a way, the existence of a long history of past tensions along with the desire to restore the unique identity became the leading causes of the war that resulted in thousands of causalities.

International Power Configurations

Analyzing this military conflict from another perspective, the critical role of international power configurations should be emphasized. The situation in Yugoslavia can be compared to postcolonial struggles characterized by the sudden disappearance of the leading force that helped to preserve order and radical changes in the balance of power. Traditionally belonging to the Socialist camp and having powerful support from the USSR, after the end of the Cold War and collapse of the bipolar global intercourse, the country faced a new challenge of creating its own and unique way for the further evolution. It can be stated that the vacuum of power emerged, as there was a demand for new authority and nation patterns (Nation 56). However, the Yugoslavian government and Slobodan Milosevic failed to find the compromise and model that would satisfy all interests and people’s demand for preservation of their unique identity. It resulted in a series of military conflicts and wars for independence that torn the formed powerful country apart and preconditioned the emergence of new formations.

Wealth Distribution

Another critical cause for the given civil war was the unequal distribution of wealth in the state. Being represented by the President, Serbs held leading positions being the dominant nation and dictating the further evolution of the country. However, in many areas, living conditions were not perfect, which resulted in the growth of escalation and separatist moods among the population. Moreover, the unfair redistribution of incomes along with the disregard of needs of minorities represented by other nations showed that the main idea was to cultivate a balance of power presupposing the only dominant culture (Nation 86). This idea was resisted by many nationalists that emerged among all parts of the big state. In such a way, political instability and problematic relations between people within a country made the military conflict almost inevitable.

Failed State

Regarding the peculiarities of the civil war that seized the territory of Yugoslavia and multiple problems that emerged on this land, it also acquired the status of a failed state. The struggle between various parties and nations preconditioned the absence of power and created the basis for the humanitarian crisis. Bosnia and Kosovo were frequently mentioned by activists because of the multiple cases of human rights infringement, violence, discrimination, and extremely poor living conditions (Nation 56). The world community, the UN, and leading states drew their attention to this topic with the primary aim to improve the current situation and establish a potent government that would be able to stabilize relations within a country. However, due to the peculiarities of internal policy and civil war, various measures such as sending troops (the USA) or providing humanitarian support (the UN) turned out to be not effective.

The problem of a failed nation is also complicated by the appearance of so-called dangerous exports that affect not only the local area but other states. Speaking about Yugoslavia, it should be said that anarchy resulting from a chain of civil wars created a beneficial environment for the emergence and rapid development of terrorist groups that were following their aims. For instance, with the rise of separatist moods in Kosovo and its becoming an autonomous region in the Republic of Serbia, Kosovo Liberation Army struggling for the complete independence of the state emerged (Nation 111). At the very beginning, it performed a chain of terrorist acts against the existing government with the primary aim to undermine its positions and destabilize the situation. At the same time, on other parts of Yugoslavia, new military groups were organized. It became an extremely dangerous tendency as they also took part in conflicts in other states and preconditioned the spread of international terrorism.

End and Results

As any civil war, the Yugoslav military conflict caused crucial damage to all parts of the state that were involved in it. It ended with the collapse of power and disappearance of Yugoslavia from the geopolitical map of the world. Instead, new countries such as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia emerged (Nation 87). Additionally, the end of the war made the question of the future development of the region, its restoration after the devastating war, and the distribution of power topical. Peoples living on these territories faced poverty, complex economic conditions, and ethnic tensions that still remain topical. In such a way, the given conflict can be considered a significant event triggered by the end of the Cold War era and the appearance of new models of international relations.

Evaluating the results of the given war, it is also critical to mention multiple war crimes, cases of genocide, and ethnic cleansing that were peculiar to this chain of military conflict. There are many pieces of evidence stating that civil wars are characterized by the extremely high level of violence that results from the existence of a long history or relations and past tensions (Charles River Editors 78). In Yugoslavia, many attempts to intimidate, expulse, or kill representatives of depressed ethnic groups were observed as a part of the opposition and clash of cultures (Charles River Editors 87). There were also cases of cultural or worship places’ destruction to emphasize the dominance of a particular nation (Charles River Editors 87). Finally, mass murders in Bosnia by Serbian and Montenegrin forces can be taken as the acts of genocide that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. All these facts evidence the extremely cruel and violent character of this Yugoslav civil war.

Analysis

Analyzing the given dramatic event in the world’s newest history, some important aspects should be taken into account. Since the first stages of Yugoslav history attempts to find a compromise between representatives of multiple nations living on its territory had been made (Calic 56). Consisting of representatives of various ethnicities, the country had to create a flexible and adaptive political course accepted by all its citizens. However, regarding the inborn desire for independence peculiar to nations, the conflict became inevitable and entered in the military phase soon after the collapse of strong centralized power. For this reason, the given civil war can be taken from the context of the unwise colonial imperial politics and its attempts to unite lands with different peculiarities of historical evolution, mentalities, and cultures.

At the same time, there was the collapse of the bipolar world characterized by the opposition of two superstates and the end of the Cold War. Yugoslavia entered a new era with a set of unresolved conflicts and problems that were tearing the country apart. The failure of the socialist camp became a death blow for the state as it became deprived of the powerful ally and the vector of its further evolution (Nation 78). The vacuum of power and the inability to find its own place in a new system of global relations resulted in the deterioration of relations between all ethnicities within the state and their desire to move forward independently in a new world. The absence of a strong ideology that previously served as a limiting or uniting force also complicated the situation and created the ground for a violent civil war with multiple war crimes and cases of genocide.

At the moment, the war is officially ended, and new states instead of Yugoslavia emerged. However, the situation remains complex, as there are many disputable issues. First, the question of genocide remains opened as not all states are ready to accept this fact. Second, the political status of Kosovo remains a disputable issue as many powerful actors, including Russia and China, do not recognize its independence (Nation 121). Finally, the international relations between these newly-formed states are difficult because of multiple claims that cannot be solved because of the existence of critical differences in perspectives on them. In such a way, the civil war became a turning point in the life of thousands of people living in those territories.

Conclusion

Altogether, the chain of military conflicts on the territory of former Yugoslavia can be considered a civil war as it occurred within the recognized boundary of the state, were characterized by numerous causalities and resulted in the death of about 120,000 people. Tensions between ethnic groups and the collapse of power after the end of the Cold War and the USSR failure served as main causes triggering the emergence of desires for independence and creation of new states. The given wars became one of the cruelest conflicts after the WWII because of the high level of aggression and multiple disputable issues between peoples living within a single state.

Works Cited

Baker, Catherine. The Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Red Globe Press, 2015.

Calic, Marie-Janine. A History of Yugoslavia. Purdue University Press, 2019.

Charles River Editors. The Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The History of the Yugoslav Wars and the Political Problems that Led to Yugoslavia’s Demise. Charles River Editors, 2018.

Holbrooke, Richard. To End a War. Modern Library, 2011.

Nation, Craig. War in the Balkans, 1991-2002. Progressive Management, 2014.

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