The Yugoslav Wars: The Greatest Conflicts Since World War II Essay

One of the youngest nations of Europe, Yugoslavia was created after World War I as a homeland for several different rival ethnic groups. The country was put together mostly from remnants of the collapsed Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Demands for self-determination by Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and others were ignored. Yugoslavia thus became an uneasy association of peoples conditioned by centuries of ethnic and religious hatreds. World War II aggravated these rivalries, but Communist dictatorship after the war controlled them for 45 years. When the Communist system failed, the old rivalries reasserted themselves; and in the early 1990s the nation was rent by secessionist movements and civil war. Within several years these conflicts

Also, during this time “Ethnic Fault Lines” were created resulting in stronger violence along these areas. Reference the attached map of Yugoslavia in the Cited Sources section to view the map of ethnic majorities within the Yugoslavian region. This is a perfect example of how all the ethnicities were spread out across the region and not simply contained to one area allowing for the violent ethnic fault lines. Along with the historical perspective of ethnic tensions causing nationalism in Yugoslavia, new evidence from historians have shown that the Bosnian Civil War was not a one-time deal in the area. This had been considered a very active region, in the case of violence, during the 20th century making some historians to think that this conflict was bound to happen as it had occurred various other times in the past. Historically, another reason for the ethnic tensions occurred due to the fall of Communism. Although this is somewhat indirect, different ethnicities side with different governmental views causing deeper tensions to rise after the vacuum of the major world power in the Eastern Europe region. As stated earlier, Slobodan Milosevic believed he could push his agenda without any international policing of his actions due to the recent fall of communism and power vacuum. On this note, governmental influences are also another way that nationalism caused the Bosnian Civil War.

On April 6,1992 the Bosnian War began,leading to the breakup of Yugoslavia. Serbian forces invaded Bosnia,throwing many people out of their homes and displacing them throughout the country. The actions of the soldiers traumatized the people of Bosnia in numerous ways, causing peril throughout the country.

It all began with a new president, Slobodan Milosevic (a Serbian who turned to nationalism and religious hatred to gain his power) being elected. He ignited long-standing tensions between the Serbs and the Muslims. When Slovenia and Croatia both declared

Genocide is the systematic annihilation of a group (“Bosnia”). Many have lost their entire families, including children, belongings, and opportunities. The Bosnian genocide is a tragic event that led to the death of 8,000 men and boys. Bosnia's current population is 3.8 million with a 48 percent of Bosnian muslims, 14 percent of Croats, and a 37 percent of Serbs. Those responsible for the genocide focused on what they deemed as “ethnic cleansing”. It is important to share this horrific event with the world, so it does not happen again, as it has occured in so many other nations.

Many different ethnic and religious groups resided together for at least 40 years under Yugoslavia’s repressive communist government. During the World War II Yugoslavia was invaded by the Nazi Germany. The Serb who was opposing the breakup of Yugoslavia started a war against the Slovenians. In the year of 1945, Yugoslavia began to economically develop differently than its socialist counterparts by creating a unique form of decentralized market socialism based on workers that are self- management. The first goal of the Serb was to completely wipe out he educated wealthy and any other type of non - serbs who actively opposed their rule. Tito was a strong leader who maintained ties with the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. Tit did manage to keep ethnic friction at a minimum for a long period of time. Then Tito died in 1980. By the late 1920’s a new leader a Serbian named Slobodan

From 1992 to 1995, Bosnia experienced an extended period of turbulence due to a Serbian nationalist movement that resulted in violent upheaval. After many years of being part of an empire or another country, Bosnia finally gained the opportunity to be independent in 1992. Yet there was little reason to rejoice independence when many non-Serbs were dispossessed of their home in Bosnia. Although this genocide was coined “ethnic cleansing,” in the early stages, the devastating casualties and human rights violations mark this event as one of the worst mass killings since the Holocaust.

(Malcom 6). In addition, Croats and Serbs contained an ethnic Iranian component, which other Slavs lacked (Bosnia 7). During World War II, this slight difference in ethnic composition may have lead to the Croatian Fascist movement, the Ustasha, which propagated racial propaganda similar to that of the Nazis and considered Croats superior to other Slavs. At the beginning of the 1990s, there may have been some lingering resentment caused by the Croat Ustasha movement existing in Yugoslavia; however, this mild undercurrent of resentment would not have been strong enough to cause the senseless violence that transpired during the Bosnian Conflict.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was made up of three main ethnic groups, Bosniak Muslim, Serb, and Croat (Bosnia-Herzegovina). Before Bosnia declared independence from Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia had a history of political, economic, and cultural conflict. Towards the end of World War II, Tito, a communist, ran Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia’s government fell apart and each nation had its own self-rule to be apart of the

The countries were in conflict with one another due to religious prejudice towards each other as well as a greed for land and natural resources. The Serbian Government generally had the upper hand due to more funds, better technology and superior weaponry. They held this advantage until they were threatened by International Forces with massive airstrikes. The Serbian Government separated the non-Muslim population from the Muslim population by using false propaganda extensively. As the Serbian General, Ratko Mladic, was quoted as

The Bosnian War was an international arms conflict that involved 2 main sides, the Republika Srpska, and Herzeg-Bosnia. The Republika Srpska would show very little sympathy towards the Non-Serb population of cities they would occupy. 1995 of the Bosnian War reached its most violent climax, Bosnian Serb Forces in occupied Srebrenica began an ethnic cleansing of the Non-Serb population, and massacred more than 8000 people. Many generals and other people of high class within the Republika Srpska were tried for their actions, but none confessed and denied everything, this is what makes the following person so significant. Dragan Obrenovic, who was the only person who admit guilt for the Genocide and it taking place. The accused, Dragan

The land of Kosovo has been plagued with tension for hundreds of years, being claimed by several surrounding countries. The two biggest contenders, Albanians in Kosovo and Serbia have been fighting for the land, which culminated in a full war from 1998-1999. The war brought international attention to the war crimes committed by both sides, and proved that the two countries had years to go before coming to a solution. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) led by Kosovo Albanians, and the Serbian militia led by President Slobodan Milošević committed heinous crimes against their enemies. Crimes range from ethnic cleansing to rape, and destruction of whole villages. The violence created a serious refugee problem that is still relevant today.

Peace in Yugoslavia From 1919 Until 1980 Peace in Yugoslavia meant unity. The country was a drawing together of different groups, which held together from 1919 to the 1980. Before the First World War the Austria ruled the individual countries of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia as well as other countries such as Hungary as part of the Hapsburg Empire. The other big empire was the Turkish Ottoman Empire. All the individual areas had different ethnic groups and religions.

The land of Kosovo has been plagued with tension for hundreds of years being claimed by several surrounding countries. The two biggest contenders, Albanians in Kosovo and Serbia have been fighting for the land, which culminated in a full war from 1998-1999. The war brought international attention to the war crimes committed by both sides, and proved that the two countries had years to go before coming to a solution. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) led by Kosovo Albanians, and the Serbian militia led by President Slobodan Milošević committed heinous crimes against their enemies. Crimes range from ethnic cleansing to rape and destruction of whole villages. The violence created a serious refugee problem that is still relevant today.

According to Alan Thornett, after the death of Tito, Slobodan Milosevic wanted to expand its Serbian territory and make a greater Serbia, by gathering together all regions that are inhabited by Serbs. This would mean that Serbia would have more power contrasting everyone else, and a little or no