The Balkan Peninsula conflict!
By: Alec, Emma, and Ankit!
Why is there so much conflict in this region?
The Balkan peninsula has conflict because of the many different religions in that area. Also there was the ottoman empire, which ruled and as with all kingdoms, eventually it has to fall, and it did when some of the countries wanted independence and fought for it. Then not knowing what to do they fell behind and some countries decided to go to war over religious conflict. There are also many ethnic groups which also was a reason for the war.
The Fall of Yugoslavia
- In the years 1988-1991 the non-Serb groups rebelled against bureaucracy. In retaliation in the summer of 1992 Serb Nationalists, and Yugoslav army led mostly by Serbians attacked the other states like Bosnia, and Croatia, by going on a campaign of ethnic cleansing where non-Serbs were killed just for not being Serbian.
- Many wanted to retain a unified multi ethnic Yugoslavia, but tensions made it impossible. Thousands were driven from their homes, and held in concentration camps, raped, tortured, deported, or murdered.
- When Bosnian Serbs attacked Bosnia, and Herzegovina in March 1992 Bosnian Croats, and Muslims tried to defend themselves, but were caught up in territorial tensions between each other.
- The fall of the Bosnian city Jajce’s because of too many Muslim refugees caused a Muslim, Croat conflict 1992-1994. In 1995 with the end of the Muslim, Croat war, and U.S. help the Bosnian Croats took back their lost land.
- All these conflicts, and more contributed to the fall of Yugoslavia.
Rise of Milosevic
- Milošević has been singled out for special censure for his blatant manipulation of Serbian nationalism in order to secure a hold on power, and willingness to resort to blood in order to carve a greater Serbia from the body of former Yugoslavia, but Milošević was only one of a generation of post-Tito leaders who opted to play the nationalist card in their respective republics in despite of the interests of the peoples of Yugoslavia.
- Second, The war had a significant regional dimension, both within the southeastern European region of which Yugoslavia was for so long an integral part, and in Europe as a whole.
- The War of Yugoslav Succession created a crisis of regional order, and gave rise to what might be described as a new Eastern Question, with the Balkans once again transformed into a zone of chronic instability.
- It was also a crisis of European order, the first major armed conflict on the continent since 1945 including abuses that most believed would “never again” be allowed to occur, and a challenge for which institutional Europe was painfully unprepared.
Europe Balkan Peninsula
Fall of Milosevic!
- He had a system of fraud and he ignored 2 changes that were the
- Then Djindjic's men carried out the control of the elections as efficiently as they could but the presidential candidate was not from their party. Unlike in the previous elections, when only 65 percent of polling stations were controlled by the opposition, this time the opposition covered the maximum,98 percent of polling stations.
- That is at the same time the number of polling stations based on which the DOS election headquarters calculated the election results. The SPO and the SRS were decimated in the elections, which were parties he could depend on in the elections to give him power.
The United Nations Response
The U.N. had troops stationed in Yugoslavia during the war, and the ultimate breakdown of the nation. While the Serbians, and Serbian Nationalists, from the state of Serbia, began attacking, and killing members of other states, especially Bosnia, and Croatia, they attacked several major cities including Sarajevo. There were many U.N. peacekeepers in Sarajevo when the civil war began , and the U.N. believed that they would discourage any Serbian attacks. However when Serbians began shelling the city they began to pull out as to reduce casualties. The U.N. really didn't do anything to help.
The Current Conditions
Due to the fact that the balkans are between Europe and Asia every time they have a conflict they feel the after effects. The process of economic globalization has even led to a military globalization whose victims are, in most cases, the Muslim peoples. Simultaneously, we observe the appearance of new social phenomena such as the radicalisation of Islam and the growing Westernism (discourse on the West as an enemy) both among Muslim societies from other continents and among European Muslims. Now the EU is having a conference with some of H.T.E. balkan states and some like greece are not progressing others are getting conference’s and a few are already part of the EU.one reason is the periphery during the 19th & 20th centuries which led to the widening of the development gap that separates them from the developed countries of the West.
Essential Question
How did the Balkan conflict impact societies in the European region?