The Breakup of Yugoslavia

1. The Breakup of Yugoslavia World Geography Mrs. Curtiss

2. Austrian-Hungarian Empire Prior to WW I

3. Road to Breakup • After WW I, Austro-Hungarian Empire broken up • Unified into a multi-ethnic state based on linguistic groups • Ethnic diversity in Yugoslavia was enormous: • Seven distinct ethnic neighbors • Austria, Greece, Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania • Four official languages • Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene • Three major religions • Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam • Two alphabets • Roman – Croatian and Slovene • Cyrillic – Macedonian and Serbian

4. Breakup of Yugoslavia

5. Road to Breakup • Six semi-autonomous Republics within Yugoslavia • Bosnia & Herzegovina • Croatia • Macedonia • Montenegro • Serbia • Slovenia • Five Republics established on basis of ethnicity • Bosnia & Herzegovina – mixture of ethnicity • Serbia – largest republic and dominated national government

6. What is the Difference? • The people known as Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and Croats belong to three distinct ethnic groups. • All three speak their own dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language. • Serbs • Originally farmers, after World War II Serbs increasingly migrated to cities where they became wage earners. • Serbsare strongly influenced by Eastern European culture. • Their religion is Eastern Orthodox. • Bosnian Muslims • sometimes referred to as Turks • were originally ethnically the same as Serbs, but converted to the Muslim religion in the fifteenth century. • Bosnian Muslims live mostly in cities and are professionals, business owners, and government workers. • Croats • predominantly rural farmers, but many live in cities of southern Croatia. • Croatsare strongly influenced by the Western European culture in literature, art, science, and education. • They are geographically located near the Italian cities of Genoa and Venice. • Croatianculture reflects Italian culture. • Croatsare Roman Catholic. • http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?contentSet=EBKS&docType=EBKS.Article&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GIC&docId=CX2831400029&userGroupName=lees22928&version=1.0&digest=b4c025643a70ec377a4bfe544a23c502&source=gale

7. Ethnic Groups in Yugoslavia

8. Ethnic Cleansing • “a process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogenous region.” • “…undertaken to rid an area of an entire ethnicity, so that the surviving ethnicity can be the sole inhabitants.”

9. Ethnic Cleansing • Ethnicities suppressed during 20th century • Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito • Tito died in 1980s – Communist government collapsed • All Republics (except Serbia and Montenegro) broke away to become independent countries • 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia • 1992 – Macedonia • 1993 – Bosnia • 2003 – no more Yugoslavia • New countries combined different ethnic groups • Biggest difference – religion • Mostly dominated by 1 ethnic group • i.e. most in Croatia were Croats – but Serbs also lived there

10. Ethnic Breakup • Serbs and Croats used ethnic cleaning as a way to claim territory • Ethnic regions and political boundaries did not match up • At time of breakup • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Herzegovina ethnicities • Bosnian Muslim: 48 percent • Serb: 37 percent • Croat: 14 percent • Serbs and Croats • Ally to eliminate Bosnian Muslim population • Dayton Accords (1996) • Bosnia and Herzegovina divided into three regions

11. Ending the Breakup • United Nations, the United States and other European countries worked to negotiate peace between warring groups • Sent troops to enforce peace treaties • Result of Conflict: • Disrupted economies in region • Unstable conditions made trade difficult • People forced from homes • Had to start new lives in different countries • Today – standard of living is low in region compared to rest of Europe