Main Causes of the Disintegration of Yugoslavia

Without Tito's guidance, Yugoslavia gradually experienced resurgent nationalism. Granted, ethnic divisions existed under Tito's regime. But although Serbs were the most numerous group in his multi-ethnic guerrilla movement, Tito strove to create a Yugoslavian structure based on equal nationalities. For thirty years, Yugoslavia functioned as a federal union of sovereign national states. Yugoslavia enjoyed relative freedom from nationalist conflict because Tito acted as the final arbiter of such disputes: "Tito followed a very careful policy of balancing all national claims and conflicts, sometimes to the point of artificiality and visible injustice" (Mojzes, 1994, p. 76). The fact that no ethnic group believed themselves discriminated against contributed to Yugoslavia's ethnic harmony during Tito's regime. Thus the national question was merely masked. As one political analyst put it, "Tito kept the ethnic groups from killing each other" (Hall, 1994, p. 117).

After Tito's death, the Communist Party changed its name to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) and leadership of Yugoslavia disintegrated into a series of intense power struggles among the political el

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onducive to rabid nationalism: "It galvanized the Serbs to become militant in demands to remake Yugoslavia and frightened non-Serbs" (Mojzes, 1994, p. 162). Although the Memorandum did not create nationalism, it gave a voice to such sentiments within the Serbian community, where such expression had been long repressed by the Communists. Debate surrounds the role of religion in contributing to the disintegration of Yugoslavia. For instance, religion is a distinguishing feature of some of the main ethnic communities involved in the Bosnian conflict. Serbs are Serbian Orthodox. Croats are Catholic. Muslims, although they consider themselves European, are bound by the unique culture of Islamic law. Hall (1994) contends that Yugoslavia's chief problem is that of religious differences, "Today's Serb-Croat conflict, with its viciousness, its lack of distinction between soldiers and civilians, its lack of mercy toward women and children, certainly had the look of a religious war" (pp. 143-144). Other political analysts laud the Church's efforts at quelling nationalist sentiment among its followers. Granted, both the Serbian Orthodox and Catholic churches have adopted the cause of protection of its followers's national identity
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Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)