This paper discusses the U.N. involvement in the Yugoslav conflict. The paper is comprised of two parts. The first part addresses the following questions: What is the issue at stake, and who are the primary and secondary participants in this conflict. The second part discusses how the U.N. and/or other International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) are involved.
The formerly Yugoslav federation was comprised of various ethnic groups, namely the Slovenes, the Croats, the Serbs, and the Bosnians. Yugoslavia exploded when Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on June 25, 1971. The war was the product of a conflict that had numerous dimensions and intractable roots. Consequently, the war has been variously described as one of aggression, of ethic conflict, of civil divisions, or of genocide, depending on who is characterizing the war or which sub-conflict is being discussed (Eknes, 1995, pp. 109-126).
The conflict can be perceived as consisting of at least three interconnected struggles. The first conflict, which triggered the war, involves the northwestern region of Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. The second conflict is centered on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the relationship among the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. The third conflict, still under some sort of control, involves the southern ethnic triangle--the Serbs, Albanians, and Macedonians.
Leaving aside the ethnic animosities, which are important in all three conflicts, the conflict in the northwest is largely and primarily constitutional; its roots go back to the establishment of Yugoslavia in 1918. The Serbs wanted a centralized state, while the Croats and Slovenes wanted a confederation. Post-World War II constitutional reforms consistently went in the Croats' and Slovenes' favor. However, as the Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic commenced his militant Serb nationalistic policy in the mid-1980s, separatist movements in Slovenia and Croatia grew. Fueled by Y...