ugoslavia's economic problems and simultaneous international upheavals, the situation deteriorated rapidly in 1990 and 1991.
Although the Yugoslavia National Army and the Serb leadership tried to avoid national disintegration, they made a distinction between the republics. Ethnically homogeneous Slovenia fought a short and limited war before Belgrade lost interest. Croatia, with its large Serb minority, was different. Serbs in Croatia had long argued that, if Croatia left Yugoslavia, they would leave Croatia. The Croat declaration of independence thereby became a declaration of war. As fighting commenced, local Serbs and the Yugoslavia National Army took control of 30 percent of the territory. The war led to huge refugee movements and thousands of casualties. From early 1992 onward, the conflict became more static and politically deadlocked as U.N. soldiers were deployed.
Even though the U.N. had gained greater esteem since the end of the Cold War, the major European powers did not act upon it as the situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated in 1991. On the contrary, the European Union (EU) informed, rather than consulted, the United States and the Soviet Union of its activities. The U.N., with its institutions for conflict management, was ignored as the EU took the lead. The U.N. became involved in the situation in autumn 1991 as European attempts to deal with the crisis proved inept.
The central conflict, or the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was unleashed as the northern republics were recognized. Interethnic relations in Bosnia were particularly volatile. Serbs, Croats, and Muslims were scattered across the republic. The Muslims constituted the largest nation, followed by the Serbs and the Croats (Poulton, 1993, Chapter 1). With the recognition of the independence of Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnian Croats lost interest in keeping Bosnia within Yugoslavia. The Muslims allied with the Croats. This situation led to th...