Ethnic differences between the Balkan republics

Because the Yugoslavian republics had been federally forced together despite their differences, what appeared as relative stability was, in fact, an explosion waiting to happen. Some of the differences leading to the ongoing bitterness and strife between the different republics will be examined. In addition, an overview of past communist rule will show that the republics have always struggled for autonomy, despite strong federal forces. Finally, a look at future possibilities will include a discussion of the probability of peace or continued war.

By the 1990s, the Yugoslavian republics were splintering. On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence. Macedonia and Bosnia soon followed. All that remained of the Yugoslavian federation was Serbia--the most powerful of the republics--and tiny Montenegro. Yugoslavia still had a federal government, but its power was taken over by the government of Serbia.

The Serbian population is the largest in what used to be Yugoslavia. The Serbs number nine million of the former

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quickly erupted into war. The roots of the conflict in Yugoslavia go back more than 1,500 years, to the time soon after the fall of the Roman empire. During the fifth century, Tribes of Slavs moved south from the Carpathian mountains of central Europe. Within a century, these tribes had permanently settled throughout much of the region that became Yugoslavia. By the seventh and eighth centuries, various groups of Slavs had fallen under the influence of more powerful peoples who invaded from outside Yugoslavia. This domination by foreign forces would affect their future, right up to the present day. A further look at the ethnic and religious mix of the region illustrates why there is such divisiveness today. During the late eighth century and early ninth century, the Slovenes became subjects of German counts, and the Croats were ruled by the Franks, a Germanic people who had earlier settled in France. German and Frankish missionaries converted both groups to the Western Rite of Roman Catholicism. Serbo-Croatian ties to Germanic, Roman Catholic culture still exist. The Slovenes, in fact, remained under German or Austrian sway until the end of World War II in 1945. The Serbs came under the rule of the Byzantine Greek Empir
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Approximate Word count = 2201
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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