10 Historical Conflicts Still Relevant Today
5. Conflicts in former Yugoslavia
The nation of Yugoslavia was created in the aftermath of World War I, and was composed mostly of South Slavic Christians, but the nation also had a substantial Muslim minority. This nation lasted from 1918 to 1941, when it was invaded by Axis powers during World War II, which provided support to the Ustaše (founded 1929), which conducted a genocidal campaign against Serbs, Jews and Roma inside its territory. In 1943, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was established under Josip Broz Tito, who maintained a strongly authoritarian leadership that was non-aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
In the 1980s, relations among the six republics of the Yugoslavia deteriorated. Slovenia and Croatia desired greater autonomy within the Yugoslav confederation, while Serbia sought to strengthen federal authority. As it became clearer that there was no solution agreeable to all parties, Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession. Although tensions in Yugoslavia had been mounting since the early 1980s, it was 1990 that proved decisive. In the midst of economic hardship, Yugoslavia was facing rising nationalism among its various ethnic groups.
The conflicts in former Yugoslavia date back to the early medieval Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox divide, the Islamization of Bosnian Slavs by the Ottoman Turks, and ancient territorial disputes between the Serbs and the Albanians who both claim Kosovo as their native land.
