Language and Political Conflict

Ethnolinguistic conflict is an increasingly important phenomenon, both in new states of Central Asia and Eastern Europe as well as in such established states as the UK and France. To understand the sources of ethnolinguistic conflict and the possibility for alternatives to violence, it is important to examine the historical development of conflict. Why does ethnolinguistic difference lead, in some cases, to violence? What is the role of political leadership in supporting or reducing violent conflict associated with ethnicity and language? How do political leaders in some contexts use ethnolinguistic issues for their own political purposes? This article examines a recent, important case of ethnolinguistic conflict: the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. Focusing on language policy, the article traces the shift from pluralist language policies to centralist policies, and argues that this shift was part of a strategy of Serbian leaders to mobilize the population along ethnolinguistic lines, to gain control of the federal government in Belgrade, and to bring about the dissolution of the Yugoslav state