The Break-up of Former Yugoslavia and the Serbian War

The dissolution of the former Yugoslav federation was to a smaller extent brought about by the national movements, and by a larger by the break down of the old political order. The Communist Party was the only cohesive force of Yugoslav and all other communist federations. Therefore, the collapse of communism provoked the break-up of federal multiethnic states in Eastern Europe. Democracy, political pluralism, market reforms and decentralization tendencies were the essence of the 1989-1991 revolution. Market reforms were the most powerful force of disintegration in former communist societies. Divergent different interests of developed and underdeveloped federal republics produced political confrontation, and stimulated national movements. The new nation states emerged as a continuation of the process of nation-building, which was interrupted by either multiethnic empires or communist federations. Serbia was an underdeveloped republic of former Yugoslavia, which depended very much on federal resources. Serbian leadership opposed to both the political and market reforms, and decentrelization tendencies. That policy provoked a massive nationalist response in Serbia and propelled Serbia into war against all other republics and peoples of former Yugoslavia