Disintegration of Yugoslavia

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Yugoslavia was a country located in southeastern Europe, which existed from 1918 until its dissolution in the early 1990s. The full name of the country was the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

The history of Yugoslavia is complex and marked by diverse ethnic, cultural, and political factors. For centuries, the South Slavic territories were under the control of two competing empires, the Ottomans and Hapsburgs. The Turks controlled Bosnia and Serbia, while Croatia and Slovenia were part of the Hapsburg Empire and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the end of World War I. It was initially known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The country brought together several South Slavic regions, including Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

Yugoslavia went through different political phases during its existence. Initially, it was a kingdom ruled by a constitutional monarchy. However, the monarchy was abolished in 1945, and the country became a socialist federation led by the Communist Party.

One of the most influential figures in Yugoslav history was Josip Broz Tito. He led the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II and became the country’s president in 1945. Tito’s leadership played a crucial role in maintaining unity among the diverse ethnic and religious groups in Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia was a federation composed of six constituent republics: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each republic had its own government and a degree of autonomy. Within Serbia, there were two autonomous provinces: Vojvodina and Kosovo.

The Serbs mainly dominated the country, and a significant source of tension was the Croatian request for greater sovereignty.

The collapse of Yugoslavia

After WWII, Tito’s communist party attempted to combine the six republics – Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and balance the competing interests of the various ethnic groups. While a degree of peace and group intercommunication was done under Tito, underlying antagonisms and tightness continued as a handy tool for any leader who wanted to stir up nationalist feeling. All sides have used historical pain in the contemporary dispute as a weapon in their hunt for power.

At Tito’s death in 1980, there were three significant difficulties: the conflicting ethnic interests persisted, the economy was ineffective, and the nation’s institutional construction was inadequate for preserving the Yugoslav union.

During the 1980s, Yugoslavia was destabilized by an acute economic and political crisis. It seemed ethnic violence could explode in the autonomous region of Kosovo, with its sizeable Albanian preponderance.

A critical political evolution was Slobodan Milosevic’s election, first as the communist party leader and then as President of Serbia in 1989. Milosevic stimulated and exploited Serbian nationalism to gain political support.

Serbia’s increasing influence in the central government in Belgrade and its severe suppression of Albanian dissidents caused a boost of nationalist actions in the other republics, particularly in Croatia and Slovenia. It was assisted by the breakdown of communism over Eastern Europe in 1989-1990 and the progress to multi-party elections, leading nationalist parties to power in most Yugoslav republics.

The critical conflict was within, on the one hand, Slovenia and Croatia, both of which desired more sovereignty, and, on the other, Serbia, which desired to combine the eight million Serbs, 25% of whom resided in republics other than Serbia, into a position of power within Yugoslavia.

Croatia, primarily, was a difficulty with its 600 thousand Serbs, and the hard policies of President Franjo Tudjman only added to the Croatian Serbs’ concerns.

A series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of freedom, and rebellions became known as the Yugoslav Wars, which lasted from 1991 to 2001 and led to the Yugoslav federation collapse in 1992. Notwithstanding unfinished tightness between ethnic minorities in the new nations, its constituent republics proclaimed independence, fueling the wars. According to the International Center for Transitional Justice, at least 140 thousand people were killed in the Yugoslav Wars.

The map below shows the land mine contamination in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which roughly 2.4% of the whole country’s land is covered in land mines from the Yugoslav wars.

The animated map below illustrates in detail the process of the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Map of the disintegration of Yugoslavia

After the breakup, Yugoslavia ceased to exist as a unified country. The six constituent republics became independent states. Serbia and Montenegro remained together as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until 2003, when it became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, Montenegro declared independence, leading to the dissolution of the union. The other republics became independent countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia (renamed North Macedonia in 2019), and later, Kosovo.

The breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent conflicts had a profound impact on the region and reshaped the political and social landscape of southeastern Europe.

Countries of Yugoslavia after the Disintegration

Serbia’s and Croatia’s and Montenegro’s population has experienced a gradual decline since the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The population dynamics in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been complex and influenced by the conflicts. The country has experienced a decrease in population due to factors such as emigration, low birth rates, and the consequences of the wars. Additionally, the war led to significant population displacement and changes in the ethnic composition of certain regions.

Slovenia has seen relatively stable population numbers since its independence.

North Macedonia’s population has experienced modest growth since the breakup of Yugoslavia. The country has had a relatively stable population, with a slight increase due to natural population growth and immigration.

The total population in republics and autonomous provinces of former Yugoslavia: 1991 vs. 2023

Ethnicity change in former Yugoslavia

Serbia remained the largest successor state of Yugoslavia. The ethnic composition of Serbia did not change drastically as a result of the breakup. The majority population is still comprised of Serbs, who form the largest ethnic group. However, there was a decrease in the number of non-Serb populations within Serbia, particularly in areas that sought independence during the conflicts, such as Kosovo and parts of Vojvodina.

Croatia experienced significant demographic changes during the wars in the early 1990s. The conflict resulted in the displacement and migration of populations. Large numbers of ethnic Serbs fled or were expelled from Croatia, primarily from the regions that declared independence. At the same time, a large number of Croats who were living in other parts of Yugoslavia, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, migrated to Croatia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina witnessed some of the most complex and devastating demographic changes. The Bosnian War (1992-1995) led to large-scale displacement, ethnic cleansing, and massacres. Different ethnic groups, including Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Croats, and Serbs, were targeted based on their ethnicity. As a result, significant population shifts occurred, with many people being forced to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere within Bosnia and Herzegovina or in neighboring countries.

Slovenia, which had a relatively homogeneous ethnic composition even during the Yugoslav period, did not experience significant demographic changes. The majority of the population is Slovene, and the ethnic composition remained largely stable after independence.

Montenegro, like Slovenia, had a relatively homogenous population. It experienced minimal demographic changes following the collapse of Yugoslavia.

North Macedonia, formerly known as the Republic of Macedonia, also witnessed some demographic changes. The conflicts in the 2000s, particularly the armed conflict between ethnic Albanian insurgents and the Macedonian government in 2001, led to the displacement of some ethnic Albanians from certain areas. However, the overall ethnic composition of the country remained relatively stable.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which resulted in significant demographic shifts. Prior to and during the Kosovo War (1998-1999), there was a large-scale displacement of both ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Following the conflict, many Serbs left Kosovo, leading to a predominantly ethnic Albanian population in the region.

The map below shows countries of the former Yugoslavia 30 years after its dissolution

The final illustrates the results of the survey “Breakup of Yugoslavia benefited or harmed your country?” created by Maps.Interlude using Gallup data.

Interestingly, the residents of many former Yugoslav nations are still nostalgic for the once-united country.