Definition and Description 

If globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of peoples and places through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural change, then balkanization is a counteraction to the integrating and homogenizing effects of globalization.

Whereas globalization acts as connective mechanism, in the form of overarching global capitalism, balkanization is sometimes referred to as "globalization" from below. That is to say, global interconnections have played a role in reviving group identities and thus, have ironically contributed to fragmentation and separation. In this way, balkanization and national separatist movements are the counter-effects or counter-trends of globalization’s promise of meta-homogenization.

"Balkanization" is a term that has emerged in response to small-scale independence movements and the increasing trend of mini-nationalisms (or micronationalisms), as they occur along ethnic, cultural and religious fault lines. The term generally describes the process of geopolitical fragmentation, and is used to depict any kind of political dissolution across the world. The term has also expanded to connote a varied tableau of scenarios involving disintegration, such as "the balkanization of the Internet".

Taking its name from the divisive and conflict-ridden Balkan region of Europe, balkanization has come to refer to any region in the world faced with internal turmoil and schisms. Although the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union into fifteen countries has been referred to as "the balkanization of the U.S.S.R.," balkanization finds its roots in the Balkan region of the former Yugoslavia, which is often cited as the "powder keg" of Europe. Certainly, the very words, Balkanization and the Balkans, conjure up images of violence, destruction, genocide and dissension. Indeed, this part of the world has produced these kinds of unfortunate occurrences, from the period of both World Wars to the post-Cold War era.


History 

The "Cold War" between the two superpowers, the United States and the former Soviet Union, may be an artifact today, but in many sense, the aftermath of the Cold War is what has fueled balkanization. With the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1991 came opportunities for self-determination and independence in eastern Europe and central Asia.Ethnic, cultural and religious groups galvanized support through this spirit of self-determination, resulting in fundamental changes in economic, political, as well as cultural alignments and alliances, most clearly exemplified by the emergence of new sovereign states. Yet as the scenario in the Balkans has continued to unfold, the stories of Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia suggest that although balkanization and nationalism has created new nation-states, stability in these places can remain precarious.


Causes and Conditions of Balkanization 

Civil unrest, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious tensions, terrorism, factionalism and separatism have conjointly created a new texture of political friction and anxiety in contemporary society. Stated differently, micronationalism -- or ethnic, linguistic, cultural and/or religious separatism -- is the major source of geopolitical tension on the rise in the world today.

Many analysts have suggested that ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and national identities may persist within populations that were presumed to have been homogenized. These varied identities may re-emerge when certain political conditions are favorable (as in the case of geopolitical instability across the Balkans), thus inciting and catalyzing separatist movements. Other thinkers state that religious freedom or increased democratization across the globe has stimulated the growth of group identities with agendas of self-rule. Still others observe that nationalism in one place spurs nationalism elsewhere and certainly, it is true that Haiti, the first independent Black state, emerged out of the French Revolution’s principles of liberty, fraternity and equality.

Conceived of as "centrifugal" forces, separatist or balkanizing pressures act to undermine or divide the state, as they pull outward and away from the center. Conversely, "centripetal" forces, such as a shared historical legacy or a unitary economic system, function to reinforce and augment political unity and the power of the state. Balkanization occurs when the centrifugal forces outweigh the centripetal forces within a state.


Spotlight:The Former Federated Republic of Yugoslavia 

The history of the Balkans has been fraught with ethnic conflict as well as wars of conquest. Once thought of as an ill-charted zone separating Europe’s civility from the chaotic maelstrom of the Orient, in recent centuries, the area became a theater of intrigue for the great international powers. Indeed, the region of the Balkans was historically contested by the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, as well as the Third Reich and the Allies, all of whom exploited and exacerbated existing tensions.

Yet some international relations experts have suggested that the collapse of Yugoslavia into nationalist regimes was not solely due to ethnic conflict and religious discord, or even a history of animosity for that matter. Rather, the disintegration of political and civil order, in conjunction with economic problems, together contributed to Yugoslavia’s breakdown. Certainly the perspective seems to bolster the argument that national movements and their ensuing balkanizing influences are not simply identity-based circumstances, born out of clashes between historically-polarized majority and minority groups, but also are exacerbated by economic and political circumstances of the present.

Other analysts suggest that during the rule of Yugoslavia by Tito in the communist years, measures taken to decentralize the country’s decision making processes (rather than democratize the country) ultimately led to the collapse. That is to say, decentralization bred ethnic nationalism and fueled identity politics, while the lack of real democratization efforts accelerated the increasing climate of fragmentation.

Regardless of the actual cause of balkanization in the former Yugoslavia, the regions remains one of the most volatile in the world, and functions as an ongoing exemplar of identity politics, micronationalism and balkanization.


-- Denise Youngblood Coleman, Ph.D.
     Editor in Chief and Executive Vice President
    

Bibliographic References: 

Bogdan Denitch,  Ethnic Nationalism: The Tragic Death of Yugoslavia 
Dianna Johnstone,Seeing Yugoslavia Through a Dark Glass: Politics, Media and the Ideology of Globalization 
Misha Genny,The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers 1809 - 1999 
Les Rowntree, Martin Lewis, Marie Price and William Wyckoff,Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment and Development 
Susan Woodward,Balkan Tragedy: Chaos and Dissolution After the Cold War