Yugoslavia was a multi ethnic state where components of people have a history of hating each other. The present troubles are a continuation or resumption of the civil war during the period of occupation by Nazi Germany, 1941-1945, when a Nazi-sponsored Croatian state massacred Serbs. This was a response to the Serbian dominated royal state of Yugoslavia which had suppressed non-Serb nationalities or, at least some them thought it had.
While ruled by the strong dictatorship of Josip Broz, these national groups suppressed their hatred. Since his death they have revived. The conflict is mostly heightened by the collapse of the communist economy and the resulting unemployment. The northern republics were economically more successful than Serbia and the southern republics.
Actual fighting began with the attempted secession from Croatia of ethnic Serbs living in the Krajina area during early 1991. The proclaimed secession of Slovenia and Croatia at the end of June 1991 led to an attack by the Serb controlled Yugoslav Federal Army and Air Force on targets in Slovenia and later in Croatia.
The fighting in Slovenia ended when the "federal" forces withdrew, though the Serbs did not recognize Slovenia's independence and war seemed still possible. However, as Slovenia has since been recognized by the European Community as an independent state, any attack would be regarded as an international war.
War in Croatia spread to every area. In particular the Serbs tried to occupy parts of eastern Croatia where there are mixed populations of Serbs and Croats. Fighting broke out in Bosnia after it declared itself independent and some of the constituent Serbs declared themselves independent of Bosnia. The destruction in Bosnia was even worse than in Croatia. The savagery was unusual even by the standards of 20th century wars. There were concentration camps, mass killings, systematic rape of "enemy" women, mostly by Serbs. However, Croats also tried to annex parts of Bosnia and drove Muslims and Serbs from their property. Macedonia seemed likely to become involved too with the added complication of problems with Greece and Bulgaria, but did not become involved. War also broke out in Kosovo. The involvement of Turkey and Iran as protectors of Muslims seemed also possible. In this case Greece would have been involved as an ally of Serbia.
Some people feared that the war would prove a foreshadowing of much larger conflicts in the former Soviet Union. Could a Third World War be beginning here, where the First began? Such a war might not be a simple conflict, but a generalized breakdown of peace into a sea of civil wars. These would be especially hard to suppress. Out of it might come a "World Army" as the only force capable of suppressing civil and regional wars and maintaining world peace. Such seems unlikely at present.
A peace agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio in November 1995 to end conflict in Bosnia. Will it last any longer than others? Many of the parties claim they have given away "sacred" territory. The test would be if the refugees go back. How can they be protected from massacre? NATO troops are to keep order in Bosnia. Is this possible, without casualties? They claim they will stay only a year.
A new phase of the war broke out in March 1999 when NATO troops bombed military sites in Serbia as a response to ethnic cleansing in Kosova. The wars have been suppressed by the presence of peacekeeping troops from NATO.
In December 2007 there remain two potential sources of conflict, Kosovo and Bosnia. The Albanians in Kosovo continue to want independence. Serbia, backed by Russia, continue to resist the idea. In Bosnia the Serbs continue to refuse to cooperate with the other groups. Kosovo has declared independence, protected by NATO, but the Serb minority in the state still don't willingly recognise the government and demand to be connected to Serbia.
