What happened to cause the breakup of Yugoslavia?

Question

Matthew Armstrong · Accepted Answer

The Breakup of the Soviet Union

Yugolslavia broke up right after the end of the Soviet Union, though this communist regime was independent from Moscow. The various ethnic groups that were part of Yugoslavia had no reason to live together without the yoke of the communist regime. Dictator Milosevic tried to keep a strong Serbia and was attacked by NATO. Some geopoliticists such as Engdhal blame the war for having been an opportunity for the United States to control the transportation of oil to Europe, especially after the independence if Kosovo which enabled the USA to build their Camp Bond Steel military base(the biggest in Europe) right next to the pipes that drive oil to Europe. They claimed the conflict was fueled from abroad in order to carry out a geopolitical agenda.

Madison Adams · Answer

Yugoslavia was a federation of nationalities. Milosevic tried to create a Serbian hegemony over all of the National groups. The Yugoslavian constitution provided an exit route for them.

We would like to say that geopolitics had something to do with the dissolution of Yugoslavia but it was pretty much their own doing. But the general failure of Communism didn't help. Slobodan Milosevic was an old time Communist, populous strongman in a new era where western style economics was the new wave. He tried to change the constitution to subjugate the autonomous parts of Yugoslavia and create a Serbian run Socialist State. There was a violent incident between National Park Police and Serbian Nationalist Militia in Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia that sparked fighting. (March 1991) The Slovens in the North were the first to use the the exit clause in the Yugoslav Constitution (June 1991). Fighting was minor as the Yugoslav forces had difficulty organizing to suppress the succession. Other parts of the country followed and the Yugoslav Army and various Militia got better at fighting. The Yugoslav Army began to lose many members in desertions to the various National groups. The Yugoslav Army tried to act like legitimate federal force attempting to unify the country. Various Militia Groups not so much. There was a significant number of mass killings. Various conflicts continued into the next millennium but are mostly settled now. Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is very pretty and not far from Zagreb. Worth going to see if your around. There is little sign of the former conflict in the Park.