The Western Balkans
Publisher: William Bartlett
Volume: 24 pages, pdf
Description:
The break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991 following proclamations of independence by the republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and in 1992 of Bosnia and Herzegovina established several new states in the region. It was followed by a decade of conflict. Wars broke out in Croatia in 1991, in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, in Serbia and Kosovo 1999, and serious insurgency occurred in Macedonia in 2001. Albania, already well established as an independent state, did not escape a violent civil conflict following the collapse of a number of pyramid savings banks in 1997. The turbulence in the region calmed down following the intervention of international institutions, including armed intervention by NATO in the Kosovo conflict, and active diplomatic intervention by the EU in resolving the Macedonian conflict in 2001.
Croatia, Macedonia and Albania are unitary states, and have achieved a degree of stability. However, two less stable federal states have been established. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, established in April 1992, changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. Within it, the province of Kosovo was placed under United Nations administration (UNMIK) following the end of the Kosovo war. In 2002 a provisional government of Kosovo was elected to which some less strategic state powers were delegated. In practice, Montenegro has many features of an independent state, with autonomy to design its own institutions of economic management and social welfare and, like Kosovo, has adopted the euro as legal tender. Montenegro is due to hold an independence referendum in 2006, and discussions on the final status of Kosovo have begun. Whatever the outcome, the uncertainty over the political constitution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro has provided weak incentives for the development of a coherent set of complementary institutions.