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Balkanization orBalkanisation is the process involving thefragmentation of an area, country, or region into multiple smaller and hostile units.[1][2] It is usually caused by differences in ethnicity, culture, religion, and geopolitical interests.
The term was first coined in the early 20th century, and found its roots in the depiction of events during theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) andWorld War I (1914–1918), specifically referring to incidents that transpired earlier in theBalkan Peninsula.[3]
The term ispejorative;[4] when sponsored or encouraged by a sovereign third party, it has been used as an accusation against such third-party nations. Controversially,[5] the term is often used by opponents ofsecessionism to highlight potential dangers. The Balkan peninsula is seen as an example ofshatter belts ingeopolitics.[6]
Coined in the early 20th century, the term "Balkanization" traces its origins to the depiction of events during theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) and theFirst World War (1914–1918). It did not emerge during the gradual secession of Balkan nations from theOttoman Empire over the 19th century, but was coined at the end of the First World War.Albania was the only addition to the existing Balkan map at that time, as other nations had already formed in the nineteenth century.[7] The term was initially employed by journalists and politicians, who used it as a conceptual tool to interpret the evolving global order resulting from the collapse of the Habsburg and Romanov Empires and the subsequent secession of Balkan nations following the Ottoman Empire's disintegration in the nineteenth century. After theSecond World War (1939–1945), the term underwent significant development, expanding beyond its original context to encompass diverse fields such as linguistics, demography, information technology, gastronomy, and more. This expansion extended its descriptive reach to various phenomena, often with pejorative connotations. In response, critical scholars in the late 20th and early 21st centuries sought to denaturalize and reclaim 'balkanization'.[3]
The term (coined in the early 20th century in the aftermath of the collapse of theOttoman Empire) refers to the division of theBalkan peninsula, which was ruled almost entirely by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller states between 1817 and 1912.[8] It came into common use[5] in the immediate aftermath of theFirst World War, with reference to the many new states that arose from the collapse of theAustro-Hungarian Empire and theOttoman Empire.
Bates, Coatsworth & Williamson argued Balkanization was observed greatly in West Africa thenBritish East Africa. In the 1960s, countries in theCommunauté Financière Africaine started to opt for "autonomy within the French community" in the postcolonial era. Countries in theCFA franc zone were allowed to impose tariffs, regulate trade and manage transport services.
Zambia,Zimbabwe,Malawi,Uganda andTanzania achieved independence toward the end of when theGreat Powers postcolonial era came about. The period also saw the breakdown of the Federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland as well as theEast African High Commission. Splintering into today's nations was a result of the movement towards a closed economy. Countries were adopting antitrade and anti-market policies. Tariff rates were 15% higher than inOECD countries during the 1970s and 1980s.[9] Furthermore, countries took approaches to subsidise their own local industries, but the interior markets were small in scale. Transport networks were fragmented; regulations on labor and capital flow were increased; price controls were introduced. Between 1960 and 1990, balkanization led to disastrous results. The GDP of these regions were one tenth of OECD countries.[9] Balkanization also resulted in what van de Valle called "typically fairly overvalued exchanged rates" in Africa. Balkanization contributed to what Bates, Coatsworth & Williamson claimed to be a lost decade in Africa.
Economic stagnation ended only in the mid-1990s. Countries within the region started to input more stabilization policies. What was originally a high exchange rate eventually fell to a more reasonable exchange rate after devaluations in 1994. By 1994, the number of countries with an exchange rate 50 percent higher than the official exchange rate had decreased from 18 to four.[10] However, there is still limited progress in improving trade policies within the region, according to van de Walle. In addition, the post-independent countries still rely heavily on donors for development plans. Balkanization still has an impact on today's Africa. However, this causation narrative is not popular in many circles.
During the 1980s, the Lebanese academic and writerGeorges Corm used the termbalkanization to describe attempts by supporters of Israel to createbuffer states based on ethnic backgrounds in theLevant to protect Israeli sovereignty.[11] In 2013 the French journalistBernard Guetta writing in theLibération newspaper applied the term to:
The dictionary definition ofBalkanization at WiktionaryCountries on theBalkan Peninsula | ||
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| Mostly outside the peninsula | ||
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Segregation in countries by type (in some countries, categories overlap) | |
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| Ethnic and racial | |
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Authority control databases: National |
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