Yugoslavia broke up in 1992 and split into six countries, which of the six countries has developed the best today?
Yugoslavia disintegrated
In 1992, Yugoslavia was dissolved, and six countries were separated: Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia.
Why did Yugoslavia disintegrate?
The first is political. Yugoslavia, formerly known as the "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenia", is a group formed by the union of Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia.
After World War II, Montenegro, Macedonia and other countries joined this group one after another, and evolved into Yugoslavia. Six different countries are grouped together, and there is bound to be a disagreement.
At first, Serbia and Croatia and Macedonia had a little contradiction, Croatia and Macedonia were not satisfied with Serbia's dominance, and Slovenia was dissatisfied with Serbia in their hearts, although they did not say it on the surface.
To put it simply, Yugoslavia's political system changed the traditional "centralized model" to a "localist system", which directly weakened the power of the federal government, led to an increase in local power, and countered the federal government.
Even if these countries come together temporarily, they still have great problems in their political systems. For example, Tito adopted some policies to suppress the Serb ethnic group to a certain extent, which led to ethnic contradictions, which was the second reason for the division of Yugoslavia.
The Federal Government of Yugoslavia has failed to resolve ethnic contradictions, which has led to evil feelings among various ethnic groups. Secondly, the Serbs gradually grew stronger after Tito's death, seeking the right of national self-determination in Yugoslavia, which stimulated conflicts with Croatia and other member states, which indirectly led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
The third reason is economic. Yugoslavia's economy was "autonomous", the autonomy of the local economy squeezed the power of the federal government, and in the face of an economic crisis, Yugoslavia could not save the domestic economy and could only watch it become more and more chaotic.
Political, economic, and national contradictions weighed on the Federal Government of Yugoslavia like three mountains, and at this time, Britain, the United States, and other Western countries attacked Yugoslavia, which became the last straw that overwhelmed Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia did not survive in the end, and with the declaration of independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia became history.
So, how are the six countries that split off develop?
"Six Children"
The first one to talk about is "Serbia", once a "giant", and now a "European island".
At present, the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo has not ended, and European countries support Kosovo to come out independently, but Serbia insists that Kosovo is part of them, and this farce of national division has come to an end.
As a result, Serbia has been squeezed out by the European Union, and has also been "hated" by the United States and other countries, and is known as the "European island". But Serbia has good relations with the mainland and participates in the mainland's "One Belt, One Road".
In 2020, Serbia resisted U.S. pressure and signed two non-essential agreements with mainland Chinese company Huawei on broadband internet and "smart cities."
In addition to its friendship with the mainland, Serbia also has a good friendship with Russia.
In 2022, the United States, Europe and other countries launched sanctions against Russia, and Serbia once again withstood the pressure and did not participate in this sanctions, but chose to support Russia. Serbia's approach has once again angered European countries.
However, Serbia has always insisted that even if it has been repeatedly denied entry into the EU, they have not compromised with the United States and Europe. In addition, Serbia has rejected an invitation to join NATO.
The second is Slovenia, which is the economic leader.
Unlike Serbia, Slovenia has long established relations with European countries, both as a member of the European Union and NATO.
However, the reason why Slovenia's economy is ahead of the other five countries is because Slovenia occupies a favorable position at the right time, how to say?
At the end of the 18th century, Slovenia's abundant metals, coal, and other resources met the needs of the Industrial Revolution, which led to the country's industrialization, the construction of railways and other infrastructure. In addition, Slovenia has a port and is able to carry out economic activities with the outside world, which provides a solid foundation for Slovenia's development.
After splitting from Yugoslavia, Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and then NATO, and the economy grew rapidly with the help of European countries and the United States. GDP in 2022 reached 58.9 billion euros.
The third is Croatia, which has suffered a heavy population loss.
Although Croatia followed Slovenia's lead, joining NATO in 2009 and the European Union in 2013, the initial illness did not bring much benefit to Croatia.
Croatia's population loss is very fast, and most Croats choose to work in countries such as Germany and Austria. In 2021, Croatia's total population was only 3.899 million, a decrease of about 10% from 2011.
However, Croatia's military industry is among the best in the world, mainly producing demining supplies, military steel helmets, sniper rifles, military and police vessels, etc.
The fourth is the "back garden" of the European Union - Bosnia and Herzegovina, referred to as "Bosnia and Herzegovina".
After the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina fought with Serbia, known as the "Bosnian War", and finally, under the seizure of the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed peace agreements with Serbia and Croatia, ending the war.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich in natural and mineral resources, especially coal reserves of 5.5 billion tons, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is also rich in water resources.
However, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a weak industrial base, mainly relying on agriculture and mining, simple processing industry to make money, and is one of the top ten poor countries in Europe. It is reported that about 50 per cent of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the verge of poverty and needs relief from the international community.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, like Serbia, has neither joined NATO nor the European Union, but has joined the "One Belt, One Road" on the mainland and has joined hands with us to develop the economy.
The fifth is "North Macedonia", which was forced to change its name, which is the "Macedonia" mentioned above. Why did Macedonia change its name?
Greece has been unhappy with the name "Macedonia" for a long time, and after Macedonia became independent, Greece deliberately hindered the development of Macedonia.
Greece considers the name to be the same as the northern provinces of Greece, and "Macedonia" is also a reference to the cultural heritage of Alexander the Great.
Macedonia originally ignored Greece at all, but after they were repeatedly blocked from joining the European Union and NATO, they officially changed their name to the "Republic of North Macedonia" in 2019, ending a 20-year dispute with Greece.
After North Macedonia changed its name, the "official career" was much smoother. In 2020, North Macedonia officially joined NATO. In 2022, North Macedonia also opened negotiations to join the European Union.
The last one is Montenegro, which has weathered the storm.
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Montenegro did not become independent, it and Serbia formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", which was renamed "Serbia and Montenegro" in 2003, but in 2006, in a referendum in Montenegro, 55.5% of voters supported Montenegro's independence, and soon after, Montenegro officially became independent.
Montenegro has a land area of only 13,900 square kilometers and a coastline of only 293 kilometers, but Montenegro has 36 million tons of bauxite and 350 million tons of lignite.
However, due to the impact of the war, Montenegro's economy is not very good, with a GDP of 5.92 billion euros in 2022. In order to develop the economy, Montenegro has also joined the mainland's "One Belt, One Road", and the mainland has cooperated with Montenegro to build a north-south highway to add luster to Montenegro's tourism industry.
In addition to working with the mainland, Montenegro has also joined NATO and became a candidate for the European Union in 2022.
The development of these six countries has its own characteristics, and the future may all develop in a good direction.
Resources:
[1] Russian Journal of Central Asian and Eastern European Studies, A Review of Domestic Studies on the Roots of the Breakup of Yugoslavia, 20120405
[2] Tiger Sniff, "Slovenia, Why is Yugoslavia the Most Developed Country?", 20230128