Yugoslavia R. I. P.

Yugoslavia is dead. I noticed this news article about
the final breakup between Serbia and Montenegro, and
I always enjoy reading history. There's a lot of
history in that region.

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/...090r_page2.htm

One quote jumps out at me.

Quote:

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It was an experiment in social engineering, in which the peoples of the region were used as guinea pigs -- first, by the West and then by the communists -- to test utopian theories about the virtues of multinational nation-building and the evils of small national states.

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Notice the use of the term "social engineering".
The younger generation of computer users will only be familiar with the (mis)use of this term
in computer hacking, but this is the classic meaning, and totally different.

BTW, the author seems to applaud the breakup of experimental multi-ethnic
states. How soon before we see the USA dissolving the same way? Isn't it
built on the same idealistic assumptions?

I think that religious freedom in the US has a lot to do with the difference between the US and the former Yugoslavia. The US has never had a "religious" war/jihad as far as I know. During the Civil War, I'm sure people on both sides saw God as "on their side." But it was not a religious war per se. (However, as a Christian, I believe that God had His own purposes in the conflictt.)

On the other hand, in the Balkans, the emnity goes back hundreds of years. Many people may not know that during the Muslim invasions of Europe, the Muslim forces got as far as Austria before being repulsed. Bad blood runs deep in some of these places to this day.

So, I don't see the US "dissovling" in the same way that Yugoslavia did.

Actually, wouldn't you say that until more recent times, a common religion has helped to hold this country together? Perhaps I shouldn't say "common religion" but "religious outlook." While don't have a "state religion," for which I am thankful, there has been at least a general acknowledgement of God and a kind of "national relgion" which has shaped a common outook on life.

For the most part, we Americans have found more to hold us together than drive us apart.

Well the only reason there isn't another war is beacuse most of the religions divided to their own land, Catholics to Croatia, Muslims to Bosnia (even though i have familie there and a lot of ctholics live there but muslims mstly run the countrie,) and Orthodox to Serbia...

The region was a patchwork of minor dukedoms, princedoms and the like. It was formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire, was invaded by the Ottomans and reverted back to the Austro Hungarian Empire. It then became a part of the German Empire before being absorbed into the Soviet Empire.

Germany, Italy, and Greece managed to form coherent single nations, but the people are far less diverse that those in the Balkans. It was never going to work, a bit like the colonialists' "scramble for Africa"..............they are still murdering eachother as a result of that :eek: