D. Central Europe

• Two tiers of countries following end of communism– New EU members (Poland, Czech Rep.,

Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia)• Democracy, market economies

– In difficulty (Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro)

• Corruption, civil strife• Romania and Bulgaria joined EU in 2007

Ethnicity in Southeastern Europe

Figure 4.51

D. Central Europe• Conflict in Southeastern Europe

– Generally peaceful intermixing of ethnic groups– Yugoslavia emerged from WWI as a new multi-ethnic

state• A Communist country under Soviet influence• Post WWII - 1945 Josip Tito was premier until 1980

– Semi-independent from Soviet Union– Citizens had more freedoms than other countries of Eastern

Europe– Tito kept up foreign relations with the West – received economic

and military assistance from the West– Still there was government repression of political opposition– Tito kept multiple ethnic groups at peace

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/yugoslav.jpg

Former Yugoslavia

After Tito’s death in 1980– Downward spiral of nationalism and ethnic tensions– 1987 Slobodan Milosevic came to power as a Serbian

nationalist• Plan to expand Serbia and expel other ethnicities

– Serbs are of a Serbian Orthodox Church (Christian)

• 1989 Milosevic sent troops into Kosovo to repress resistance and took away Kosovo’s autonomy

– Kosovo is a mostly Albanian [ethnicity] Muslim [religion] population

– War/genocide ensued in early 1990’s• Primary genocide (“ethnic cleansing”) was instituted by

Serbs, killing primarily Muslims in the region

– Yugoslavia broke up throughout the 1990’s– Milosevic and other war leaders were tried (and some

convicted) for war crimes in the United Nations World Court in the Hague, Netherlands

Kosovo

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Kosovo

• 1997 – 1998 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo exhibited nonviolent disobedience towards Serbian rule

• 1999 Serbs forced Albanians out (850,000 Albanians fled their homes and became refugees)

• 1999 NATO forces attacked Serbia and eventually forced Serbia to allow the refugees back

• NATO forces have remained in Kosovo since 1999 to keep peace

• Kosovo remained a part of Serbia

Kosovo Independence

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080219-kosovo-video-ap.html