Balkanize

Political fragmentation of the Balkans

Balkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other^[1], and it is considered pejorative.^[2]

The term refers to the division of the Balkan peninsula, formerly ruled almost entirely by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller states between 1817 and 1912.^[3] The term however came into common use in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, with reference to the numerous new states that arose from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire.

The term is also used to describe other forms of disintegration, including, for instance, the subdivision of the Internet into separate enclaves,^[4] the division of subfields and the creation of new fields from sociology, and the breakdown of cooperative arrangements due to the rise of independent competitive entities engaged in "beggar thy neighbour" bidding wars.

Balkanization is sometimes used to refer to the divergence over time of programming languages and data file formats (particularly XML). The term has been used in American urban planning to describe the process of creating gated communities.

There are also attempts to use the term balkanization in a positive way equating it with the need for decentralisation and sustenance of a particular group or society. Current research on the positive aspects of Balkanization is carried out by Srđan Jovanović Weiss with Centre for Research Architecture^[5] at Goldsmiths College.^[6][7]

The larger countries within Europe, often being the result of the union of several historical regions or nations, have faced the perceived issue of balkanization. The Iberian Peninsula and Spain especially has from the time of Al-Andalus had to come to terms with balkanization,^[8] with several separatist movements existing today including the Basque Country and Catalan independentism.

In January 2007, regarding the growing support for Scottish independence, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown talked of a "Balkanisation of Britain".^[9] Independence movements within Britain also exist in Wales and Cornwall.

See also

Politics portal

• Yugoslav Wars
• Balkan Federation
• Feudal fragmentation
• Protracted social conflict
• Multinational state
• Criticism of multiculturalism
• Sectarian violence
• Social polarization
• Pakistanism

References

v t e Balkan countries Geographically fully located Albania · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Greece · Kosovo1 · Macedonia · Montenegro Significantly located Croatia  · Serbia Mostly outside of the peninsula Italy · Romania · Slovenia · Turkey See also Balkans · Southeast Europe · History of the Balkans · Balkan languages (Sprachbund) · Balkanization 1 Declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008 and is recognised by 90 United Nations member states.