Dismemberment of Yugoslavia: Lessons for the Ethnic Conflict Literature

Ethnic conflict literature offers us great insights regarding the motivations of human behavior, especially in diverse societies. This article explores one of the greatest ethnic conflicts of our times, the Yugoslavian case. The article first investigates the ethnicity literature and then delves into the micro- and macro-level reasons behind the instigation of ethnic conflict. Specifically, it analyzes cultural, political, structural, psychological, and economic reasons behind the outbreak of ethnic conflict. In light of the literature, the article studies the Yugoslavian case and compares the strengths of each explanation covered in the article regarding the initiation of ethnic conflict. The article maintains that political and structural explanations are the strongest ones for the Yugoslavian case. The article finally assesses the current state of people’s orientations toward a multi-ethnic society in the successor states of Yugoslavia