Dismemberment of Yugoslavia: Lessons for the Ethnic Conflict Literature

Yıl 2019, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 15, 15 - 27, 31.01.2019

Kürşat Çınar

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Ethnic Conflict, Yugoslavia, Multi-Ethnic Societies

Yugoslavya’nın Parçalanması: Etnik Çatışma Literatürü İçin Çıkarılacak Dersler

Öz

Etnik
çatışma literatürü, insan doğasının ve sosyal davranışlarının bilhassa
çeşitlilik gösteren toplumlarda motivasyonlarıyla ilgili bizlere çok önemli
bilgiler sunmaktadır. Bu makale son dönemlerde yaşanmış en büyük çaplı etnik
çatışmalardan Yugoslavya örneğini araştırmaktadır. Makale, ilkin etnisite
literatürünü incelemekte, etnik çatışmanın mikro- ve makro-bazlı nedenlerini
irdelemektedir. Makale özellikle etnik çatışmaların kültürel, siyasi, yapısal,
psikolojik ve ekonomik nedenlerini incelemektedir. Makale bu teorik altyapı
ışığında Yugoslavya örneğini ele almakta ve bahsi geçen nedenlerin Yugoslavya
örneğindeki karşılaştırmasını yapmaktadır. Buna göre Yugoslavya örneğinde
siyasi ve yapısal nedenlerin öne çıktığı gözlemlenmektedir. Makale son olarak
Yugoslavya’nın ardılı ülkelerde son dönemlerde insanların çok-etnisiteli
toplumlara yaklaşımını inceleyip, konuyla ilgili çıkarımlar yapmaktadır.   

Anahtar Kelimeler

Etnik Çatışma, Yugoslavya, Çok-Uluslu Devletler

Kaynakça

• Almond Gabriel, A., & Verba, S. (1963). The civic culture: Political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Princeton: Princeton University
• Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities. London, UK: Verso.
• Axelrod, R., & Keohane, R. O. (1985). Achieving cooperation under anarchy: Strategies and institutions. World politics, 38(1), 226-254.
• Banać, I. (1984). The National Question in Yugoslavia. New York, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Baskin, M., & Pickering, P. (2011). Former Yugoslavia and its Successors. In: Sharon L. Wolchik and Jane L. Curry (eds.), Central and Eastern European Politics: From Communism to Democracy. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
• Bates, R. (1983). Modernization, Ethnic Competition, and the Rationality of Politics in Contemporary Africa. In: Donald Rothschild and Victor A. Olorunsole (eds.), States versus Ethnic Claims: African Policy Dilemma. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.
• Brown, M. E. (1997). The Causes of Internal Conflict. In Micheal Brown et al. (eds.), Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict (revised edition), 2001, International Security Reader. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
• Brubaker, R. (2000). Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Bulmer, M. (1986). Race and Ethnicity. In: Robert G. Burgess (ed.), Key Variables in Social Investigation. London, UK.: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Bunce, V. (1999). Subversive Institutions: The Design and the Destruction of Socialism and the State. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.
• Chandra, K. (2001). Cumulative findings in the study of ethnic politics. APSA-CP, 12(1), 7-11.
• Cohen, R. (1995). Send in the Troops. Washington Post, November 28.
• Deutsch, K. (1953). Nationalism and Social Communication. Cambridge, MA.: M.I.T Press.
• Evangelista, M. (1996). Historical Legacies and the Politics of Intervention in the Former Soviet Union. In: Micheal E. Brown (ed.), The International Dimensions of Internal Conflict (pp.107-140). Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government publications.
• Fearon, J. D. (1994). Ethnic War as a Commitment Problem. In: Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, New York, NY.
• Fearon, J. D. (1995). Rationalist Explanations for War. International Organization, 49 (3), 379-414.
• Fearon, J. D., & Laitin, D. D. (2003). Ethnicity, insurgency, and civil war. American political science review, 97(1), 75-90.
• Gagnon Jr, V. P. (1994). Ethnic nationalism and international conflict: The case of Serbia. International security, 19(3), 130-166.
• Geertz, C. (1973). The Integrative Revolution: Primordial Sentiments and Civil Politics in the New States. In: Clifford Geertz (ed.), The Interpretation of Cultures. New York, NY.: Basic Books.
• Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, NY.: Cornell University Press.
• Hodson, R., Sekulic, D., & Massey, G. (1994). National tolerance in the former Yugoslavia. American Journal of Sociology, 99(6), 1534-1558.
• Horowitz, D. (1985). Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press.
• Humphreys, M., & Weinstein, J. M. (2008). Who fights? The determinants of participation in civil war. American Journal of Political Science, 52(2), 436-455.
• Johnson, C. (1966). Revolutionary Change. Boston, MA.: Little-Brown.
• Kaplan, R. (2005). Balkan Ghosts: A Journey through History. New York, NY.: St.Martin’s Press.
• Kaufmann, C. (1996). Possible and impossible solutions to ethnic civil wars. International security, 20(4), 136-175.
• Kinzer, S. (1992). Ousted Croats go to Seized Towns. New York Times, October 28. (Accessed on 10.11.2018), https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/28/world/ousted-croats-go-to-seized-towns.html
• Laitin, D. (1998). Identity in Formation: The Russian Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad. Ithaca, NY.: Cornell University Press.
• Lampe, J. R. (2000). Yugoslavia as History: Twice There was a Country. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press.
• New York Times (1993). Rape was weapon of Serbs, U.N. says. New York Times, October 20. (Accessed on 10.11.2018), https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/20/world/rape-was-weapon-of-serbs-un-says.html
• Pickering, P. (2007). Peacebuilding in the Balkans: A View from the Ground Floor. Ithaca, NY.: Cornell University Press.
• Posner, D. N. (2005). Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press.
• Rabushka, A., & Shepsle, K. A. (1971). Political entrepreneurship and patterns of democratic instability in plural societies. Race, 12(4), 461-476.
• Rabushka, A., & Shepsle, K. A. (1972). Politics in Plural Societies: A Theory of Democratic Instability, Columbus, OH.: Merrill.
• Reilly, B. (1998). With No Melting Pot, a Recipe for Failure in Bosnia. International Herald Tribune, 12-13 September.
• Reilly, B. (2001). Democracy in Divided Societies: Electoral Engineering for Conflict Management. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press.
• Silber, L., & Little, A. (1997). Yugoslavia: Death of a nation. New York: Penguin Books.
• Sisk, T. D. (1995). Democratization in South Africa: The Elusive Social Contract. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press.
• Snyder, J. (1993). Nationalism and The Crisis of Post-Soviet State. In: Micheal E. Brown (ed.), Ethnic Conflict and International Security. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press
• Stanovčić, V. (1993). National Self-Determination and Secession: Ideas and Problems. Arhiv za pravnici drustvene nauke 4 (October-December), pp. 747-762.
• Stedman, S. J. (1996). Conflict and Conciliation in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Micheal E. Brown (ed.), The International Dimensions of Internal Conflict, (pp.235-266). Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government publications
• Sudetić, C. (1993). Serbs Expel 4,000 From Bosnian Town. New York Times, February 7. (Accessed on 10.11.2018), https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/07/world/serbs-expel-4000-from-bosnian-town.html
• The Economist (2010). Jerusalem: A City that should be Shared, March 4. (Accessed on 10.11.2018), https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2010/03/04/a-city-that-should-be-shared
• Varshney, A. (2002). Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India. New Haven, CT.: Yale University Press.
• Vujačić, V. (1996). Historical legacies, nationalist mobilization, and political outcomes in Russia and Serbia: A Weberian view. Theory and Society, 25(6), 763-801.
• Weingast, B. R. (1997). The political foundations of democracy and the rule of the law. American political science review, 91(2), 245-263.
• Wolchik, S. L. (2011). The Czech and Slovak Republics: Two Paths to the Same Destination. In: Sharon L. Wolchik and Jane L. Curry (eds.), Central and Eastern European Politics: From Communism to Democracy. Lanham, MD.: Rowman and Littlefield.
• Woodward, S. L. (1995). Balkan Tragedy: Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institute
• World Values Surveys (2018). WVS Database. (Accessed on 10.05.2018), http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp
• Zimmermann, W. (1995). The last ambassador: A memoir of the collapse of Yugoslavia. Foreign Affairs, 74 (2), 2-20.