Outbreak of the Bosnian War

Question 1

History of ethnic and religious tensions that heighten nationalisms leading to the outbreak of war

Answer 1

• Under Ottoman empire, increased resentment from christians and catholics against muslim bosniaks who ruled
• Under the Austro-Hungarian influence, increased resentment from christians and muslims against Catholics who exerted their religion and control
• In WW1, Serbian monarchy ruled over Yugoslavia which fuelled resentment amongst non-serb population
  → led to the ongoing ethnic tensions over the determination of their own futures during the breakup of Yugoslavia

Question 2

Domestic politics lead to the outbreak of the Bosnian war as the amalgamation of failures of negotiation following the fall of Yugoslavia and the motivations behind competing nationalisms led to irreconcilable differences leading to the outbreak of war in the short-term

Answer 2

1. Political turmoil leading to increased tensions
   - power vacuum in each state after breakup increased aggressive ethnic rhetoric as they determine their own futures
   - Serbians were worried that Croatian independence would sideline them as they became minorities
   - favoured independence of a Serbian from within Bosnia increased tensions in Bosnia
2. 1990 elections had seen 3 nationalist parties in power
   - SDS to unify the ethnic Serbs through the establishment of various Serb autonomous regions throughout bosnia and herzegovina that led to increased separatism + the creation of a specialised serb assembly to exclusively represent the Serbs in Bosnia
   - Had a secret plan to take over each municipality that they were in in Bosnia
   - THIS WAS ANTITHETICAL TO THE MUSLIM SDA AND HDZ

• Serbs within Bosnia would launch their siege of Sarajevo to achieve their 6 strategic nationalist goals of connecting Serb states

Question 3

Economic disparity in times of economic turmoil instigated the increased tensions and culminated in the break up of the socialist republics leading to the outbreak of the Bosnian war to determine their own futures.

Answer 3

Context: Markovic implemented economic reforms that led to 120% inflation rate which he tried to export to the entire Yugoslav republics which were met with resistance

Serbia’s actions
- Rejected Markovic’s 1989 economic plans and they introduced customs duties on imports from Croatia and Slovenia (angered them)

• Within the socialist republic, they prioritised themselves and took 1.5B to fund wage raises, pensions and even bonuses to government employees (tensions within the republic)

Widespread inequality
- Slovenia GDP/capita was 12K whilst Kosovo’s was merely 1.5K
- Unemployment were disproportionately high in poor Yugoslav republics