Yugoslavia was a country formed by the republics of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro, in addition to two autonomous regions – Kosovo and Vojvodina – of Serbian influence. Its population had a great ethnic-cultural plurality, made up of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Albanians, Hungarians. Despite this diversity, the government of Josip Broz (Marshal Tito), leader of Croatian origin, managed to maintain harmony in the country.
With the death of Tito, in 1980, the different ethnic groups entered into constant political convergences and in 1990, with the end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), separatist movements strengthened in the Yugoslavia. The different republics that made up the Yugoslav nation gained their independence through armed conflicts and many deaths.
Kosovo, considered an autonomous territory, was inhabited by 2 million people, with 90% of its population being of Albanian origin. However, in 1989, Serbia's central power adopted strict measures in that territory, prohibiting the teaching of the Albanian language and the right to own a police force. With the strengthening of the armed separatist movement, led by the ELK (Kosovo Liberation Army), the then president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, reacted with violence, promoting a massacre of the civilian population of Albanian origin, in an attempt to ethnic cleansing. In retaliation, several Serbs residing in Kosovo began to be harassed by the local population, further intensifying conflicts.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) tried in 1999 to reach a peaceful agreement to end the conflict, but Slobodan Milosevic denied the agreement. The answer was given by sending NATO troops to confront the Yugoslavs. This fact became known as the Kosovo war and only ended after 78 days of intense bombing and thousands of deaths.
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Since then, Kosovo has been seeking its independence and recognition as a nation-state. After many years at war, in addition to many deaths and refugees, on February 17, 2008, Kosovo's declaration of independence was approved (by 109 votes to zero). However, Serbia's political representatives claim that the country will never recognize Kosovo's independence. Russia, Serbia's historic ally, is also opposed to the Kosovar independence process. This fact can generate negative consequences in the political, social and economic sphere among neighboring countries, strengthening ethnic rivalries in the region.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira and. "The independence of Kosovo"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/a-independencia-kosovo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
