The Disintegration of Yugoslavia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Disintegration of Yugoslavia - Essay Example This was based on absence of an effective social and legal framework that resulted into distrust within the family settings, anxiety among ever-smaller divisions, and divisions among heirs over landholdings. Despite gaining independence from Ottomans, Serbia has continued to suffer agricultural crisis until today (Silber & Little, 1996). Despite the theological argument over use of Cyrillic contrary to Latin alphabet or adherence to pope as authority of the bishop, Slovenes, Serbs, and Croats differences involved a great deal. Croats were considered traitors to hereditary Habsburg because they declined to surrender their local traditions and Catholicism. Similarly, Bosnian Muslims were considered servants to old Ottoman oppressors because of their cleavage to Islam. Therefore, disintegration of Yugoslavia was ascribed to the perceptions of Muslims and Catholics as demons in accordance with the dominant Serbian Orthodox theology (Cohen, 1995). In regards to Serbs, conflicts emerged among landlords or family members over property ownership due to conversion of landlords to Islamic religion. Market haggling and peddling characterized entrepreneurship in Yugoslavia. Development of Serbian bourgeoisie into class was belated despite its late arrival on the historical scene. However, the Croats and Slovenes were prepared for the arrival of capitalism in the Balkans (Schwartz, 1999). This was exemplified by the embedded attitudes that were held towards property. Serbianism was symbolized by burning of property registers as a means to protest against Muslim domination in Yugoslavia and deep ambivalence about the broader legal; and social reality beyond the nuclear family settings. Disintegration was aggravated by existence of mistrust towards laws outside the family in addition to Ottoman land records due to their implication of foreign governance (Silber & Little, 1996). However, the differences which