Balkanization 101

In a world where the fomer Yugoslavia is often treated as an all-encompassing example of ethnic conflict, it should be considered unsettling that so few people understand the nature of the conflict there.

While the conflict within Serbia over the destiny of Kosovo -- whether the predominantly ethnic Albanian region will remain within Serbia, or whether it would separate (Kosovo eventually declared its independence) -- is but a fragment of the overall conflict in former Yugoslavia, it's a good place to start for anyone trying to get a better grip on the phenomenon of Balkanization.