After the fall of communism, the Yugoslavian republics began to:
A. break away. B. dissolve. C. make peace. D. merge.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is A. break away.
After the fall of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Yugoslavian republics began to break away from the centralized federal government of Yugoslavia. This disintegration was primarily driven by rising nationalism among the various ethnic groups within the republics, as well as political, economic, and social changes resulting from the collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe.
Yugoslavia was a multi-ethnic federation comprising six republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, along with two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo. The weakening of communist authority in the region allowed nationalist sentiments to rise, leading to a demand for greater autonomy and independence among the republics.
The first republic to declare independence was Slovenia in June 1991, followed by Croatia shortly after. These declarations were met with military resistance from the Yugoslav People’s Army, which was predominantly controlled by Serbia. This resistance led to violent conflicts, particularly in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethnic tensions escalated into brutal wars characterized by ethnic cleansing, atrocities, and significant loss of life.
The international community, initially hesitant, eventually intervened, leading to various peace efforts and accords, most notably the Dayton Agreement in 1995, which formally ended the Bosnian War. By the early 2000s, all republics had declared independence and established their own sovereign governments, effectively dissolving the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In summary, the post-communist era in Yugoslavia was marked by the breakup of the federation as republics sought independence, resulting in conflict and significant geopolitical changes in the Balkans.