The Balkans Today
Former Yugoslavia is now broken into seven countries. As a result of the wars, the Balkans area fell behind the rest of Eastern Europe. Serbia, for example, experienced the world record inflation rate of 313 million percent. Today, all of these countries have struggling economies, high unemployment rates, and old infrastructure.
|
Thousands of intellectuals and upper class citizens have left the region. The countries are still divided on ethnic lines, with little work towards reconciliation. The political parties are ethnically based, and the education system is segregated.
Many people in former Yugoslavia remember Tito with nostalgia, as a leader who brought prosperity and stability. However, the policies he pursued to stay in power set the stage for Yugoslavia’s violent disintegration. Tito’s repression of nationalism prevented Yugoslavia from developing a way of dealing with ethnic tensions. Tito also stopped economic reforms and allowed Yugoslavia to fragment into republics, leaving it politically and economically weak. Today, the legacy of Tito's rule can be seen in the economic, political, and cultural struggles of the countries of former Yugoslavia.
"We went backward."
-Martina Talić, Bosnian citizen (personal interview, 2015)
"From the standpoint of keeping and augmenting his power, [Tito] was absolutely right; from the standpoint of Yugoslavia's future tragically wrong. |
But since [Tito's] dictatorial misrule enormously contributed to Yugoslavia’s bloody disintegration, its ruins are a monument he deserves. |