The power of history and religion over human hearts
In 1989 when the Berlin wall fell, and the ‘iron curtain’ was finally removed from the political scene in Europe, Yugoslavia (SFRY) seemed more ready for integration into the new post cold war Europe than the other Eastern-European countries. The communist system itself was ‘revised’, i.e. the economy was highly decentralized, the land was mostly privately owned, and certain forms of market-based economy had begun. The political system was also decentralized. The federation was a loose community, comprised of two houses in the parliament, one consisted of the citizens and the other consisted of the republics. Decisions were being made by a consensus of the six republics and two provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina. Geographically speaking, Yugoslavia belonged to Europe, both spiritually and culturally. Despite ideological differences, those ties were strong in the past, as well as in the last fifty years.
Aspects of Stability and Security in South-East Europe at the of the 1990's
In the last decade of the 20th century, the Balkan region and the broader area of South Eastern Europe, a number of states with old traditions or new emerging transformations, have entered into a recurrent, historically decisive stage of their civilisational development. [1] The characteristic parameters are: