Balkanization
Balkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical
term, originally used to describe the process
of fragmentation or division of a region or
state into smaller regions or states that
are often hostile or non-cooperative with
one another.
It is considered pejorative.
Nations and societies
The term refers to the division of the Balkan
peninsula, formerly ruled almost entirely
by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller
states between 1817 and 1912.
It was coined in the early 19th century.
The term however came into common use in the
immediate aftermath of the First World War,
with reference to the numerous new states
that arose from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire and the Russian Empire.
At the end of the Cold War, there was a new
wave of Balkanization after the Breakup of
Yugoslavia and the Dissolution of the Soviet
Union.
There are also attempts to use the term Balkanization
in a positive way equating it with the need
for decentralisation and sustenance of a particular
group or society.
Current research on the positive aspects of
Balkanization is carried out by Srđan Jovanović
Weiss with Centre for Research Architecture
at Goldsmiths College.
The larger countries within Europe, often
being the result of the union of several historical
regions or nations, have faced the perceived
issue of Balkanization.
The Iberian Peninsula and Spain especially
has from the time of Al-Andalus had to come
to terms with Balkanization, with several
separatist movements existing today including
the Basque Country and Catalan independentism.
Quebec has been the scene of a small but vociferous
partition movement from the part of anglophone
activist groups opposed to the idea of Independence
of Quebec.
One such project is the Proposal for the Province
of Montreal, which wishes for the establishment
of a separate province from Quebec from Montreal's
strongly anglophone Anglo-Saxon and immigrant
communities.
In January 2007, regarding the growing support
for Scottish independence, the then-Chancellor
of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, and
later Prime Minister, Gordon Brown talked
of a "Balkanisation of Britain".
Independence movements within Britain also
exist in England, Wales, Cornwall and a reunification
movement in Northern Ireland.
Other uses
The term is also used to describe other forms
of disintegration, including, for instance,
the subdivision of the Internet into separate
enclaves, the division of subfields and the
creation of new fields from sociology, and
the breakdown of cooperative arrangements
due to the rise of independent competitive
entities engaged in "beggar thy neighbour"
bidding wars.
Balkanization is sometimes used to refer to
the divergence over time of programming languages
and data file formats (particularly XML).
The term has been used in American urban planning
to describe the process of creating gated
communities.
