Yugoslavia

Present-day Yugoslavia covers the territory of what was left of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Socialistićka Federativna Republika Jugoslavija (SFRJ) following the secession, from late 1991, first of Slovenia, then, successively, of Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and finally, Macedonia. This ‘rump’ - the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Savezna Republika Jugoslavija (SRJ) consists constitutionally of two sovereign republics, Serbia and Montenegro. Each has a separate government, legal and administrative system within the Federal constitution. They are often separately represented at international fora: within SRJ their relationship is uneasy and its future uncertain. Serbia today includes the former (SFRJ) ‘autonomous provinces’ of Vojvodina to the North and Kosovo to the south. Since 1987, both were progressively assimilated - administratively and politically - into the Republic of Serbia and were formally stripped of their autonomy under a new constitution adopted by Serbia in September 1990. Both SRJ and its constituent entities have uncertain status in international law. The declaration in April 1992 by Serbia and Montenegro that SRJ was the legal successor of the SFRJ was a de facto recognition of the secession of the other four republics. However, the United Nations ruled in September of that year that this could not automatically be the case and excluded SRJ from the General Assembly; subsequently the recognition of SRJ by other nations has been uncertain. Kosovo is presently under military control of NATO (and Russian) armed forces (KFOR), its administration in the hands of a United Nations mission (UNMIK); its future can only be a matter of conjecture. Examination of environmental issues in Yugoslavia must be informed by two principal considerations: • The physical and ecological characteristics of the region, and its social and economic development up to and including the collapse of the former Yugoslavia in 1991 • Events since 1991, including socioeconomic changes, the effect of external sanctions consequent on Yugoslavia’s involvement in the civil war in neighbouring Bosnia and Hercegovina (1992-95) and, most recently, the civil war in Kosovo and the intervention of NATO. The latter, in particular, cast a shadow over any analysis of Yugoslavia and its future, including the matters dealt with in this chapter, which therefore includes an assessment of environmental damage and prospects for environmental remediation against the backcloth of an analysis of the pre-1999 situation in the region

Geographically touring the eastern bloc: British geography, travel cultures and the Cold War

This paper considers the role of travel in the generation of geographical knowledge of the eastern bloc by British geographers. Based on oral history and surveys of published work, the paper examines the roles of three kinds of travel experience: individual private travels, tours via state tourist agencies, and tours by academic delegations. Examples are drawn from across the eastern bloc, including the USSR, Poland, Romania, East Germany and Albania. The relationship between travel and publication is addressed, notably within textbooks, and in the Geographical Magazine. The study argues for the extension of accounts of cultures of geographical travel, and seeks to supplement the existing historiography of Cold War geography

Bosnia and Hercegovina

Bosnia-Hercegovina declared sovereignty and seceded from the residue of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) in October 1991, following similar action, first by Slovenia, then by Croatia and after a plebiscite, boycotted by many ethnic Serbs, in which a majority of those voting backed independence. The following April, Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH[a]) was recognised as a legal entity by the EU and USA. A month later it was admitted to the UN. With secession came internal conflict and external aggression, fomented by nationalists in the Croat and Muslim as well as Serb communities. The war left a quarter of a million people dead, maimed or traumatised, and the economy, infrastructure and physical and social fabric of the country in ruins. It seems fitting to dedicate this chapter to the large numbers of Bosnians (of all nationalities as well as none) who tried their utmost to prevent the war and who continue today to work for a multiethnic, democratic and environmentally healthy Bosnia. In particular, it is dedicated to those who remained in its capital Sarajevo throughout its siege by those who hoped to destroy both the city and the ideals that it represented

The stability and breakup of nations : a quantitative analysis

This paper presents a model of nations where agents vote on the optimal level of public spending. Larger nations bene t from increasing returns in the provision of public goods, but bear the costs of greater cultural heterogeneity. This tradeo induces agents' preferences over di fferent geographical con gurations, thus determining the likelihood of secessions or unions. After calibrating the model to Europe, we identify the regions prone to secession and the countries most likely to merge. As a test of the theory, we show that the model can account for the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dynamics of its disintegration. We also provide empirical support for the use of genetic distances as a proxy for cultural heterogeneity.Financial aid from the Spanish Ministry of Science (ECO2008-01300) and the Fundación BBVA 3-04X is gratefully acknowledge