The international dimension of yugoslav disintegration: a driving force of violence

Abstract

The study addresses the impact of the international dimension of the final crisis in Yugoslavia between 1990 and 1991. This period encompasses the failure of the reform led by the Yugoslav Federal Prime Minister, the road to the proclamation of independence by Slovenia and Croatia in June 1991, and the armed conflicts in those republics. International influence in those development is approached from a multidimensional perspective, taking into account the foreign policy of the United States, analysed through the constraint represented by the existence of the Soviet Union; the international support that allowed secessionist republics to rearm before the proclamation of their independence; and the diplomatic activity of European countries, some of which also participated in the rearming process. Through the analysis of primary sources and published material, the paper concludes that international factors are directly related to the fact that the dissolution of Yugoslavia resulted in a violent process.