Why Did Yugoslavia Break Up?
Professor Mitja Zagar is a specialist at the University of Ljubljana on international law and constitutions, as well as on ethnic relations. He was a speaker at Science for Peace’s March conference, “The Lessons of Yugoslavia.” Afterwards he talked further with Metta Spencer about the collapse of his former country and the wars that followedBy Metta SpencerMETTA SPENCER: What destroyed Yugoslavia? MITJA ZAGAR: In the long term, it is impossible to preserve a state through oppression or promises alone. The mechanisms of the state must realize common interests. Unfortunately, there was a total absence of constitutional tools for the prevention, management, and resolution of ethnic conflict. SPENCER: What would such mechanisms look like and why didn’t they exist in the constitution of Yugoslavia? ZAGAR: We needed institutions to identify common interests, to mediate, and to prevent the blockage of the necessary political consensus. The right to veto certain decisions would give groups som
