National and transnational challenges in the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia

It is 20 years since the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia and the more peaceful, but still problematic, break-up of the Soviet Union. The on-going question of the status of Kosovo, continuing international involvement in Bosnia, the dormant conflicts in Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh, recurrent violence in the North Caucasus, and the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia show that issues surrounding the break-up of both states remain pertinent today. This paper considers, firstly, whether norms surrounding self-determination and secession have been developed in response to events in former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union. Secondly, it examines what ideas of the nation have emerged: for example, does the civic/ethnic distinction apply or is it too simplistic or value-laden, and what norms if any of citizenship are developing? Thirdly, the paper considers whether regional integration is helping to overcome tensions around national boundaries and membership, or whether it is instead creating competition between outside actors (particularly the EU and Russia) to gain influence over the countries ‘in between’, at the same time as exacerbating internal tensions in countries such as Ukraine and Serbia over their foreign policy orientation

Economic history · Political science · Politics · Soviet union · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · European Politics and Security · History · Law