Declaration of Independence

Kosovo declared independence today. if you can't remember where Kosovo is, its at the southern end of Serbia and borders Albania at its upper east border. The most important thing to know is that it is located in the Balkans so named for the Balkan mountain range that extends through Serbia and Bulgaria. The entire peninsula, including Greece, is called the Balkan Peninsula.

The Balkans has been notably unstable since 1991. In truth, Yugoslavia, ruled with a firm hand by Tito, was held together by the Communist Government. The collapse of said government spurned the region into upheaval. The early '90's there was a war between Croatia nad Serbia. And then Serbia made war and genocide on Bosnia. The complexity of these wars cannot be easily distilled but I'll try.

Religion is a key part of identity in this area. In Serbia, many of the citizens were Serbian Orthodox. In Croatia, the people were for most part Roman Catholic. And the alphabet they use reflects that. In Serbia, the Cyrillic alphabet is used. In Croatia, the Roman alphabet is used. This goes back to the schism. In the 11th Century, there was a Schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox. The two churches divided for the most part, along the same boundaries that the two halves of the Roman empire in the 5th Century. Look at the map:

Roman Empire at Fall:

Blue = West; Pink = East

So, is anyone surprised about this? What it opens up is the question about other breakaway nations such as Chechnya in Russia, Kurdistan in Iraq and Turkey, Abkhazia in Georgia, and Basque separatists in Spain and France. If one nation can decide to create its own new state, then any nation can. As an American, I should respond that this acceptable, considering the history of my home country. And I do. But I understand the complexity of other nations and their attitudes toward territory. But there comes a time when states need to make a clean break of it. It comes down to the question "What have you done for me lately?"