Eastern Europe: Quo vadis
Slovenia is one of the most developed countries in Eastern Europe. As a country, which has a coast on the Adriatic Sea and is bordered by Italy and Austria, Slovenia was the heart of the European economy in terms of industrialization and industrial infrastructure in the former Yugoslavia. When Slovenia joined the Yugoslavian federal structure in 1945 as an autonomous republic, it was a center that kept "socialist" Yugoslavia on its feet in terms of added value. Therefore, Slovenia was the first autonomous republic that demanded secession from Yugoslavia with the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, which started with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
After seeing Slovenia's glorious capital of Ljubljana, I cannot help but ask myself: How would the current conditions of Slovenia, Slovakia and other Balkan countries be, if all the autonomous republics that constituted Yugoslavia had steadfastly protected the federal republican structure with a democratic presidential system? Would they be in a better condition now, if Serbs and other nations had not demanded secession, if they had not fallen into Germany's "Balkanization" trap and had not followed in the footsteps of a fascist and nationalist murderer like Slobodan Milosevic? I would answer "Definitely, they would be in a better condition" to this question, moreover, had they maintained their old combined power, they could even overcome the current crisis that Europe is experiencing. Now, however, we are facing a German financial capital that is about to devour all former Yugoslavian countries, including Slovenia. Had these countries displayed a will to establish a new democratic union in the early 1990s, the new emerging power would have the capacity to buy Germany's industrial and communicational infrastructure, and the German financial capital, which has tormented humanity since the early 20th century, would be a thing of the past.
Let's take a look at those days, days that teach us many things. When the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union started to dissolve in 1989, European fascists and American neo-cons walked on air because of the Balkanization policy. Soon after World War II, Josip Broz Tito founded the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which included six socialist republics - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia - and two autonomous provinces - Kosovo and Vojvodina. This was an act that was against the nation-statist system of capitalism and the hegemony of the Soviet Union. No matter what anybody says, Tito's Yugoslavia troubled the U.S. and the Soviet Union, since it had a decentralized, self-governing nature, unlike Joseph Stalin's understanding of dictatorial and central administration. I would suggest that Tito's Yugoslavia was inspired by the Ottoman Empire's decentralization and maintained this political culture unawares. Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country that carries the traces of this most, I saw such characteristics in Slovenia as well. Perhaps this is why the West practiced the Balkanization policy and mobilized the most fascist elements, particularly the Serbian nationalism, soon after Tito passed away.
Yugoslavia's disintegration process and the situation of the countries that emerged as a result of it show us that the states that are based on racist and nationalist understanding have come to an end. Obviously, the countries of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia do not have the chance to continue as nation-states on their own, while developed and geographically advantageous countries such as Slovenia have serious financial difficulties to recover from. These countries can recover only with a new union. There are three major conclusions to be drawn from this reality:
1. As a country that enjoyed the welfare of the West's Industrial Revolution in the heart of Europe, establishing a nation-state with nationalist motives did not work in favor of Slovenia's people. Even the current situations of "central" and industrialized Eastern European countries such as Slovenia and Slovakia, which was a part of former Czechoslovakia, are not "sustainable."
2. The current state of European countries is far from able to maintain the welfare that will protect them against a hegemonic power like Germany, and will enable them to compete on an equal basis.
3. The EU is coming to an end, not only because of the economic crisis in Central Europe, but because it ostracizes the Balkans and Southern Europe.
These conclusions take us to a single solution: The Adriatic and Balkan areas cannot continue with a moribund German-centric EU. The fact that countries like Slovenia were hastily made EU members with Germany's oppression is a part of Germany's plan to swallow such countries. Obviously, I do not argue that the EU should be eliminated completely, but I suggest that it should not and can no longer continue as a German-centric union. So, the EU can overcome crisis only if it becomes a new union that includes the Balkan and Adriatic countries and expands to Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan including Turkey.
After seeing Slovenia's glorious capital of Ljubljana, I cannot help but ask myself: How would the current conditions of Slovenia, Slovakia and other Balkan countries be, if all the autonomous republics that constituted Yugoslavia had steadfastly protected the federal republican structure with a democratic presidential system? Would they be in a better condition now, if Serbs and other nations had not demanded secession, if they had not fallen into Germany's "Balkanization" trap and had not followed in the footsteps of a fascist and nationalist murderer like Slobodan Milosevic? I would answer "Definitely, they would be in a better condition" to this question, moreover, had they maintained their old combined power, they could even overcome the current crisis that Europe is experiencing. Now, however, we are facing a German financial capital that is about to devour all former Yugoslavian countries, including Slovenia. Had these countries displayed a will to establish a new democratic union in the early 1990s, the new emerging power would have the capacity to buy Germany's industrial and communicational infrastructure, and the German financial capital, which has tormented humanity since the early 20th century, would be a thing of the past.
Let's take a look at those days, days that teach us many things. When the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union started to dissolve in 1989, European fascists and American neo-cons walked on air because of the Balkanization policy. Soon after World War II, Josip Broz Tito founded the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which included six socialist republics - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia - and two autonomous provinces - Kosovo and Vojvodina. This was an act that was against the nation-statist system of capitalism and the hegemony of the Soviet Union. No matter what anybody says, Tito's Yugoslavia troubled the U.S. and the Soviet Union, since it had a decentralized, self-governing nature, unlike Joseph Stalin's understanding of dictatorial and central administration. I would suggest that Tito's Yugoslavia was inspired by the Ottoman Empire's decentralization and maintained this political culture unawares. Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country that carries the traces of this most, I saw such characteristics in Slovenia as well. Perhaps this is why the West practiced the Balkanization policy and mobilized the most fascist elements, particularly the Serbian nationalism, soon after Tito passed away.
Yugoslavia's disintegration process and the situation of the countries that emerged as a result of it show us that the states that are based on racist and nationalist understanding have come to an end. Obviously, the countries of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia do not have the chance to continue as nation-states on their own, while developed and geographically advantageous countries such as Slovenia have serious financial difficulties to recover from. These countries can recover only with a new union. There are three major conclusions to be drawn from this reality:
1. As a country that enjoyed the welfare of the West's Industrial Revolution in the heart of Europe, establishing a nation-state with nationalist motives did not work in favor of Slovenia's people. Even the current situations of "central" and industrialized Eastern European countries such as Slovenia and Slovakia, which was a part of former Czechoslovakia, are not "sustainable."
2. The current state of European countries is far from able to maintain the welfare that will protect them against a hegemonic power like Germany, and will enable them to compete on an equal basis.
3. The EU is coming to an end, not only because of the economic crisis in Central Europe, but because it ostracizes the Balkans and Southern Europe.
These conclusions take us to a single solution: The Adriatic and Balkan areas cannot continue with a moribund German-centric EU. The fact that countries like Slovenia were hastily made EU members with Germany's oppression is a part of Germany's plan to swallow such countries. Obviously, I do not argue that the EU should be eliminated completely, but I suggest that it should not and can no longer continue as a German-centric union. So, the EU can overcome crisis only if it becomes a new union that includes the Balkan and Adriatic countries and expands to Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan including Turkey.
Last Update: April 03, 2015 01:17