Balkanization

• balkanization
• Balkanisation (mainly UK)

Balkan +‎ -ization. The term is a reference to the conflicts that the Balkan peninsula experienced in the 20th century.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌbɔːl.kən.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌbɑl.kən.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

Balkanization (countable and uncountable, plural Balkanizations)

1. (historical, chiefly political science) The fragmentation of a geopolitical region into several small states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other.
2. (by extension, informal) Any disintegration or fragmentation process.

   Synonym: fragmentation

   demographic balkanization

   • 2002, Carol M. Swain, The New White Nationalism in America, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 94:

     Issues that are already hotly contested become even more divisive in the context of social balkanization.

   • 2006, Anil K. Jain, Ruud Bolle, Sharath Pankanti, Biometrics: Personal Identification in Networked Society, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 401:

     In other words, will the biometric future feature biometric centralization whereby one biometric would dominate multiple applications, or will we see biometric balkanization where multiple biometrics are used for multiple applications?

• cyberbalkanization

• Balkanize

• Balkanization on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Balkan Wars on Wikipedia.Wikipedia