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As if the Serbs didn't hate me enough...

---

Tito pulled off a near-miracle with his ability to force Yugoslavia into a form of multinational harmony, but with such a system dependent on his presence it invariably went to hell when he died. Just over 10 years after his death, Yugoslavia split along every stress line as first the Socialist Republics broke away from the Serbian core, followed by multiple break-ups within those states as the lines of ethnic and religious strain broke nations apart. This was most acutely the case in Bosnia, where many of the most infamous war crimes were carried out and which showcased the fact that Yugoslavia was damned to the dustbin of history. Such things were not lost on the people of the Sandžak, a cross-border region of Serbia and Montenegro of a diverse religious character and dominated by Bosniaks, who saw the chaos in Bosnia itself and felt they would be the next target of Yugoslavia's ire. To make matters worse, a referendum in 1991 on greater autonomy within Yugoslavia had been forcibly shut down by Serbian police.

Tensions only grew worse in that time, and in 1993 the violence spread into Serbia as clashes between Sandžaki nationalists and Serbian nationalists flared tensions even further, with the Sandžaki Bosniaks seeing the violence of the Milošević government and fearing that they would next be targeted for ethnic cleansing. With police failing to quell the violence, in 1994 a ring of Sandžaki nationalists declared their region's secession from Serbia in the city of Novi Pazar, declaring the creation of an independent Republic of Sandžak in solidarity with the violence in Bosnia and Kosovo. As with the rest of the region, Milošević responded with violence and launched attacks from both Serbia and Montenegro in an effort to not only quell a new separatist uprising but to keep Serbia and Montenegro united. Although the Serbs were able to seize Novi Pazar, the Sandžaki government relocated to Bijelo Polje in light of greater success against the Montenegrin forces, utilizing the rough terrain to stymie the weaker Montenegrin forces while fending off the Serbian attacks from the northeast.

Much as feared, the horrors of ethnic cleansing were visited upon the Sandžaki Bosniaks and ultimately triggered a stronger response from NATO in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Sandžak itself, which prompted fears in Belgrade that Serbia was about to be "surrounded" by a wall formed of Bosnia, Sandžak, and Kosovo. The Serbian government thus a renewed effort to try and strike even harder into the contested regions in an attempt to keep hold of Sandžak and Kosovo as integral parts of their own nation. Even by 1996, though, the situation was growing dire as the constant failures of the Montenegrin forces to make headway against Sandžaki partisans drew ire from Podgorica that Belgrade wasn't doing enough to support it in the war, and already the mood was drifting in favor of simply throwing their hands up and submitting to reality. With both Kosovo and Sandžak holding out against the Serbian assaults and NATO increasing their presence in the region, Yugoslavia was finally dissolved in 1997 when Montenegro declared their final secession from the union, leaving Serbia alone.

Although fighting would continue on and off for the next eighteen months, by July of 1997 circumstances cooled and Serbia began to withdraw from the region, followed by further Serbian migration out of Sandžak as Catholic and Orthodox Slavs left in fear of reprisals from the Bosniaks. For the Bosniak Muslims themselves, though, there was now a new question presented: Sandžak was on the cusp of full secession from Serbia and Montenegro, but would it then in turn join with Bosnia & Herzegovina? Sarajevo was certainly open to the idea, but after the violence of the Yugoslav Wars and the fear of renewed conflict with Serbia the country had been left ravaged and in a poor position to accept the newly independent Sandžak. Even then, many Sandžaki Bosniaks had a similar attitude towards their own country as the Kosovar people did, in that just because they had seceded from Serbia it didn't mean they were prepared to simply surrender their freedom to a new nation. Much as with Kosovo, Sandžak elected to remain separate (though friendly towards) Bosnia.

With Sandžak now wedged between a Montenegro and Serbia that hated it, connected to a Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo that were much friendlier, it was an unenviable position to be in. As the world entered the 21st Century with a seemingly bright future, Sandžak was left trying to clean up the mess of the war with marginal international assistance and only begrudging recognition from Serbia, with the threat of revanchism hovering over the former Yugoslav states like a dark cloud. The flight of more than 100,000 non-Muslim Sandžakis didn't help matters either. The region as a whole was extremely underdeveloped, and the fact that it had emerged as the secession of a region instead of a political entity (like Kosovo or Macedonia or Bosnia) meant that an entire administration had needed to be made almost from scratch. In the first ten years of the country's existence, a nominal democracy was held in an iron grip by the Democratic Action Party, with Sulejman Ugljanin serving as self-declared President for that entire time.

A slow recovery was the natural outcome of such a circumstance, but there was recovery even if slow. The Cold War was over, and even with the world entering a new period of uncertainty after 9/11 Europe as a whole was positioned to begin reconciling the old divisions of the Cold War era, and part of this involved reaching out to the former Yugoslav states (with Serbia still holding itself at an icy distance). It didn't mean terribly much for Sandžak directly, but it meant slowly de-escalating tensions in the region and a slow trickle of foreign investment in the region, something dearly needed for the fact that the impoverished nation was bleeding population even with the migration of Bosniaks into Sandžak out of Montenegro and Serbia, especially as more went to Bosnia & Herzgovina than Sandžak. Even to this day, Sandžak continues to struggle to develop and advance itself, and since 1999 has had a near-constant population decline owing to migration out of the country to other states in the EU.

Over time, though, this decline has slowed, and in 2008 the Brodarevo Accords relinquished the DAP' stranglehold on the government and allowed for greater opposition influence by the Social Democratic Party, while also holing the country's first open elections. Greater political openness has also allowed for more international integration, and although the country is far from fully joining the European Union it holds candidate status and joined NATO in 2020 alongside North Macedonia, with growing confidence that circumstances can and will continue to improve for the country even when seemingly bleak. Every ounce of improvement is still an uphill battle, but with the population projected to reach a positive growth rate before 2030 there is at least some reason to be hopeful even if in the slightest amount. The country fought violently for its independence, and there must be something to give that fighting reason. If nothing else, at least, it's helpful to know that you can make your own mistakes instead of relying on someone else to make them for you.

Description

As if the Serbs didn't hate me enough...

---

Tito pulled off a near-miracle with his ability to force Yugoslavia into a form of multinational harmony, but with such a system dependent on his presence it invariably went to hell when he died. Just over 10 years after his death, Yugoslavia split along every stress line as first the Socialist Republics broke away from the Serbian core, followed by multiple break-ups within those states as the lines of ethnic and religious strain broke nations apart. This was most acutely the case in Bosnia, where many of the most infamous war crimes were carried out and which showcased the fact that Yugoslavia was damned to the dustbin of history. Such things were not lost on the people of the Sandžak, a cross-border region of Serbia and Montenegro of a diverse religious character and dominated by Bosniaks, who saw the chaos in Bosnia itself and felt they would be the next target of Yugoslavia's ire. To make matters worse, a referendum in 1991 on greater autonomy within Yugoslavia had been forcibly shut down by Serbian police.

Tensions only grew worse in that time, and in 1993 the violence spread into Serbia as clashes between Sandžaki nationalists and Serbian nationalists flared tensions even further, with the Sandžaki Bosniaks seeing the violence of the Milošević government and fearing that they would next be targeted for ethnic cleansing. With police failing to quell the violence, in 1994 a ring of Sandžaki nationalists declared their region's secession from Serbia in the city of Novi Pazar, declaring the creation of an independent Republic of Sandžak in solidarity with the violence in Bosnia and Kosovo. As with the rest of the region, Milošević responded with violence and launched attacks from both Serbia and Montenegro in an effort to not only quell a new separatist uprising but to keep Serbia and Montenegro united. Although the Serbs were able to seize Novi Pazar, the Sandžaki government relocated to Bijelo Polje in light of greater success against the Montenegrin forces, utilizing the rough terrain to stymie the weaker Montenegrin forces while fending off the Serbian attacks from the northeast.

Much as feared, the horrors of ethnic cleansing were visited upon the Sandžaki Bosniaks and ultimately triggered a stronger response from NATO in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Sandžak itself, which prompted fears in Belgrade that Serbia was about to be "surrounded" by a wall formed of Bosnia, Sandžak, and Kosovo. The Serbian government thus a renewed effort to try and strike even harder into the contested regions in an attempt to keep hold of Sandžak and Kosovo as integral parts of their own nation. Even by 1996, though, the situation was growing dire as the constant failures of the Montenegrin forces to make headway against Sandžaki partisans drew ire from Podgorica that Belgrade wasn't doing enough to support it in the war, and already the mood was drifting in favor of simply throwing their hands up and submitting to reality. With both Kosovo and Sandžak holding out against the Serbian assaults and NATO increasing their presence in the region, Yugoslavia was finally dissolved in 1997 when Montenegro declared their final secession from the union, leaving Serbia alone.

Although fighting would continue on and off for the next eighteen months, by July of 1997 circumstances cooled and Serbia began to withdraw from the region, followed by further Serbian migration out of Sandžak as Catholic and Orthodox Slavs left in fear of reprisals from the Bosniaks. For the Bosniak Muslims themselves, though, there was now a new question presented: Sandžak was on the cusp of full secession from Serbia and Montenegro, but would it then in turn join with Bosnia & Herzegovina? Sarajevo was certainly open to the idea, but after the violence of the Yugoslav Wars and the fear of renewed conflict with Serbia the country had been left ravaged and in a poor position to accept the newly independent Sandžak. Even then, many Sandžaki Bosniaks had a similar attitude towards their own country as the Kosovar people did, in that just because they had seceded from Serbia it didn't mean they were prepared to simply surrender their freedom to a new nation. Much as with Kosovo, Sandžak elected to remain separate (though friendly towards) Bosnia.

With Sandžak now wedged between a Montenegro and Serbia that hated it, connected to a Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo that were much friendlier, it was an unenviable position to be in. As the world entered the 21st Century with a seemingly bright future, Sandžak was left trying to clean up the mess of the war with marginal international assistance and only begrudging recognition from Serbia, with the threat of revanchism hovering over the former Yugoslav states like a dark cloud. The flight of more than 100,000 non-Muslim Sandžakis didn't help matters either. The region as a whole was extremely underdeveloped, and the fact that it had emerged as the secession of a region instead of a political entity (like Kosovo or Macedonia or Bosnia) meant that an entire administration had needed to be made almost from scratch. In the first ten years of the country's existence, a nominal democracy was held in an iron grip by the Democratic Action Party, with Sulejman Ugljanin serving as self-declared President for that entire time.

A slow recovery was the natural outcome of such a circumstance, but there was recovery even if slow. The Cold War was over, and even with the world entering a new period of uncertainty after 9/11 Europe as a whole was positioned to begin reconciling the old divisions of the Cold War era, and part of this involved reaching out to the former Yugoslav states (with Serbia still holding itself at an icy distance). It didn't mean terribly much for Sandžak directly, but it meant slowly de-escalating tensions in the region and a slow trickle of foreign investment in the region, something dearly needed for the fact that the impoverished nation was bleeding population even with the migration of Bosniaks into Sandžak out of Montenegro and Serbia, especially as more went to Bosnia & Herzgovina than Sandžak. Even to this day, Sandžak continues to struggle to develop and advance itself, and since 1999 has had a near-constant population decline owing to migration out of the country to other states in the EU.

Over time, though, this decline has slowed, and in 2008 the Brodarevo Accords relinquished the DAP' stranglehold on the government and allowed for greater opposition influence by the Social Democratic Party, while also holing the country's first open elections. Greater political openness has also allowed for more international integration, and although the country is far from fully joining the European Union it holds candidate status and joined NATO in 2020 alongside North Macedonia, with growing confidence that circumstances can and will continue to improve for the country even when seemingly bleak. Every ounce of improvement is still an uphill battle, but with the population projected to reach a positive growth rate before 2030 there is at least some reason to be hopeful even if in the slightest amount. The country fought violently for its independence, and there must be something to give that fighting reason. If nothing else, at least, it's helpful to know that you can make your own mistakes instead of relying on someone else to make them for you.