Balkanise (Verb)
Meaning
Divide a territory into small, hostile states.
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- The constant power struggle between regional groups threatened to balkanise the entire nation into smaller, rival territories.
- Historians argue that the policy of divide and conquer implemented by colonisers led to the balkanisation of many African countries.
- Economists warned that the impending economic collapse might balkanise the continent into fiercely protectionist states.
- Analysts fear the ongoing conflict could balkanise the region, plunging its people into further instability and violence.
- Critics argue that the imposition of artificial borders has contributed to the balkanisation of the Middle East into small, often hostile states.