tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post9018070819937259901..comments2023-10-22T11:57:34.718+01:00Comments on A Pint of Unionist Lite: Why Northern Ireland was never "Balkanised"O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-1545939162774547222010-04-13T20:36:02.387+01:002010-04-13T20:36:02.387+01:00“You claim that compared to NI, Tito's Yugosla...<em>“You claim that compared to NI, Tito's Yugoslavia 'was a country which had been much more successful in coping with the religious and ethnic differences amongst its citizens'.<br /><br />This depends on how you define sucess, doesn't it?</em><br /><br />I defined it in 2 areas (and remember we are talking “relative” success here, “relative” to Northern Ireland): mixed O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-66953082313082157322010-04-11T11:10:07.436+01:002010-04-11T11:10:07.436+01:00This is a very flawed and poor article for a numbe...This is a very flawed and poor article for a number of salient reasons, I'm afraid.<br /><br />Your attempt to favourably compare the benign role of British security forces with the malign force of the JNA (Yugoslavian People's Army)is off the mark.<br /><br />Before coming to the crux of this argument, one particular gem needs to be dealt with. You claim that compared to NI, Tito's Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-35131317370662721302010-04-06T21:00:16.125+01:002010-04-06T21:00:16.125+01:00True, "Black lamb, Grey Falcon" details ...True, "Black lamb, Grey Falcon" details the historic fractures quite graphically. However, I think my main point still holds, the role of the central govt and state forces plyed a decisive role in making sure those fractures were split to the widest extent.O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531858236570346203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6008037633121035579.post-73511668073966387992010-04-06T12:44:38.261+01:002010-04-06T12:44:38.261+01:00I think (relatively) benevolent totalitarianism, t...I think (relatively) benevolent totalitarianism, though brutal when it wanted to be, was the key-thing to holding things together in post-WW2 Yugoslavia, and, once that was gone, the built-in fractures wouldn't be long in coming to the surface.<br /><br />Not merely the religious and cultural distinctions, or even centuries old rallying points like the Battle of Kosovo, but rather more recentGavBelfastnoreply@blogger.com