balkanization

Cultural  

1. Division of a place or country into several small political units, often unfriendly to one another. The term balkanization comes from the name of the Balkan Peninsula, which was divided into several small nations in the early twentieth century.

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Example Sentences

The corporate balkanization of the internet into unusable-yet-unavoidable platforms full of garbage is a predictable foreshadowing of what the continued privatization of space is going to look like.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2023

“It invites conflict and retaliation and threatens the balkanization of the national economic union.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023

A recent essay by Jonathan Haidt in the Atlantic explored how the rise of social media and the consequent balkanization of news underlie many of the divisions upending our society.

From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2022

There are plenty of negative examples to prove the dangers of balkanization, such as Syria, Turkey, Bosnia, and Myanmar.

From Washington Times • Apr. 26, 2017

In contrast, Europe’s geographic balkanization resulted in dozens or hundreds of independent, competing statelets and centers of innovation.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond