The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars fought in Yugoslavia in the 1990s between the republics that sought sovereignty on one side and the government in Belgrade on the other side that wanted to either prevent their independence or keep large parts of that territory under its control. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on one side and Croats and Bosniaks in Bosnia on the other, but also between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia, between Croats and Serbs in Croatia, between Serbs and Slovenes in Slovenia, between Serbs and Albanians in Serbia, between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo and between Albanians and Macedonians in Macedonia. The wars ended in various stages and mostly resulted in full international recognition of new sovereign territories, but with massive economic disruption to the successor states.

And yet a Japanese person looking in from the outside would say, "You're all so similar!" Ah, humanity. It hurts to think about sometimes.