the.com/balkanization
what happens when a map, a market, or a group chat decides unity was overrated.
means the fragmentation of a larger system into smaller, mutually hostile units that used to cooperate.
from coined after the early 20th-century breakup of the ottoman-era balkans into rival nation-states, each drawing borders like it was personal.
first usedpopularized in 1918, post-world war one press coverage
modern usagenow describes internet, media, even software ecosystems splitting
ironythe balkans today are more integrated than the metaphor implies