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A geopolitical term originally
used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a
region or state into smaller regions or states that are often
hostile or non-cooperative with one another. The term refers to
the division of the Balkan Peninsula, formerly ruled almost
entirely by the Ottoman Empire. The term however came into
common use in the immediate aftermath of the First World War,
with reference to the numerous new states that arose from the
collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire. |
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