[bawl-kuh-nahyz] 
| 1. | to divide (a country, territory, etc.) into small, quarrelsome, ineffectual states. |
| 2. | (often lowercase ) to divide (groups, areas, etc.) into contending and usually ineffectual factions: a movement to balkanize minority voters. |
| Bal·kan·ize or bal·kan·ize (bôl'kə-nīz') tr.v. Bal·kan·ized or bal·kan·ized, Bal·kan·iz·ing or bal·kan·iz·ing, Bal·kan·iz·es or bal·kan·iz·es To divide (a region or territory) into small, often hostile units. [From the political division of the Balkans in the early 20th century.] Bal'kan·i·za'tion n. |
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.