Obviously there was the Yugoslav wars in the 90's where as the rest of Europe's last war ended in 1945 apart from the troubles in the U.K. However, the scale of ww2 compared to the Yugoslav wars is worlds apart even if it was longer ago and most people today haven't experienced it, whereas the Yugoslav wars are still fresh in people's minds. But even if we go back to 50s or 60s when ww2 was still very recent memory, it seems there wasn't a raging hatred or tension between neighbouring rivals like there is in the Balkans. Apart from the atrocities and expulsions of Germans from certain areas towards the end of the war. But after that it seems there wasn't blood lusting hatred between nations neither from the governments or people.
I know that at that time they had a new common enemy to worry about (USSR), but common enemies never stopped Balkan nations from distrust and hatred. Even when held together by Tito, the old rivalries immediately sprang back up with violence after he was gone. In the rest of Europe, they united even more after the Soviet threat was gone and focused on growth and economy.
Even without Milosevic, the hatred between the people was still there. It never really left. It was also still there before ww2 and even ww2 and even the ottoman period.
But the same could be said for the rest of Europe, in fact even more so. But the difference is after every devastating war throughout history, the rest of Europe seemed to put grievances under the rug and focus on important things, then start other devastating wars and rinse and repeat.
But the Balkans even when at peace and even now when most just want jobs and future prospects instead of war, there is still the same hatred that was there from medieval times country officials still see each other as rivals even when they're all (for the most part) trying to get in the EU/NATO/U.S sphere
My question is: seeing as Balkan nations already hated each other before the Yugoslav wars, already hated each other before ww2,ww1, the Balkan wars and even before they were independent nations, these are struggles all European people have gone through. Why was European rivalry mainly strategical/geopolitical/or simples selfish whereas Balkan rivalries were, on top of that, much more personal with genuine hatred?
While there's always more to be said on the subject, and not to discourage further answers, here are a few answers previously written on the subject:
History of the Balkans AMA, featuring contributions from u/Fucho, u/notamacropus, u/yodatsracist, and u/rusoved
Pop history often presents Yugoslavia as a "nationalist time bomb" destined to blow, held together only by the force of strongman President Tito. But he died in 1980 and the first Yugoslav war began in 1991. What was really going on? with an answer by u/commiespaceinvader on inter-ethnic relations in 20th century Yugoslavia
How did the Balkans become the region of Europe most prone to ethnic conflict? Did either the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and predecessor states) or the Ottoman Empire have significant influence in this? with an answer also by u/commiespaceinvader, which focuses on the Balkans prior to World War I and contains a good cautionary note on the dangers of "Balkanism" and treating the Balkans as a region particularly prone to ethnic conflict.
[the hatred] was also still there before ww2 and even ww2 and even the ottoman period.
there is still the same hatred that was there from medieval times
My question is: seeing as Balkan nations already hated each other before the Yugoslav wars, already hated each other before ww2,ww1, the Balkan wars and even before they were independent nations
Assuming that by "Balkan nations" you mean only the peoples who constituted first and second Yugoslavia, can you elaborate on your information on all the hate between them, especially for "medieval" and "ottoman" time periods, but also for "before the ww2"?