When Tito died in 1980, the Communist Party weakened and new parties came to the fore. This dispersal of power quickly resulted in the erosion of the peace and prosperity that Tito had established during his reign. The federal government was now based on a revolving presidency; a different president from each of the republics and provinces took a turn at governing the country for one year. As a result of the revolving presidency, presidents began to wield more power than they had under Tito's communism.

With power devolving to the presidents—each with the well-being of his own republic in mind—Yugoslavia as a federation began a rapid descent into chaos. The rotating presidency turned out to be a weak vehicle for ruling a nation. Centralized power went to the most powerful of the republics, Serbia. As Serbian power grew, the other republics began to...