>>>The end result is that instead of one moderately developed, independent and generally successful country, now there are six or seven mostly unviable ones, or at least nothing to envy them for...
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>I refreshed my memory about the way the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke up. I will not insult you with a trite precis, but I see the common themes of unemployment/hopelessness (with the cheerful IMF gnomes providing their usual contribution,) mob hysterical conversion of ordinary neighbors into demons needing to be cleansed and psychopaths creating mob action for idle hands. As Thomas says, at a *minimum* there needs to be a capable acceptable government whenever organization falls or is brought down, otherwise the modern experience is that the psychopaths step in.
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>What do you think is the solution for the problem you describe? What chance that the Republic can reassemble into a coherent entity with more scale? If not possible, then what is the solution and what are the idle youths doing today?

Frankly, I don't see any viable solution in my lifetime. Even if one of the countries would have a government who'd have the balls to tell IMF to go fuck themselves and start rebuilding on its own, they wouldn't stand a chance against a machinery which has larger propaganda budget than the net worth of such a country.

Presently, we've reached the state of the US politics - it really doesn't matter who makes the government. Whoever that be, they'll always obey the will of those who can make them an offer they can't refuse. Just last night I read somewhere (link from here or from my home forum, who'd know) that about 98% of the 1500 parliamentary decisions made in the last couple of years were following the interests of the capital, not of the people. I think the country where this happened was the US, but I wouldn't be surprised it would be so anywhere.