BalkanizeorBalkanise'bɔ:lkənʌɪz,'bɒl-
verbdivide (a region or body) into smaller mutually hostile states or groups.
Derivatives
Balkanization-'zeɪʃ(ə)nnoun
Origin
1920s: from theBalkanPeninsula (where this was done in the late 19th and early 20th cent.) + -ize.