Croatia's territorial consolidation and prospects for the future

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of developments in Croatia related to boundary and territorial issues in the aftermath of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. This survey will therefore detail key events including the Serbo-Croatian war of 1991, the uprising of the Serbian minority, international mediation efforts, the deployment and operation of UN forces in Croatia and Croatia's territorial consolidation in 1995. In the aftermath of Operations Flash and Storm in May and August 1995, respectively, and the spectacular gains by combined Croat and Bosnian forces in western Bosnia in September 1995, Croatia's strategic outlook has been transformed. There are, however, several outstanding issues and disputes yet to be resolved and these will be outlined.