WAR CRUELTY IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES

The war in former Yugoslavia is characterized by extreme cruelty condi tioned by the some initial psychosocial factors: 1) Crisis and frustra tion which produced transferred aggression; 2) National character whic h has been formed in history; 3) Communist indoctrination which result ed in obedience and an obsession with the enemy; 4) Stigmatization of ethnic groups based on old historical feelings of resentment. Most sla ughterers are not psychopaths or other insane people, but ordinary cit izens. In the Balkans the authoritarian relations, the feeling of depe ndency, and an extreme compliance to tradition, myths and authorities are widespread. Some authors refer to about inborn and genetically det ermined aggression which becomes inhibited by internal controlling str uctures (called the Supergo, stages of morality, internal standards or moral values). Severe crises like war show that these structures are not totally autonomous. They cannot function properly without some fee dback from the environment; otherwise they quit and are replaced by id eology.