balkanization

noun

1. (countable, historical, uncountable)The fragmentation of a geopolitical region into several small states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other.
2. (broadly, countable, informal, uncountable)Any disintegration or fragmentation process.

   “demographic balkanization”

   “Issues that are already hotly contested become even more divisive in the context of social balkanization.”

   “In other words, will the biometric future feature biometric centralization whereby one biometric would dominate multiple applications, or will we see biometric balkanization where multiple biometrics are used for multiple applications?”

3. (alt-of, countable, uncountable)Alternative letter-case form of Balkanization.

   “TV is the mass medium now, and balkanization has hit the newspaper industry.”

   “Evening newscasts speak of a country on the verge of balkanization.”