bal ‧ kan ‧ i ‧ za ‧ tion BrE AmE ( also balkanisation British English ) /ˌbɔːlkənaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ ˌbɒːlkənə-/ noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: Balkans , the name of an area of southeast Europe with many small states that often fight each other ]
the practice of dividing a country into separate independent states – used to show disapproval