1. to divide (a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units
Usage: often used in political contexts

Examples

• The civil war threatened to balkanize the country into separate ethnic territories.
• Political disagreements began to balkanize the once-unified party.
• Critics worried that the new policy would balkanize the school district.
• The region was balkanized after the collapse of the central government.
• Economic pressures could balkanize the trade alliance.
• The movement sought to balkanize the large state into smaller provinces.