After the collapse of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, four of its constituent republics
broke away to form independent countries:
Incidentally, the SFRY constitution explicitly allowed
the secession of its republics (albeit without
specifying a means of doing so). This right
was
not extended to "nationalities" within a
state, such as
Kosovo and
Vojvodina in
Serbia, but
I'm getting ahead of myself...
The name "Yugoslavia" ("South Slav Land") and thus
the claim to the mantle of the SFRY -- including overseas monetary assets -- was retained by the rump state of Serbia and
Montenegro, along with various claims of ownership
over the other republics, leading to the Balkan War.
In protest, for almost ten years nearly all nations
refused to recognize this use of the name, referring
to the nation simply as Serbia and Montenegro.
Howeber, after the 2000 extradition of
Slobodan Milosevic to
the Hague to face a war crimes tribunal,
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (under that name)
was promptly admitted into the United Nations and the
US (among others) established diplomatic relations.
But 'twas not be -- on March 14, 2002, the state
known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially ceased to exist. Following the completion of
arduous negotiations
between Serbia and Montenegro, the two states are now known under the collective name Serbia and Montenegro
(creative, yes?), maintaining a common foreign policy
and seat in the UN General Assembly, but very little
else. In 3 years time, Montenegro has the option of
re-evaluating its situation and opting for full
independence, and more likely than not
the last of Tito's eternal ties of unity between Slav brethren will then be cut.