Great post, OP. Just thought I'd share my .02, as someone who travessed through Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia over the summer last year and met various people it's the worst type of nostalgia to be experiencing this first hand in the U.S. I was in the Balkans to study the collapse of Yugoslavia, the various conflicts and post-conflict restoration over there. One of the attending professors was from Serbia, and the other was American. Looking back, I can totally see the parallel. I wonder if that professor also is a lurker here, as I did not study in the U.S yet he often encouraged us to consider the status of the U.S, especially back in 2016. After the election, we focused our studies more on nationalism and conflict. I can't help but read the current headlines for the past few months and hear his voice and lectures ring back in my head.

For what it's worth, every single person I met said they wished it was Yugoslavia again. It really seemed like the only people who wanted the divisions were the elite. The only exception of this being what happened to Bosnia, where Bosniaks really got shit on pretty much everywhere throughout the Balkans.

Anyways, thanks for a great post.