Ethnic cleansing is a generally pejorative term used to refer to the forced removal of an
ethnic group from an area by force in order to create an ethnically homogenous state. The term was first used in the Balkan conflicts during the
1990s to describe actions Croatia, the Krajina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and later Kosovo. Ethnic cleansing is deemed a
crime against humanity by international treaties, such as that which created the
International Criminal Court.
Some commentators have argued that mass population transfers can create political situations which are more stable than those involving multi-ethnic states, citing the partition of India[?] and the post-World War II political situation in Eastern Europe.
Others have raised disturbing questions about historical events such as the German expulsion after World War II.