Balkanization is understood to be a state of fragmentation characterized by perpetual ethnic conflict. It is often invoked in social, political, and legal theories as a shorthand for ethnic hatred, animosity, and conflict. It is also invoked in theories of race and racial relations in the U.S., where it is argued that balkanization is avoided through the shared oppression of Black people. Prominent scholars, like Toni Morrison and Derrick Bell, contend that without Black people as a scapegoat, the U.S. would descend into Balkanization. This talk analyzes the uses and abuses of the term Balkanization as well as the limitations and consequences of employing racialized metaphors for understanding racial relations.