The Balkans: Nationlism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804-1999

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The history of the Balkan states, like that of so much of the world, has for centuries been marked by ethnocidal fracases, savage wars of conquest, and periods of eerie calm. The mountainous region's shifting alliances and divisions have long puzzled outside observers, writes journalist Misha Glenny, the author of The Fall of Yugoslavia: "For many decades, Westerners gazed on these lands as if [they were] an ill-charted zone separating Europe's well-ordered civilization from the chaos of the Orient."

Those outsiders, Glenny suggests, have been the source of much of the Balkans' misery. In only the last two centuries, the territory has been contested by the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, the Third Reich, and the Allies, all of whom exploited and exacerbated existing ethnic conflict. (The Nazi occupiers of Croatia, he writes, even had to rein in the fascist Ustase militia for fear that their campaign against Serbs and Muslims would only strengthen resistance to their puppet government.) And, he continues, attempts to quell the recent conflict in Bosnia have created problems of their own. He argues that war will break out anew the moment international troops are withdrawn and that the Dayton Agreement is too "full of anomalies and frictions" to stand. The intervention in Kosovo has been no better, he adds, and the Allies' misguided efforts are sure to yield only further bloodshed if the only objective is to remove Slobodan Milosevic from power. "Should the West fail to address the effects, not merely of a three-month air war in 1999, but of 120 years of miscalculation and indifference since the Congress of Berlin, then there will be little to distinguish NATO's actions from any of its great-power predecessors," Glenny concludes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The first comprehensive history of the relationship in the modern era between the great powers and the various Balkan peoples." (San Francisco Chronicle)

This unique and lively history of Balkan geopolitics since the early nineteenth century gives readers the essential historical background to recent events in this war-torn area. No other book covers the entire region, or offers such profound insights into the roots of Balkan violence, or explains so vividly the origins of modern Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania. Misha Glenny presents a lucid and fair-minded account of each national group in the Balkans and its struggle for statehood. The narrative is studded with sharply observed portraits of kings, guerrillas, bandits, generals, and politicians. Glenny also explores the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the Great Powers, raising some disturbing questions about Western intervention.

Author Biography: Misha Glenny was for many years the BBC's World Service's Central Europe correspondent. His The Fall of Yugoslavia was honored with the Overseas Press Club Award for Best Book on Foreign Affairs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Combining a thoughtful approach with an elegant style, Glenny (The Fall of Yugoslavia) has built a reputation as one of the leading journalists covering the Balkans. This latest book grew out of the author's realization that he needed to better understand Balkan history in order to make sound judgments on current events and to escape what he claims is a pervasive mythologizing of the region by Westerners. He argues that we need to bury the idea that the Balkan peoples are locked into a politics characterized by blood and revenge. Rather than look to the "ancient hatreds" so often cited by many Western journalists, Glenny frames his survey within the context of the Great Powers' mischievous and often destructive role in shaping Balkan affairs during the past two centuries. Both the time frame and the subject make for a gripping and accessible narrative, suitable for the interested general reader or student, but at the significant cost of ignoring other crucial background to the present crises. Economic history, geography, demographics--all important factors in Balkan developments--receive little attention. Premodern history, so crucial to an understanding of the modern era, is shortchanged. But, after all, the Balkans are a thankless subject for the observer--chaotic, complex, contradictory, even undefinable. Despite its shortcomings, Glenny's study offers a timely comment on Western intervention in Balkan affairs. In the wake of NATO's bombing in Serbia, he reminds us of the often disastrous effects of international intervention, and he warns that once intervention has taken place, the intervening forces must finish the job by securing peace and stability on the ground. Maps. History Book Club selection; 4-city author tour. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

According to BBC journalist Glenny (The Fall of Yugoslavia), Europe's Great Powers have rearranged the Balkan states to suit their own purposes three times during the past 200 years: at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, at the Paris Peace Conference following World War I, and during the 1940s, when the USSR came to influence much of the region. Periods of neglect between these interventions have left the region economically backward and beset by rivalries. (Glenny refrains from vilifying any group in today's Balkan crisis, taking the long view that the policies of the Great Powers laid the groundwork for the current ethnic hatreds.) This exhaustive and thoroughly researched history covers the break-up of the 19th-century empires and the formation and subsequent demise of the 20th-century ones. In contrast to other books on the Balkans, more than half the work is devoted to the period before 1919 and only 30 pages to the better-documented events of the past ten years. Stories of individuals bring the movements to life. Recommended for most libraries.--Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Internet Book Watch

This broad history of the Balkan countries from 18041999 is a 'must' for any comprehensive European history collection: it traces relationships between the great powers and the Balkans over two centuries and provides the first comprehensive history of each national group and their struggles for independence. No other resource packs in such depth and detail about the Balkans under one cover.

Fouad Ajami - The New York Times Book Review

A talented and versatile writer, Ignatieff comes to the Balkans with the gift of a family inheritance. In the Balkans he can tease out the presence of an ancestor who speaks to the present . . . Those shadows across Ignatieff's path give his book poignancy and engagement.

Dusko Doder - The Nation