Can the Balkans ever become a peaceful peninsula like that of Scandinavia? With enlightened backing, can it ever make common cause with the rest of Europe rather than being an arena of periodic conflicts, political misrule, and economic misery?

In the last years of the twentieth century, Western states watched with alarm as a wave of conflicts swept over much of the Balkans. Ethno-nationalist disputes, often stoked by unprincipled leaders, plunged Yugoslavia into bloody warfare. Romania, Bulgaria and Albania struggled to find stability as they reeled from the collapse of the communist social system and even Greece became embroiled in the Yugoslav tragedy.

This new book examines the politics and international relations of the Balkans during a decade of mounting external involvement in its affairs. Tom Gallagher asks what evidence there is that key lessons have been learned and applied as trans-Atlantic engagement with Balkan problems enters its second decade. This book identifies new problems: organized crime, demographic crises of different kinds, and the collapse of a strong employment base. This is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the area.

Tom Gallagher is Professor of Ethnic Conflict and Peace at the University of Bradford

1. Greece: A Peace-Making Role Lost and Refound 2. The Road to War in Kosovo 3. Milosevic and NATO Collide Over Kosovo 4. Macedonia: Internal Dangers Supplant External Ones 1990-2004 5. Serbia from 2000: Milosevic's Poisonous Legacy 6. Bosnia: Redesigning a Flawed Peace Process 7. Still A Danger Point: Kosovo Under International Rule 8. The EU in Search of Balkan Answers Conclusion: An Uncertain Political Future for the Balkans