The Balkans

Known historically as "the powder keg of Europe", the Balkans have been a dynamic and dangerous place. The region is ethnically diverse, a situation which in other cases could have been a boon to a region. Instead, the Balkans have been the site of extensively damaging upheaval, as individual nationalities (Slavs, Serbs, Croats, etc.) have risen up against the governments. This book assembles a collection of papers exploring and explaining some of the most pertinent and vexing issues facing the Balkans today. Each issue and nation discussed here now has and will continue to have a lasting impact on the wider European and global communities. In the current international climate highlighting national security and the war on terror, the instability of south-eastern Europe has taken on added significance. The questions of NATO and UN involvement in regional hotspots like Kosovo is a constant debate, as is the need to encourage economic growth across the region. Anyone hoping to remain at the forefront of the major issues facing the Balkans and Europe needs to be familiar with the information analysed in this book.