Abstract

THE MYTH OF ETHNIC WAR V.P. Gagnon Jr. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004. 24opp, US$i9-95 paper (ISBN 0801472911)The Balkans, the focus of western media attention for much of the 19905, have been all but forgotten. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the area receives an occasional mention on the 24-hour television news ticker tape-one of the 2ist century's true measures of relevance. For serious academics, this may turn out to be liberating. Freed from the constraints of having to correct erroneous analysis from a plethora of self-proclaimed experts on this most complex of issues, Balkan specialists might finally have the time and distance to truly reflect on what caused the catastrophic collapse of Yugoslavia.This is not to say that all recent historiography is without merit. In English, there have been valiant attempts to explain the Balkan debacle to a wider audience. Misha Glenny (The Fall of Yugoslavia: the Third Balkan War, The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1805-1999) and Noel Malcolm (Kosovo: A Short History, Bosnia: A Short History) have both written solid works. Among the many scholars who have treated the subject, Lenard J. Cohen has presented a cogent analysis of Slobodan Milosevic's rule in Serbia in Serpent in the Bosom: The Rise and Fall of Slobodan Milosevic. There are also first-hand accounts by diplomats who were deeply involved in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, such as David Owen's Balkan Odyssey and Richard Holbrooke's To End a War. But there are still many questions to be resolved: what were the causes of the turmoil? Why did western Europe prove so ineffective in ending the carnage? Why did the US wait so long before forcefully intervening, first with Bosnia in 1995, then in Kosovo in 1999?Those who are looking for an authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the dissolution of Yugoslavia will not find it in V.P. Gagnon Jr.'s The Myth of Ethnic War. Gagnoris intention is more modest-to reconsider the many false interpretations of journalists who have presented a simplistic explanation of the wars of the 19905. In short, Gagnon seeks to correct the mistaken view that the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, and later Kosovo were caused by the reawakening of ancient ethnic hatred. Instead, he argues that ethnicity played but a small role in the conflict-the true cause was political demobilization by elites run by Milosevic in Belgrade and the late Franjo Tujdman in Zagreb.Gagnon's basic argument is partly true. The one-dimensional theory of resurgent ethnic nationalism does not, in itself, give an inadequate explanation of the many causes of the cataclysm. Gagnon correctly points out that a minority of people in Serbia and Croatia perpetrated these wars. However, the main flaw of the book is the failure to make a convincing argument that these elites succeeded in provoking and fighting these wars because of the political demobilization of their respective peoples. The author fails to support with solid evidence the assertion that Milosevic and Tudjman started the wars to eliminate threats from democratic forces. Instead, he relies partly on data provided by scientists, polls, and articles that appeared in Croatian and Serbian mass media during the 19905. The veracity of this is difficult to gauge, especially if the methodology is not properly explained.Furthermore, Gagnoris reliance on social constructivist methodology to somehow deduce what people in Croatia and Serbia were thinking at the time is unconvincing. …

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.