REVIEWS 577 Mertus, Julie A. Kosovo.How Mythsand TruthsStarted a War.University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, CA, and London, I999. xxii + 378 pp. Photographs.Tables. Notes. Index. $55.00; $I9.95. Kosovo burston to the scene in I999, when the US militarybecame engaged in an air campaign under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). By that date,Julie Mertushad alreadybeen delving deeply into the dynamics of conflict in Kosovo between Serbsand ethnic Albanians. Her book, Kosovo: HowMythsandTruths Started a War,is a thought-provokingbut necessarilylimited effort to understandthe origin and direction of this longstandingand brutalconflict. Quoting Tzvetan Todorov on the need to examine 'more or less truths'in order to appreciate the complex social and psychological processesby which popular beliefs were formed and maintained in Kosovo after the death of Josip Broz Tito, Professor Mertus reviews several key incidents in the evolution of ethnic animus there. Specifically,she chronicles student demonstrationsin 198I, the alleged sexual wounding of a Serbian peasant in I985, the barracksshooting of four soldiersby a young ethnic Albanian soldier in the Yugoslav army, and the alleged poisoning of ethnic Albanian school children in I990. She illustrateswell the wildly divergent interpretationsof these incidents through interviewsof Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The 'truths' relating to these events are the 'hidden transcripts', a term attributed to James Scott, which serve to intensify a conflict through story telling and re-telling. The irreconcilable nature of the beliefs detailed in the book reflecta depth of suspicion,fear and hatredof 'the other' (a sociological concept) which provided the foundation for armed conflict. Written in the styleof testimoniesof human rightsviolations, thisis the most compellingpart of herbook. Assertingthat the warwas ignited by relativelyrecent 'storytelling'(p. xxi), ProfessorMertusidentifiesboth a cynicaleffortbypoliticalelitesto orchestrate conflict and a popular predisposition to confrontation rooted in issues of identity and nationalism. She presents a convincing case for the inevitability of the warwhich resultedin I999. Indeed, if she is trulywriting,as she asserts, to help 'policymakers[... .] understandKosovo', then perhapsthe key insight she offerswould be the futilityof the currenteffortby the United Nations to impose a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo. The book in this respect is a testamentto the primacyof intolerance. Since NATO troops were deployed, nearly 8oo,ooo Kosovars who had been driven out of the province by Serb forces have returned. A spate of killingsand abuses against Serbs, Roma, and others ensued, resultingin the flight of upwardsof 200,000 persons, mostly Serbswho have gone to Serbia. Those Serbsinterviewedin the book who statedthat ethnic Albaniansdesired 'ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo proved to be right. Again, this is not surprising, given the passion and intensityof the animosityreportedbyJulie Mertus. As this book was being finished in i998, the situation in Kosovo was deteriorating and the prospect of widespread armed conflict emerged. This possibilitywas not unexpected. For severalyears, commentators and experts 578 SEER, 79, 3, 200 I hadpredictedconflictin Kosovo, andeffortsproliferatedbynon governmental organizations(NGOs) at conflictprevention. ProfessorMertusanalysesthese effortsandfindsthemwanting.While hercategorizationof theNGOs working in Kosovo is somewhat simplistic and a bit derisive ('war tourists', 'flag planters','seedplanters',and 'nearlyinvisiblehands'),some of the insightsshe offersresonate with the professionallytimid 'do no harm' school of developmental assistance identified by Mary Anderson. Mertus's exhortation to internationalNGOs to workconstructivelywith local counterpartsis as valid as it is elusivein a humanitarian'marketplace' where achieving a high profile and obtainingpublicityarenecessaryto securefunding.Lackof coordination, competition over turf,and inadequate accountabilityresult. ProfessorMertus's I998 postscriptshows that she favoursthe cause of the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and she urges NGOs to 'not pretend to be neutral', touching brieflyon a major debate among humanitariansthat itself is rifewith 'hidden transcripts'and relative'truths'. The recent electoraldefeatof Slobodan Milosevic at the time of thiswriting will be a key determinantof Kosovo's future,likelyunderminingthe quest of the ethnic Albanians for independence. But a return to normalcy will be difficultto achieve. Indeed, this book shows that the repatriationof Serbs to Kosovo could sparknew conflict. Council onForeign Relations ARTHUR C. HELTON New-York Webber, Stephen L. School,Reformand Societyin theNew Russia.Studies in Russianand EastEuropeanHistoryand Society. Macmillan,Basingstoke and London in association with the Centre for Russian and East EuropeanStudies,Universityof Birmingham,2000. XX+ 252 pp. Tables. Figure.Appendices. Notes. Bibliography...