As Europe underwent extraordinary changes in 1989-1990, the continent's south-eastern region - the Balkans - began once again to draw attention for its ethnic rivalries, its political turmoil and its interstate disputes. Continuing tensions and instability have fostered images of a "Balkan imbroglio" where regional instability could affect all of Europe. This study offers country-specific and comparative assessments of political trends during this transitional era, placing emphasis on matters of international security, socioeconomic policy and political leadership. Also considered are the requisite conditions for democracy in the role of the military in a civil society, and the manner in which security can be achieved without overarching, hegemonic alliances.

Table of Contents

Security in the Balkans; the Yugoslav precipice; new politics and the army in Bulgaria; no longer tyranny, not yet democracy; Romania's perilous path after Ceausescu; Turkish uncertainties - domestic and foreign policy identities in the 1990s; Athenian questions; conclusion - Balkan pasts, Balkan futures.