Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Pond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Can Europe tame the Balkans? That's the question veteran journalist Elizabeth Pond addresses in this timely and absorbing book. Starting with the wars of the Yugoslav succession, "Endgame in the Balkans" guides readers through the region's tumultuous recent history and explores both how the lure of European Union (EU) membership has affected the Balkans and how Balkan developments have shaped the EU. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, as well as decades of experience as a foreign correspondent, Pond moves deftly across the region, from Bulgaria to Romania, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, and Serbia and Montenegro. She examines the many hurdles standing between these countries and EU membership - including poverty, corruption, and rabid chauvinism - as well as the hopes and problems that have led Balkan leaders to look to the West. In the process, she paints a vivid picture of the challenges facing the region as it seeks to vault from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. Already in its brief history, the European Union has forged a historic reconciliation between France and Germany and helped consolidate democracy in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. But in southeastern Europe, it faces one of its most difficult tasks yet. "Endgame in the Balkans" reveals the full extent of this challenge, as well as the grounds for hope. Rich in detail and penetrating analysis, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the future both of the region and of Europe as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterful survey of Europe's most turbulent region." -- Daniel Hamilton, Johns Hopkins University, former U.S. Special Coordinator for Southeast European Stabilization

"Elizabeth Pond has written an excellent and comprehensive account of where the Balkans are now, and how they got there." -- Robert Cooper, Director General for External and Politico-Military Affairs under EU High Representative Javier Solana

"Meticulously researched, insightful, and compelling, this book deserves to be read widely and carefully." -- Richard Caplan, Oxford University, author of Europe and the Recognition of New States in Yugoslavia

"This compelling account combines arresting country studies with incisive regional explanations and analysis." -- Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"This is vintage Pond at her best--always insightful, consistently fair-minded, and judicious." -- Sabrina P. Ramet, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, author of The Three Yugoslavias

About the Author

Elizabeth Pond is a journalist based in Germany. Currently a correspondent for the Washington Quarterly, she was a longtime European correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. She is the author, most recently, of Friendly Fire: The Near-Death of the Transatlantic Alliance (Brookings, 2003) and The Rebirth of Europe (Brookings, revised 2002).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 412 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Inst Pr (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815771606
• ISBN-13: 978-0815771609
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,582,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important work, September 5, 2008

By 

Sam Goodman "Sam Goodman" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style (Hardcover)

This book is a very important work. However, let it be said that the EU policies also did a lot of damage on the Balkans. People are leaving Balkans in droves since the early 90s and that trend has not subsided yet. Large numbers of educated refugees and emigrants would never consider living on the Balkans again, largely because of EU support of nationalist regimes and status quo. In the light of EU support for nationalist and essentially fascist regimes, it is very strange to read this book and build the hope of the Balkans' transformation on EU policies.

One question we should ask ourselves after reading this book is this: in principle, could EU transform Third Reich to become a European state based on democratic principles? This is how tall the order is of transforming nationalist regimes of the Balkans into viable democracies. It is a project that will stretch across 2-3 centuries, at least.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious-minded and candid inquiry, March 4, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style (Hardcover)

Written by German-based veteran journalist Elizabeth Pond, Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style is a serious-minded examination of how the appeal of European Union membership is affecting the Balkan nations, and repercussions that developments in the Balkans are having on the EU. Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro all must confront and carry out difficult reforms to qualify for EU membership, including establishment of democracy, rule of law, and fostering general societal tolerance. At war with these efforts for change and longstanding intergenerational mindsets produced grown from poverty, corruption, and chauvinism. Yet the EU has already achieved sweeping historic changes by forging a historic reconciliation between France and Germany, and helping to consolidate democracy in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Endgame in the Balkans explores the most difficult societal and nation-building challenge of the EU yet, through the collective information gathered from hundreds of interviews taken all across the Balkan region. A serious-minded and candid inquiry, written for lay readers and students of modern history and politics alike, highly recommended.