Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of "Ethnic Cleansing" (Eastern European Studies, No. 1) [Hardcover]

Norman Cigar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Cigar, a professor of national security studies at Quantico, claims that the crime of genocide in Bosnia has been committed as a "rational policy" in pursuit of a greater Serbia "by the Serbian establishment in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina." The author's command of most published sources enables him to depict systematic "ethnic cleansing" throughout the region; the persistent "denial" of the policy by the international community, among others; and the ineffectual consequences of Western involvement. There is little doubt that genocide has taken place in Bosnia, although the question of its origins and those responsible is not so obvious. Too, a work concerning so heinous and infrequent a crime should offer comparison with episodes elsewhere, as well as more attention to the United Nations-sponsored war crimes tribunal for Bosnia. Although lacking Cigar's detail, David Rieff's Slaughterhouse (LJ 2/15/95) discusses much of the same events with greater balance. Libraries with strong Balkan collections should acquire both.?Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Cigar . . . breaks two taboos in this meticulously documented, lucidly written study. He focuses attention on the Serbian Orthodox Church . . . And he indicts the political `opposition'' in Serbia across the spectrum. . . . Cigar has provided a unique resource that answers the immediate questions and lays out a roadmap for further research."--Roy Gutman

(Roy Gutman ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Texas a & M Univ Pr; 1st edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890966389
• ISBN-13: 978-0890966389
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,649,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chronicles Bosnian genocide-from concept to execution., July 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of "Ethnic Cleansing" (Eastern European Studies, No. 1) (Hardcover)

Cigar's work describes in detail the genocide perpetrated in Bosnia against non-Serbs. Cigar demonstrates, through analysis and concrete sources, that genocide does not just happen spontaneously - but is the final outcome of a nationalist manifesto adopted and promoted by Serbia's intelligencia, its media and subsequently carried out in the Bosnian theatre of war. The result, as Cigar convincingly shows, is the systematic attempt to exterminate and "cleanse" the target ethnic group from militarily conquered territories. Taking the international community to task for failing to act decisively to avert ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, Cigar also examines possible future implications of policies of appeasement and complicity in the face of genocide and territorial expansionism.

This book will most certainly be criticized as anathema by pro-Serbian propagandists. But Cigar's conclusions, supported by a methodical and critical examination of events leading up to ! and during the conflict in Bosnia, appear to be beyond logical and impartial repudiation.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable!, August 7, 2002

By 

Srebrenica Forever (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of "Ethnic Cleansing" (Eastern European Studies, No. 1) (Hardcover)

This book reveals the gruesome atrocities that were committed in Bosnia during the Bosnian war. Many people assume that it was a civil war, when in fact it was a genocide. It has been corroborated that Serbians started the war in an attempt to annihilate non-Serbs and create a "Great Serbia", comprising of serbs only. Other reviewers who have criticized the book are clearly oblivious to the following facts: of the 300.000 victims in Bosnia- 85% were Muslims; 90% of all war crimes in Bosnia were committed by Serbs ( Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Arkan and numerous others). On that account, we can conclude that Serbs are the perpetrators and Muslims are the victims. This is a fact of life. I highly recommend this book to people who want to know the truth about the war in Bosnia.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading from Books on Bosnia, February 21, 2000

By 

Bosnian Institute "bosinst" (Bosnian Institute, London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of "Ethnic Cleansing" (Eastern European Studies, No. 1) (Hardcover)

Rigorous and thoroughly documented analysis, demonstrating the planned and systematic nature of `ethnic cleansing'. Especially valuable on the ideological preparation for this policy in Serbia, analysing the responsibility of senior academics and churchmen. (This short review is from "Books on Bosnia" published by The Bosnian Institute)