The Former Yugoslavia

Our high school History 12 class was a modern history course taught in two parts: 1871-1918, then 1919-present (1980). Though the focus was on Europe, we learned a few things about Africa, Asia and the Americas through the concepts of empire, capitalism, communism, imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism, theories of modernization and dependency, and cultural relativism. Mr. Bowman was our instructor, and his lectures were riveting. He'd outline a situation, then colour it in. Not all of it, but enough to anchor you, inspire you to dig deeper on your own time.

What interested me most about the course was that region known as the Balkans, those pebbly kingdoms and principalities made up of the bottom end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and onwards from there to Greece. Yes, Luxembourg and Switzerland remain tiny, somewhat plural northern European countries (banks?), but the Balkans were baroque, with Judeo-Christianity and Islam overlapping with Roman and Cyrillic script. Nothing was simple in the Balkans, and because the course moved quickly, we left the region as one might leave a knot in the middle of a laced up shoe.

A couple weeks ago, while looking through the Books Section at the East 12th Avenue Salvation Army store, I found former BBC reporter and polyglot Misha Glenny's first edition of The Fall of Yugoslavia: the Third Balkan War (1992). Two things attracted me to the book. The first was the date of publication (was the war not yet over in 1992?), the second was the lack of review quotes on the book's jacket and first pages. I looked for reviews on my phone and saw nothing written on the first edition. It was then that I learned that Glenny was barely in his thirties when he was travelling through the former Yugoslavia, interviewing local officials and townsfolk.

I am only on Page 37 of this 195 page book, but am hooked on what we merely touched on in that History 12 class. From the Serbs' historic relationship to 17th century Hapsburg Vienna (in their wars against the Ottoman Empire) to the Croats mid-20th century allegiance to Italian and later German Fascism. But as this book is about Yugoslavia, I am learning more about Marshall Tito's pre-1980 efforts to maintain its unity, but also Slobodan Milošević's post-Communist unravelling of it. As to where Glenny sits in all this, he is not so much journalistically objective/neutral but revolted by all sides. Or maybe facets is a better word, given that this former country was comprised of many dimensions, a refracting jewel that, once tilted, allowed for the horrors that await me.