Nathanael73's Full Review: Robert D. Kaplan - Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Throug...
Whoever said, “History can teach us nothing” is a fool. Robert D. Kaplan’s Balkan Ghosts is a convincing argument that in fact the opposite is true, and history can teach us everything. Subtitled A Journey Through History, Kaplan’s work takes us from the Balkan’s present to the past and back again via a dual physical and historical journey. It has often been said that in order to understand the future we must first understand the past. Kaplan vividly describes the multitude of ways in which the Balkans’ past dictates the present and the future. In fact, in the Balkans the past is the present. History is inextricably entwined with everyday life and politics. And, like it or not, the Balkans are inextricably entwined with both Europe and the United States.
First published in March 1994, Balkan Ghosts is a masterful combination of history, politics and travel writing. Kaplan succeeds at giving both an eyewitness account and a birds-eye view of the Balkans. While living in Greece during the 1980’s, Kaplan traveled and reported extensively in Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. He witnessed first-hand many of the events that led to the genocide that unfolded in Yugoslavia in the 1990’s, and was the first American writer to warn of those events.
The history of the Balkans is a tragic one. Ethnic hatred, poverty, blame, guilt, pride, repression, invasion, genocide, terrorism, and brutality are to be found in every dark corner of the region. In the Balkans, people have very, very long memories and are prepared to wait centuries in order to exact revenge and settle old scores. The recent fighting in Kosovo is the direct result of events that first unfolded in 1389. Kaplan does a wonderful job of helping his readers to “zoom out” and see the big picture. The picture we see, however, is horrifying. (President Clinton read Balkan Ghosts to gain an understanding of what was happening in Kosovo).
The Balkan region is a complicated cocktail of explosive elements. Nations, regions, ethnic groups, and religious groups are all set against each other, as they have been for centuries. Christianity opposes Islam, the Roman Catholic Church opposes the Eastern Orthodox Church, both Muslims and Christians oppose Jews, East opposes West. Everyone has taken a side and no one is prepared to surrender. The amount of hatred present in the Balkans is almost unfathomable.
The recent events in Yugoslavia show us that any peace imposed by the U.N. or NATO can only be temporary. The disputes cannot be mediated by outside forces. There are simply far too many irreconcilable differences. Kaplan points out that none of the nations in the Balkans are satisfied with their present borders. Each nation seeks to restore itself to the area it possessed at its zenith; an impossible task, as the borders have been drawn, erased, and re-drawn countless times, and ethnic groups have spread across borders, such as in Greece and Macedonia. It is inevitable that a lot more blood will be shed.
Balkan Ghosts is one of the most compelling, fascinating, informative, and downright scary books I have ever read. Kaplan impressed me so much that I immediately purchased his latest work, The Coming Anarchy. Any person with an interest in the world beyond their doorstep needs to read this book.
I would like to thank fellow epinionator Howard_Creech for introducing me to Kaplan’s work. I now see the world through different eyes.
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the twen...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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