Balkan Legacies: The Long Shadow of Conflict and Ideological Experiment in Southeastern Europe

Balkan Legacies is a study of the aftermath of war and state socialism in the contemporary Balkans. The authors look at the inescapable inheritances of the recent past and those that the present has to deal with. The book's key theme is the interaction, often subliminal, of the experiences of war and socialism in contemporary society in the region. Fifteen contributors approach this topic from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and through a variety of interpretive lenses, collectively drawing a composite picture of the most enduring legacies of conflict and ideological transition in the region, without neglecting national and local peculiarities. The guiding questions addressed are: what is the relationship between memories of war, dictatorship (communist or fascist), and present-day identity--especially from the perspective of peripheral and minority groups and individuals? How did these components interact with each other to produce the political and social culture of the Balkan Peninsula today? The answers show the ways in which the experiences of the latter part of the twentieth century have defined and shaped the region in the twenty-first century.

John Paul Newman is associate professor in twentieth-century European history at Maynooth University in Ireland. His current research interests include a scholarly biography of Habsburg general Josip Jelačic, a book-length narrative history of guerrilla warfare in the Balkan region, and a study of suicide in modern Bohemia.

Balázs Apor is associate professor in European studies at Trinity College Dublin. His research interests include the study of Sovietization and Communist propaganda, and the history of leader cults in twentieth-century Eastern Europe.