The Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s

by Catherine Baker

A concise introduction to the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s through a synthesis of the most up-to-date and important scholarship in the field .Catherine Baker offers an up-to-date, balanced and concise introductory account of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and their aftermath. The volume incorporates the latest research, showing how the state of the field has evolved and guides students through the existing literature, topics and debates.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2015

Reviews

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative. Enjoyed the section about transitional justice and the role of the ICTY in constructing historical narratives

[John Farebrother · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most compact and succinct books on the war in English. Written with sufficient distance from the events to be able to portray them objectively (as well as draw on the facts established by the ICTY), it presents the history of the conflict, and explores various relevant aspects concerning not only Balkan society, but also the way in which it has been perceived and treated by foreign observers. A must for anyone who wants a nutshell reference to the war.

[Terry Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does a near impossible job of explaining the complicated history of the balkans conflicts in such a way that an interested individual with no background knowledge can come away with a good understanding of the subject.

[Dimitrije Vojnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Baker's brilliant study of Croat pop music during the war which is a fascinating subject in its own right that produced some other works as well, I wanted to read her book on the Yugoslav Wars half-expecting the same kind of brilliance.

Unfortunately, I could say that such large scale subjects that encompass social, political and diplomatic issues are not Baker's forte. Eventually, eve though she tries to present us with most of the mainstream scholarly approaches to the war created in the West, this book succumbs to the laziest version of events e.g. it is a multi-faceted issues and it's about a lot of issues but basically Serbs are guilty when all is said and done.

Obviously, there are some of Baker's biases at play here as well. While her fascination with Socialism actually feels very appropriate in this context the whole feminist/gender approach that she tries to apply and always quits after a sentence or two feels downright silly in certain passages. There are some omissions as well - for example Serbs had quite a few of very prominent female athletes who were omnipresent and even politically active during the wars while Baker claims that history of Yugoslav Wars includes sports but excludes female athletes which is simply not true. Cases of Monika Seleš and Olympic champion Ivošev are clear example of female athletes being put at the forefront of state propaganda.

If you need a short introduction to different scholarly approaches to Yugoslav Wars, this book is as good as any. But given Baker's track record it's way below what we expected of her.

[Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Concise yet thorough history of the wars. Baker elegantly outlines the major historiographical debates throughout and makes clear her own stances on them. Essentially a lit review of everything written on the wars. There’s a great annotated bibliography in the back too.

[Lukas Wahden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect (!) brief overview of the historical literature on the Yugoslav wars and their aftermath.

[Natasha Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great addition to the field of genocide studies as it provides a comprehensive yet concise overview of the English literature on the Yugoslav Wars. It critically highlights that there has been a focus on the ethno-national dimension of the conflicts that has overshadowed economic and political factors, which are vital in understanding the nature of the conflicts. This is an interesting stance since the dominant narrative has focused on the ethno-national dimension of the conflict. This is valuable to genocide studies as Baker encourages the reader to question assumptions that actors were purely motivated by ethno-national motives, which are neither homogenous or stable. In looking beyond this, it expands the understanding of how these narratives have been constructed and manipulated over time to suit individuals and organisations. As ethnicity and nationality are crucial aspects of genocide, investigating the nature of these identities benefits our understanding of what we identify as genocidal activity. It is a good introduction to the topic, as it enables the reader have a broad understanding of what has been researched and why, as well as being aware of areas which could be investigated further to benefit the field as a whole.

[Noah Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this knowing NOTHING about the yugoslav wars; i found it an excellent primer, fascinating, informative, not biased, great at signposting topics of interest and debate that one can look into further. can’t recommend it enough as the first stop to someone interested in the topic.

[Evi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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