Reconstructing the Balkans: A Geography of the New Southeast Europe

by Derek R. Hall, Darrick R. Danta (Editor)

The past few years has seen the re-emergence of the Balkans as the "cockpit" of Europe. The complex and rapidly changing human geography of the Balkans is the theme of this book in which experts on the region consider the cultural, social, and political geographies of the region and its neighbours. The first part of the book examines the implications of the breakup of Yugoslavia, particularly the origin of ethnic conflict, and the second considers the impact of neighbouring states. This is the first text to examine the human geography of the region since the breakup of Yugoslavia and is written by acknowledged experts.

Contents:
The Balkans: perceptions and realities --
Contemporary Balkan questions: the geographic and historic context --
Place and its role in Serbian identity --
The case for regionalism in Croatia --
Destruction and reconstruction: the case of Dubrovnik --
Single human geography, multiple Macedonian histories --
Macedonian cultural and national identity --
Slovenian responses to new regional development opportunities --
Slovenian national identity exemplified --
Albanian identity and Balkan roles --
Albania as a gateway --
Thessaloníki and Balkan realities --
Romania: regional development in transition --
The persistence of collectivism: responses to land restitution in Romania --
Problems of Bulgarian rural land reform --
Market reforms and environmental protection in the Bulgarian tourism industry --
Hungary as a place of refuge --
The Balkans: a European challenge --
Reconstructing the Balkans: the economic horizon --
Forward into history.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 1996