Despite the dreadful wars — and the comparable horrors of uncertain “peace” — and against the background of an almost religious knack for recurring Balkan catastrophe, there are warnings that hostilities are reviving in the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and their substates. Kosovo has redeclared its “independence” for the second time in four years. Ethnic Hungarians are stretching their “autonomy” and prodding for secession in Vojvodina — or will it be “Vojvodinia?” — as former UN peace-keepers (among others) deal with cancer caused by depleted uranium in the former killing fields. Inner migration of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons temporarily plugged holes in Serbia’s negative population growth in the midst of a continuous exodus to Europe and anywhere else. Numerous signs point to the potential for renewed and ongoing difficulties in this most difficult of regions. This essay provides an overview of the gathering clouds.
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