War and Peace in the Balkans: The Diplomacy of Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia

The hostilities that saw the break-up of Tito’s Yugoslavia ravaged the Balkans and generated some of the most tragic episodes in modern history. War and Peace in the Balkans explores the history of the conflict and its themes from an insider’s perspective. In this independent and critical account, Ian Oliver uses his extensive experience in the region to evaluate the role of the international community in its responses to the war and the efforts to rebuild. Using his extensive experience in the region, Ian Oliver explores the history of the conflict and its themes from an insider’s perspective. In his personal, poignant and often-critical account, Oliver evaluates the role of the international community in its responses to the war and the efforts to rebuild the country. The book examines events between June 1995 and July 1998 inside what became the Former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia) during Oliver's work for the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia and, post-war, the Office of the High Representative and the European Community Monitoring Mission. A rich blend of action and analysis, the commentary is alive to both the politics of the day and to the frustrations and realities of cementing the peace. War and Peace in the Balkans is an enthralling account which will be essential reading for aid, charity and humanitarian practitioners world-wide, as well as for the layperson who simply wants to understand what happened in Bosnia and what role the UN, International and Non-Governmental Organisations played in rebuilding and reshaping the country after the war.