207. Yugoslavia Faces the Millennium: Conflict and Continuity A
decade after the fall of Communism, there remains little
discussion within the public sphere of the fundamental
differences that separate the states and societies of Western
and Eastern Europe. This oversight is regrettable not only
because it limits our ability to resolve problems in the
Balkans, but also because that region is far more representative
of the world at large than is Western Europe. A case in point is
the region's multiethnic demography, for which there are many
historical and current parallels the world over. The uncritical,
century-long rush to adopt the West European nation-state model
has resulted in a steady succession of secessions, civil wars,
and partitions not only in Central Europe, but throughout the
former Soviet Union, as well as in East Timor, Eritrea, and
Palestine. Today, many statesmen, journalists and scholars
advocate ethnic separation as the only solution, even though it
would involve population exchanges. Will