Book Notes
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433030405013 |
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Author | Pinar Tank |
| Subject Matter | Notes |
This book attempts to understand how the YPA
was affected by the dissolution of former
Yugoslavia, where for a short time it was the only
functioning federal institution, and why the YPA
leadership took the stands it did. While describ-
ing carefully the positions of some of the top
brass, Hadzic – himself a former YRA colonel,
later leader of Belgrade’s Centre for Civil-Military
Relations and now a professor of political science
– uses a sociological rather than conspiratorial
approach, with conclusions that challenge tra-
ditional simplifications. He shows that its leader-
ship was unaware that the YPA was as split as the
population and the Communist party and there-
fore engaged in the mission impossible of trying
to keep things as they used to be and keep
Yugoslavia together. Becoming a dog without a
master, the YPA made the mistake of seeing its
corporate advantage in taking on a political role
and supporting the centralists against the federal-
ists. This made it abandon its traditional anti-
nationalism and side with Milosevic. The
participation of the YPA in the operetta war in
Slovenia and, for a while, the real ones in Croatia
and Bosnia – before splitting into three Serb
armies – was on this basis. It was then quickly
brought under political control by the regime
(e.g. by means of purges), was repeatedly abused
by it until actually defending its country in 1999,
and did nothing to save the regime in 2000.
However, to bring an authoritarian institution
under authoritarian control was easier than it will
be to bring it under democratic control, especially
in a situation where the army enjoys higher
prestige and confidence than politicians. For
those seeking to understand the full complexity
of the Yugoslav crises, this book is an indispens-
able and unique building block.
Håkan Wiberg
Koonings, Kees & Dirk Kruijt, eds, 2002.
Political Armies: The Military and Nation Building
in the Age of Democracy. London & New York:
Zed. 398 pp. ISBN 1856499790 (hardback).
Given the global commitment to democratization
in the post-Cold War period, it may be tempting
to consider the study of political armies, the
antitheses of democratic governance, as consigned
to irrelevance. However, Koonings & Kruijt, the
editors of this excellent work, contest this thesis
and emphasize that interest in political armies is
all the more relevant, owing to the military’s role
in democratic transitions. Through a comparative
case approach, the book addresses the economic,
social, political, cultural and ideological changes
of the post-Cold War period that have had an
effect on political armies and their nation-
building projects. The 11 cases presented by
country specialists provide an impressive and
varied sample of political armies from which the
editors are able to distinguish some core charac-
teristics. Among these are the military’s identifi-
cation with nation-building as a core mission, the
effect of professionalization on its political role,
the construction of political doctrines for political
intervention and, not least, the complicated
relationship between political armies and democ-
racy. The authors highlight not only similarities
but also differences, in particular with respect to
the role of militaries in democratic governance.
The introductory chapters and the epilogue
provide a substantial analytical and theoretical
framework that binds the country chapters
together conceptually. A useful overview of the
scholarly literature on political armies is also pre-
sented in the first chapter. While the book’s
primary audience would naturally be scholars
interested in a comparative analysis of the theme,
it is also a valuable resource for country specialists
seeking a greater understanding of the present
role of the military in nation-building.
Pinar Tank
Kurspahic, Kemal, 2003. Prime Time Crime:
Balkan Media in War and Peace. Washington,
DC: United States Institute of Peace Press. xxiii +
261 pp. ISBN 1929223390 (paperback).
Many books have been published in recent years
in English about the role of Balkan media, but
very few written by people from the region. Here
at last is a detailed account by someone who has
been in the middle of these media events for more
than three decades, not least as editor-in-charge
of the newspaper Oslobodenje in Sarajevo from
1988 to 1994. The claw of a distinguished writer
is felt throughout the book. The historical
approach helps the reader to understand the
current situation. Decreased party control and
privatization of media in the 1980s, and regained
nationalistic government control in the 1990s,
were important factors in mobilizing the media
for war as well as in creating oppositional and
alternative media outlets. The overview of the
media landscape in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia
journal of PEACE RESEARCH volume 40 / number 5 / september 2003
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