Review: Europe: Yugoslavia's Ruin
| Published date | 01 March 2003 |
| Date | 01 March 2003 |
| Author | John M. Fraser |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200305800120 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
EUROPE
YUGOSLAVIA'S
RUIN
The
bloody
lessons
of
nationalism:
a
patriot's
warning
Cvijeto
Job
Lanham
MD:
Rowman
and
Littlefield,
2002,
308pp,
US$24.95
(paper),
ISBN
0-7425-1781-5
Cvijeto
Job
is
a
former
ambassador
of
the former
Yugoslavia.
When
he
returned
to
Belgrade
after serving
as
ambassador
to
Cyprus,
his
name
appeared
on
a
page
of
the
Foreign
Ministry
directory,
which
was
sim-
ply
headed
'Ambassadors.'
(In
most European countries
and, indeed,
the
United
States,
ambassadors
keep
their
title when they
return
to
headquarters,
or
even
when
they
retire).
Asked
what
he
actually
did,
he
replied
solemnly
that
he
was
'Astrologer-General to
the
Ministry
of
Foreign
Affairs.'
He
might
now
justly
call
himself
'Necrologist-General
for
the
Socialist Federal
Republic
of
Yugoslavia.'
His
book
sketches,
in
scathing
detail,
the
factors
that
led
to
its
demise.
Writing
from
a
rare
perspective
-
unique among the
many authors
on
the
subject
-
as
a
for-
mer
member
of
Tito's
Partisans
during
World
War
II
and
a
Yugoslav
diplomat
for
41
years
thereafter,
he
has
harsh words
to
say
about
almost
everyone.
He
does,
however,
express
considerable
sympathy
for
the Bosnian Muslims
and
their
wartime
leader,
Alija
Izetbegovid,
and
mocks
fears
of'a
Muslim
nation
in
the
heaft
of
Europe,'
which
were
a
staple
of
Serbian
and
Croatian
propaganda.
'Well,
why
not?'
Ambassador Job
asks.
This
book
is
thought-provoking
(often
provocative)
and
contains
particular
insights derived
from
Job's
personal
experience.
It
also
pro-
vides
the
historical context
that
is
essential for
any
account
of
Yugoslavia,
past
or
present.
If
there
is
bias,
which could hardly
be
avoided,
it
is
almost
entirely
a
bias
against
evil
and
foolishness.
This
book
is
essential
reading
for those
seeking
to
understand
what
hap-
pened
in
Yugoslavia.
Job's
prescriptions
for
the
future,
no
doubt
influenced
by
his experi-
ence
at
the
United
Nations,
are
perhaps
unduly
rosy.
Massacres,
like
those
in Bosnia,
must
-
and
can
-
be
prevented
if
the
international
community
summons
up the
will
(and
the
resources)
to
do
so.
It would
not,
he
argues,
be
a
crushing burden.
226
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Winter2002-2003
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