Veteran journalist Pond asks, Can Europe tame the Balkans? She first describes the 1990s Yugoslav wars and the region's yearning to join the European Union. Exploring the premise that the Balkans should be treated as an integral part of today's Europe, she describes how the lure of EU membership is shaping the Balkans--and how Balkan developments are reshaping the EU. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and decades of experience as a foreign correspondent, Pond describes the political, economic, and ethnic challenges as each Balkan land seeks to vault from the 19th to the 21st century. Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro must all carry out painful reforms to qualify for EU membership by establishing democratic institutions, rule of law, and general tolerance. Pond examines the tension between these demands and traditional mindsets engendered by years of poverty, corruption, and chauvinism.--From publisher description.

The wars of the Yugoslav succession -- Reinventing Bulgaria -- Reinventing Romania -- Taming Kosovo -- Reclaiming Habsburg Croatia -- Revising Dayton's Bosnia -- Rescuing Macedonia -- Inventing Albania -- Demythologizing Serbia and Montenegro -- Europeanizing the Balkans -- Reaching critical mass.