From the Publisher: Even in the relatively serene world of North America and Western Europe, numerous conflicts with the propensity for sustained political violence are carried out by domestic groups with alarming regularity. This in-depth volume explores conflicts and potential hot spots in these areas, from anti-globalization protests to immigration politics to the Basque Provinces and the ETA. Coverage is divided into three regions-the established democracies of the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe; the democratizing countries of post-communist Europe; and the more volatile region encompassing Russia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Post-Soviet Eastern Europe-for a greater understanding of geographic interrelationships. With regional chronologies of events, a print and nonprint bibliography, and engaging photos, this comprehensive volume is a first-stop reference source for the most significant political, cultural, and economic conflicts in North America and Europe today.

Preface -- Timeline: Historical background and recent developments involving hot spots in the Western democratic world and post-communist Europe -- Introduction: Delineating the hot spots in the worlds of Europe and North America - 1: Globalization and anti-globalization protest -- Part 1: Europe -- 2: Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean -- Cyprus -- International rivalries -- Nationalism -- Refugee issues -- Turkey -- Ataturk's secular Islamic state -- Keeping the Republic -- International politics -- Religious extremism -- 3: Balkans -- Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina -- State and peace building -- Constitutional reform -- Disarming the paramilitaries -- Economy -- Education reform -- Human rights -- Police reform -- Refugees and returnees -- Kosovo -- Kosovo Liberation Army -- NATO intervention -- Quest for conflict resolution: UNMIK -- UN's "supervised Kosovo" plan -- Macedonia -- Border tensions -- Ohrid agreement -- 4: Central Europe -- Romani -- 5: Eastern Europe -- Corruption and criminal activity -- Economic decline and austerity -- Imperial remnants -- International territorial disputes -- Lukashenko's regime in Belarus -- Ukraine's democracy -- Moldova -- Transnistria -- 6: Russia and the Caucasus -- Armenia and Azerbaijan -- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict -- Politics and oil -- Georgia -- Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Ajara -- Political turmoil -- Russia -- Chechnya -- Instability in the autonomous republics -- Terrorism -- 7: Western Europe -- Anti-foreigner violence -- Homegrown terrorism -- Muslim cultures -- France -- Immigration and ethno-cultural conflict -- Nationalism and separatism in Corsica -- Spain -- Basque nationalism and separatism -- Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) terrorism -- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -- Great Britain: racial unrest and homegrown terrorism -- Northern Ireland: partition or London rule? -- Part 2: North America -- 8: Canada -- Nationalism and separatism in Quebec -- 9: United States -- Single-interest extremists -- Immigration -- Bibliographical note: Thoughts on conducting research on the here and now -- Annotated bibliography -- Index.