Argyro-Maria Vourgidi
(RIEAS Internship, Senior Student in the Department of Asian and Turkish Studies, University of Athens, Greece)
Copyright: www.rieas.gr
Introduction
The Balkans (or Southeast Europe), is the cultural and historical bridge between East and West. It is a region where many civilizations have been emerged and developed, as well as a land that has witnessed endless wars fought to enhance different visions of history. It is the geographical boundary between two worlds; Europe and Asia. Historically and strategically, the Balkans are today as important for the future of Europe as they had always been. The collapse of the Soviet Communism in the late 1980s triggered a series of significant political, social and cultural transformations in the Balkans. In former Yugoslavia, as elsewhere, this transformative process brought about the re-emergence of nationalism and the reappearance of religion in social and political life....... Read more