Divide and fall? : Bosnia in the annals of partition /

This elegant and concise historical essay can be read in two ways: as a compelling narrative about the intricate and complex mingling of the violence of war in Bosnia with changing and confusing interventions from the outside, and as a discussion of events in Bosnia with insightful references to conflicts, division, and peacemaking in Ireland, India, Palestine, and Cyprus. From this larger perspective, Kumar (Columbia Univ.) also develops a critical-theoretical framework for understanding, analyzing, and resolving the problems of divided societies. The idea of partition along ethnic lines was a convenient formula devised by colonial rulers as a way of promoting "divide and rule." Tragically, however, in Bosnia this approach by the Western powers merely served to exacerbate conflict. Kumar makes a compelling case for a "renewable peace" policy as a more viable alternative to partition. This approach seeks windows of opportunities for peace within an ongoing conflict, promotes areas of cooperation through programmatic interventions such as economic projects even while the conflict continues, and uses a regional context as an acceptable process to transcend conflict. This penetrating combination of a detailed analysis of developments in Bosnia, mixed with reflections on pertinent examples from other countries and situations, complements other works on Bosnia such as Richard Holbrooke's To End a War (1998). Highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate collections. P. Vannicelli; University of Massachusetts at Boston