For much of its history, southeast Europe remained apart politically, culturally and economically from the rest of the European continent. Byzantine and then Ottoman rule isolated this region from Western Europe. Beginning in the nineteenth century, this region, also known as the Balkans, began the process of integration with Western Europe.

In The Modern Balkans, historian Richard C. Hall gives a complete account of the historical events that have shaped the Balkan region. The process of economic and political development following the Western European model has been far from smooth in the Balkans; it has often been marked by violence and destruction, the result of many wars and rebellions. Though Soviet power imposed a 45-year peace in the region, the collapse of the Soviet Union renewed conflict that continued through the end of the twentieth century. Hall concentrates here on the significant political and economic events that have had the greatest impact on the role of the Balkans in Europe; in particular, he examines the development of national states in the nineteenth century, the influence of the two world wars and the collapse of Yugoslavia.

This clear and concise history of the Balkan Peninsula will appeal to readers and scholars interested in European history and the Balkans’ unique role in it.