The Kosovo Crisis: The Last American War in Europe?

by Anthony Weymouth, Stanley Henig

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet system left the USA as the one remaining superpower. Together with its allies the US seems to have assumed the responsibility of policing the world's troublespots. This is a heavy, and very costly, burden — especially as the twentieth century saw more victims of war than any other.

The break-up of Yugoslavia has caused immense suffering for its people and posed substantial problems for the rest of Europe. During the wars in Croatia and Bosnia the media suggestion was that the Western world reacted inadequately to reports of ethnic cleansing and multiple fatalities. When the Kosovo conflict erupted in 1998-99, public opinion in the West clamoured for action — any action that would resolve the conflict and assuage the guilt felt over earlier atrocities.

These were the pressures which led to direct Western involvement in Kosovo and resulted in the first war fought by NATO.

The Kosovo Crisis is based on the work of specialists in the various countries involved. It offers a series of new and different perspectives on the crisis — focusing upon the major participants in the conflict, from the USA and European nations to NATO and the United Nations. The book addresses a number of fundamental questions:

What drove NATO to intervene in an internal dispute? How was intervention justified, and was it successful? What role did the media play in pressuring governments through forming public opinion? Does the Kosovo conflict mark the beginning of a new era for human rights? What are the implications of the Kosovo crisis for the future of Balkans and Europe as a whole? Could Kosovo be the last American war in Europe?

The Kosovo Crisis explores how a small Balkan region managed to draw into its struggle some of the world's leading powers, only to make a mockery of them. It also discusses the ramifications of this new breed of 'just war' and the consequences for future international peace-keeping efforts.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 19, 2001

About the author

"Anthony Weymouth" was a pseudonym of Ivo Geikie Cobb, a Harley Street doctor who (amongst other things) wrote detective stories with medical themes.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting from this book. It concentrates on the political side of the war and looks at each country’s political party decision for and against the war. Very American I think at times they forget NATO is made up of many countries and plenty of NATO countries deployed there to secure peace and halt ethnic cleansing.
I have certainly read better books on this theatre of operations and war zone.