War or peace?

For over forty years, Western policymakers defined communism as the central threat to international peace and stability, and confronted this perceived danger with a counter-balancing threat of force and an aggressive strategy of containment. Today, Soviet expansionism has been supplanted by powerful internal forces arising out of the clash of competing ethnic nationalisms. This new threat, argues Steven L. Burg, cannot be met by force alone, nor can it be neutralized through a simple, uniform strategy of containment. It requires Western states to act decisively to monitor and influence the internal political development of the post-communist states themselves. . In this ambitious volume, Burg comprehensively surveys the challenges that ethnic diversity in Eastern Europe presents to domestic stability, international peace, and American interests. He suggests practical policies through which the United States and its allies might contribute to the consolidation of peace in the region, and offers a strategy of "preventive engagement" by which policymakers can attempt to stem conflicts such as the one that destroyed the former Yugoslavia. War or Peace? concludes with an "American strategy for peace," proposing clear guidelines to instruct both interested citizens and national policymakers as they attempt to grapple with the complexities of ethnic and nationalist politics in Europe. Burg outlines a persuasive plan for better dealing with current challenges to both domestic and international stability and achieving a stable framework for international peace.