Conclusion

Abstract

In the final summing-up at the end of this historical analysis of the Balkans in international politics, it would be quite wrong to return to the initial dilemma of whether to assess the past from the contemporary vantage point or whether to fit contemporary history into the patterns of past trends. Neither of these alternatives provides the proper answer. We would be much better advised to sum up the processes and phenomena characterising the international relations of the Balkans from the Middle Ages to the present day, identifying causal factors and continuities.