Conclusion

Abstract

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the inhabitants of Eastern Europe participated in or witnessed not only the overthrow of the repressive regimes but also intense and violent clashes between nation-groups with horrifying consequences for the civilian population. To the outside observer as well, these epoch-making years were instructive. What seemed earlier to be a monolithic glacier changed almost overnight into a roaring débâcle, creating numerous new states in its train and drawing attention to the existence of an even larger number of previously ignored nation-groups.