Product Description

Within three and a half years of its inception, the Bosnian Army had succeeded in fighting the Serbian army to a standstill - Serbia was forced to recognize Bosnia's independence. Yet the victory was ambiguous, leaving two thirds of the country under the control of Serb and Croat extremists, while the remainder had become a predominantly Muslim Bosniak-inhabited area. Challenging the opposing stereotypes of "Islamic fundamentalism" and "multi-ethnic Bosnia", the author seeks to establish what really happened in Bosnian internal politics during the war. He shows that Bosnia-Herzegovina's war of independence was genuinely multi-national and pluralistic at its inception, but under the impact of external aggression, internal treason and international betrayal it changed into an essentially Bosnian Muslim struggle for survival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #558098 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review
'Well-researched, thoughtful, and provocative ... it should be required reading for anyone interested in the Bosnian conflict.' The Journal of Military History 'A well-argued and well-documented history of the key instrument of Bosnian policy ... should be required reading for all those studying the Yugoslav war.' The Slavonic and East European Review 'Hoare analysed a specific angle of the Bosnian war and he did it as an objective and competent scholar. The book is warmly recommended to readers.' Dr Tahir Mahmutefendic, The South Slav Journal

About the Author
Marko Attila Hoare is a British Academy Research Fellow and member of the Cambridge University Department of History. He received his PhD from Yale University in 2000 and is currently completing a book on the partisan movement in Bosnia during World War II.

Customer Reviews

Superb! More Please!
This study goes into far more detail than anything else I have read on this subject matter, and not only that, it does it in a cool, considered and evidenced way. Refreshing. It really is a "who's who" of Armija BiH and describes in great detail the relationship between military commanders and high ranking polititians. It is actually more the story of 'how bosnia formed an army' than 'how it armed itself' as the title suggests. There is plenty here on the creation of the Patriotic League and its relationship to the regular Armija BiH and in particular I found the relationsip between Naser Oric and Izetbegovic (and the fall of Srebrenica) a real eye opener. All fascinating stuff, and this is just a small slice of what you will get out of this book. If you need information about Armija BiH/political leadership dynamics in Sarajevo then you need this book. In fact since reading it I have been involved in discussions on military/political matters with friends who served in Armija BiH and felt quite able to 'hold my own' in conversation. Indeed they were impressed with my knowledge and understanding. That is probably as good a compliment as I need give this book as Bosnians are notoriously difficult to understand as even they would admit.