Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 - and the overt manipulation of this precedent by Russia in its war with Georgia and South Ossetia shortly afterwards - has focused the world's attention once again on the Balkans. But Albania's role within the region remains little known and less understood. In this revised edition of a major work of contemporary history, two well-known and internationally-respected authorities elucidate Albania's place in the Balkans, from the explosion of violence in the 1990s, which brought the country to the brink of civil war, to the present day. Since 1997, the Albanian region has been forced simultaneously to come to terms with the realities of a post-Communist world and the threat of Slobodan Milosevic's 'Greater Serbia' project. Its people, the authors, argue are involved in the process of national self-emancipation: the re-establishment of free markets and ending of Communist border controls have renewed long dormant cultural and economic links between the Albanian people and the wider region.The future of the Albanians in the Balkans is the most pressing issue in the region today, a fact which the West must pay close heed to if this long neglected nation is to become a European partner. Indeed, the authors argue, in this rapidly evolving political climate, failure to come to terms with the importance of the Albanian question could return the region as a whole to armed conflict.

Map of Albania, Kosova and region Introduction Chronology of Recent EventsPART ONE 1997- THE CRISIS OF POST-COMMUNIST ALBANIA1 The Pyramid Banks and the crisis of the Democratic Party government2 The March Uprising3 Political Crisis and Government TransitionPART TWO THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER1 The Crisis in Northern Albania2 'Operation Alba' - A Coalition of the WillingMap of military situation in southern Albania March 19973 The revival of Socialist Power and the Royalist Challenge PART THREE THE KOSOVA DIMENSION OF THE NATIONAL QUESTION1 Tirana, the crisis in Kosova and the origins of the Kosova Liberation Army2 The War and the 'First Offensive'Map of the military situation in Kosova June 19983 Tirana and the International Crisis PART FOUR THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN ALBANIA1 The Northern Crisis- Preparing for a Coup d'etat2 The Assassination of Azem Hajdari and the 'Coup' PART FIVE ALBANIA AND THE DEEPENING KOSOVA CRISIS1 The Spread of the Kosova warMap of refugee crisis in 19982 Tirana and the January Crisis3 Rambouillet and NATO commitment4 The Kosova Refugee Crisis and the Region PART SIX THE NEW ALBANIAN SPACE AND THE FUTURE1 Tirana and the new Kosova2 The Preshevo Conflict and the Macedonian Conflict of 20013 Panalbanianism- Tirana and the wider Albanian WorldGlossary of Names and Acronyms Index