Book excerpt: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) plays an indispensable role in creating and maintaining peace, security, and stability in Europe. The Yearbookís key focus this year is on the Caucasus, the setting for so many bloody wars and conflicts: Russiaís war in Chechnya, the wars of secession in Georgia, and the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. In nine original contributions, international experts analyse the causes of these conflicts and their historical and political contexts, describe recent developments, examine the role of religion, and discuss transregional economic and political issues. The Yearbook 2004 again devotes considerable attention to the OSCEís long-term missions. Further topics tackled in the tenth volume of this series include anti-Semitism, urgent contemporary problems such as money laundering and organized crime, the OSCEís co-operation with Transparency International in the fight against corruption, and the possibility of applying the model of the CSCE to the conflicts of the Middle East. The book includes extensive annexes with facts and figures on the Organizationís 55 participating States, a chronology, and a selected current bibliography of OSCE-related literature.