Book excerpt: The Western Balkan countries are characterized by an entanglement of different national, ethnic and religious groups. Within all Balkan states, nationalist rivalries have been and are exploited by political leaders as a propaganda tool when faced with internal unrest or unpopularity. Yet, the proximity of ethnic communities to their countries of ethnic origin tie all the Balkan states into a common problem: the spillover effect of regional insecurity. Existing and future disputes require an exhaustive survey of national, ethnic, religious, territorial, economic and political problems, and this is precisely what this volume sets out to do.