Recent developments in the Balkans ought to be a wake-up call for Europe, given the potential for nationalist provocations in one country to spill over within the region. Multiple elections coming next month raise the risk of a dangerous descent into political instability.
STOCKHOLM—Benighted politics are once again haunting the Balkans. This month’s semi-official funeral in Belgrade for the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, whom many Bosnian Serbs still honor, has dredged up past traumas and reignited nationalist tensions. Diplomatic relations between Serbia and Bosnia are deteriorating, casting further doubt on Serbia’s already semi-stalled accession to the European Union.
STOCKHOLM—Benighted politics are once again haunting the Balkans. This month’s semi-official funeral in Belgrade for the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, whom many Bosnian Serbs still honor, has dredged up past traumas and reignited nationalist tensions. Diplomatic relations between Serbia and Bosnia are deteriorating, casting further doubt on Serbia’s already semi-stalled accession to the European Union.