Afterward

Drawing concluding remarks on issues related to democratization and reconciliation in the Western Balkans raises more questions than answers. This sentence may sound paradoxical, since so many articulated considerations have been elaborated by the authors of this textbook. However, the complexity of regional dynamics, the impact of controversial interpretations of the past, the persisting conflictual memories, and the declining attractiveness of external patterns are still having their effects on the (in)stability of the local political and economic systems as well as their international status. Furthermore, the Western Balkans are also an area with a great cultural potential, a shared past, a strategic geopolitical location, a similar psychological configuration. All these factors contribute to maintain this European area under stress. Put another way, they are on the crossroad between a modernity yet to be accomplished, and a global postmodernity that meets some of its benchmarks, although in an unprepared context. This “state of tension” raises a set of issues, whose implications are, honestly, very difficult to forecast. The hope is that the posed questions either in the chapters or in the present afterword will encourage readers to critically think and elaborate their individual responses.