From Monthly Review, Edward S. Herman and David Peterson on the dismantling of Yugoslavia: A study in inhumanitarian intervention (and a Western liberal-left intellectual and moral collapse). Looking to Brussels: Croatia dreams of escape from the usual western Balkan troubles. Independence Day: They've spent years shacked up with the UN — now Kosovo is ready to bolt. From Cafe Babel, a series of articles on fascism for the fascists: eastern Europe and beyond. Prosperity is on the rise, but many worry about the motives behind Russian investment in Eastern Europe. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia is once again flexing muscles and scoring diplomatic points—but it is not always clear what purpose this serves. What does Putin want? Immanuel Wallerstein investigates. The rewriting of history: The Kremlin uses its version of the past to forge a new ideology for the present. A review of One Soldier's War in Chechnya by Arkady Babchenko (and more). Demonstrators protest at Saakashvili regime that spends on arms while half its people live in poverty. Mikheil Saakashvili's crackdown has outraged his friends —what should they do now? Politics after revolution: The crisis of governance in Georgia is rooted in history, geopolitics and political culture as well as the failures of Saakashvili's government. After the Counterrevolution: Georgia is yet another country where Washington declared "mission accomplished" too soon. Rupert Murdoch, embroiled in the Caucasus: How did the media mogul end up in the middle of hostilities on the rim of the old Soviet empire?
