Kosovo

The Balkans mess of the 1990s is not over. Jeremy Harding reports, in the London Review of Books, that humanitarian intervention in Kosovo has yielded few positive results, and that poverty is endemic.

"No one would have imagined that a UN protectorate in Europe, stuffed with NGOs and awash with donor receipts, could perform so badly. Kosovo has low growth, no inflation, and few signs of an emerging economy. The roads are bad, the water supply is subject to cuts – the water is contaminated in any case..." writes Mr. Harding.

I wonder, is it possible that the 1389 Battle of Kosovo determined this area's future in perpetuity?


Map from Time.com's Balkan file

I have often thought about traveling through the Balkans every few years. What is keeping the region stable (or semi-stable?) now?