The Process of Pacification in Southeastern Europe: Challenges and Issues from a Cultural Point of View

This paper examines the contextual factors and dynamics framing the contemporary situation in Southeastern Europe, reviews some strategies for addressing conflicts in the region, and considers some of the major challenges that societies in the region are currently facing. Two major features structure the larger context for the challenges and issues facing the region: first, the prevailing centre-semiperiphery-periphery theory, which is influencing the process of European integration, and, second, the proliferation of supra-national regional groupings in Europe. These form the general setting for, and influence the content of, current public debates on cultural values and identification.