This is an interesting and insightful analysis focusing of the role political elites have played in the creation, maintenance and collapse of the Yugoslav federal state. Flere and Klanjšek offer a comprehensive and in-depth analysis which highlights the complex and contradictory nature of the Yugoslav state project. This book makes an important contribution to the wider scholarly literature on state formation, nationalism and the dissolution of complex state structures.

Siniša Maleševic, University College, Dublin

This is an important study which complements the existing arguments and what some have embraced as definite explanations of the Yugoslav drama. By reviewing the voluminous literature and pointing the finger at problematic academic agendas, the authors unpack a whole range of dilemmas and discrepancies, but also invite new contributions. Moreover, the complex Yugoslav puzzle is of great relevance for assessments of the current European context, either in terms of lessons learnt or disintegrationist tendencies characterizing the European project.

Branislav Radeljic, University of East London