Confronting the Yugoslav controversies : a scholars' initiative

This book will present the findings of an international research initiative of over 160 leading historians, social scientists and jurists that will bring together in one volume key evidence presented by all sides in the recent Yugoslav conflicts. It represents a direct assault on the proprietary interpretations that nationalist politicians and media have impressed on mass culture in each of the entities of the former Yugoslavia. Given gaps in the historical record and the existence of sometimes contradictory evidence, the volume will not pretend to resolve all of the outstanding issues that divide the peoples of the former Yugoslavia. Yet a combination of original research, the validation of existing evidence, and the exposure of widely held, bogus myths that anchor public perceptions should narrow considerably the parameters within which opposing sides can still engage in reasoned debate. Such a broadly conceived synthesis will provide scholars, public officials and media with an indispensable vehicle for challenging and, in the most egregious cases, dispelling altogether widely held myths that inform popular attitudes. The volume's credibility will be based not only on the indisputable scientific credentials of its investigators, but on the transparent impartiality of its methodology in soliciting and examining evidence presented by all sides, then jointly evaluating and (in)validating the documentary material through the application of universal scientific methodologies.