ABSTRACT
At the end of this walk through these selected areas of the evolution of Europe’s south-east the emerging mosaic at first sight might look somewhat chaotic. The different countries look very different; their common history seems to be a mess governed mostly by random moves of global political dynamics; even their cultural heritage appears to be more a source for conflict than a binding element. 1 Nevertheless the spotlights thrown on the different elements of their common evolution should also have convinced the reader that there is a common problem, an overarching problem, more precisely a problem of a common European policy to be designed and executed as soon as possible.
