The code name "Balkanization" has many aspects, but in all cases it is quite negative. Belated modernization in the region--the transition from traditional to modem society--has been subject to a constellation of contradictory factors externally dependent on the Great Powers' clashing geopolitical interests. Following World War II, this region, except for Greece and Turkey, became part of the Soviet Empire and the communist project. Totalitarian states are in radical opposition to civil society, and this incompatibility is evident even in the comparatively mild case of Tito's Yugoslavia. The implosion of communist totalitarianism represents a unique precondition for post-communist development, especially for the Balkans. One of the main tasks is the building and consolidation of civil societies, which involves surmounting various degrees of ethnic autism, suspicion, and hostility between neighboring countries. Paradoxically, former Yugoslavia of all countries went from implosion of the totalitarian system to an explosion of typical Balkanization. However, this does not apply to other Balkans countries and the reguion as a whole. The opening of Balkan societies to one another, and especially to Europe and the democratic world, is closely linked with the constmction of open societies, a process that is perhaps irreversible.

Apart from Mukovan Djilas, Mihajlo Mihajlov is considered as the most famous dissident in the Balkans--a former prisoner-of-conscience in Tito's Yugoslavia. This brief but comprehensive, autobiographical retrospective recounts some major hilights in Mihajlov's odyssey ushered in by his intellectual travelogue, Moscow Sunmer 1964, first published in full in The New Leader. Mihajlov became an embarrassment not only to Josip Broz Tito and the Soviet leaders, but also to those in die West who landed Tito's "independent path to socialism." Yet others correctly perceived Mihajlov's quest for freedom of thought, speech, press, association, religious, philosophical and political persuasion as a classic benchmark of basic human rights and freedoms characterizing open, pluralistic, democratic polities. Indeed, the Westem press contributed to the pressure of world public opinion, which helped free Mihajlov, and, as he claims, even kept him alive. In a region divided by inter-ethnic conflict and civil war, Mihajlov's struggle for the rule of law and human dignity epitomizes hopes for a better future.

The term "genocide" was first coined in the 1940s to describe the horrors of Nazi rule in occupied Europe. In Nazi Germany, the machine of oppression was the concentration camp; in the Soviet Union, the Gulag. In China, it is the Laogai, which means "reform through labor." In fact, Laogai is a brutal and inhumane system that enslaves millions of people throughout China. The govemment in conununist China divides people by class, politics, and religuious beliefs. Such divisions are based not on race, but individual economic status. If a person owns land, capital or property, he or she belongs to the landlord or capitalist classes. Both are considered "exploiting" classes, and their members, including their family, are subject to extermination, since they belong to "counter-revolutionary" classes. During the Cultural Revolution, many people were massacred for die sake of the "Red Revolution." Since 1949, when the Communist Party came to power, it sought to destroy all religjon in China, particularly Christian faiths. The Roman Catholic faith is still illegal in China today. It is common knowledge that people in China are not allowed to practice the religion of their choice Meanwhile, Laogai, or prison camps, throughout China, imprison countless people who belong to the "wrong" religion or hold "wrong* political ideas. The Chinese govemment uses the Laogai to control and eliminate those people. Yet, despite the prevalence of the Laogai and its multitude of victims, the world seems unwilling to acknowledge this widespread plague.

Religions have served various dissident movements in Vietnam. The two indigenous sects--Hoa Hao and Cao Dai--were founded in the early twentieth century and became forces for the anti-colonial, and later anti-communist, movements in Vietnam Catholics and Buddhists played major roles in South Viemam's political scene, while they were both suppressed in the North. Protestant Christians constitute only a small portion of the overall population, but have become linked to nationalist movements among the ethnic minorities of the Highlands. Viemam's communist regime has pursued a heavy-handed policy of anti-religious repression in North Vietnam since 1954, and continued this policy after reunification of the two Viemams in 1975. Capitalist-style economic reforms began in 1986, allowing for more openness in the society, and emboldening religious leaders and other dissidents. However, the regime still cracks down on religious groups and leaders perceived as a political threat to the Communist Party's monopoly of power. With the decline of Marxist-Leninist ideology in society, religions may become alternative repositories of moral values for Vietnam.

During the 1990s, the dissident movement in Cuba has grown in effectiveness, popular participation, and intemational support. While facing a first-generation totalitarian regime, with a sophisticated repressive apparatus, the civic movement in the Island has persevered and grown in spite of constant persecution, offering hope for political, social, and economic change from within Cuba itself. This essay seeks to provide a brief overview of the civic movement in Cuba covering its social origins and growth, theoretical repercussions of its existence, major leaders and initiatives, its relationship with the Cuban exile community, its ideological history and development, intemational support, and its current status in light of recent events affecting political conditions in the Island. Born initially out of dissident cells within Cuba's revolutionary movement and the Communist Party, the dissident movement in Cuba has transformed itself into a microcosm of a re-emerging civil society through which Cuban citizens are reclaiming their sovereignity and constructing the blueprint for a new Republic. The Varela Project is of particular significance for the development of the civic movement in Cuba.

Globalization offers a comprehensive framework for addressing prospects for the peaceful evolution of people and societies in the Third Millennium, Global markets, trade and communications, along with science and technology, now drive social, economic, and political development, modernization, and cultural change. Globalization thus holds great promise of extending economic prosperity throughout the world. Paradoxically, globalization can also deepen the divisions between rich and poor nations, contribute to the revolution of rising expectations in the Third World, and exacerbate frustrations caused by the accelerated pace of socio-economic and political development and cultural change. The contemporary resurgence of religion reflects crisis of modemity--the loss of traditional anchoring of social, cultural, and ethical mores, self- and group identification and meaning. The key to a peaceful, democratic globalization is a successful modernization strategy which seeks to reconcile and conjoin the best elements of modernity and tradition, the individual and community, freedom and order, secularism and religion, democracy and authority.

Increasing globalization in the form of greater international trade and immigration has both costs and benefits. Market institutims and secure private property rights are conducive to higher economic growth, but some point out that higher growth must be weighed against alleged social instability and, perhaps, cultural degeneration. However, globalization may increase stability and cultural output. Polling data suggest that antitrade, anti-migration views pose a political challenge to economic and cultural exchange. People are skeptical of the rapidity of change coming with globalization, which leads to backlashes that slow the process. Negative effects of globaltation include increases in prostitution, for example, and perceived alienation from the global culture There are tensions between economic change arul cultural vibrancy. Nonetheless, greater international integration and accompanying economic growth increase cultural diversity.

"Soft power" proponents endorse it as the superior alternative to the exercise of "hard power." This essay argues that the projection of soft power, culturally defined, has unintended negative consequences in relations with Islam in particular and traditional societies in general. Hostile reaction in the Muslim world is rooted in opposition to cultural modemtation and Western-driven globalization, and in the specifics of Islamic religious foundational sources and subsequent interpretations. But Islam, too, projects soft power in its own globalization drive. And therein lies one of Islam's yet to be fully understood and appreciated weaknesses as extreme interpretations of Islam, and theological homogenizing tendencies in particular, clash with the cultural diversity of Muslim societies. It is a weakness that can be leveraged for policy purposes.

Serious study of terrorism requires a proper understanding of why individuals turn extremism md what motivates them to join terrorist organizations. This essay analyzes socio-economic, cultural, religious, and psychological dimensions in a comprehensive framework gauging the "root causes" of terrorism The analysis is based on data collected from Pakistan-based organtations serving as allies of Al-Qaeda. The results indicate that almost all sample resporuients involved in terrorism were unmarried males exposed to fundamentalist teachings of the Qur'an. All believed that if they sacrificed themselves for the sake of their religion, they would be blessed with paradise in life after death. The essay employs relevant models in order to identify empirically the effects of education, an individual's age, household income, and rural or urban residence. The resulting evidence on the individual level suggests that both higher standards of living and education are negatively associated with participation in terrorist activities.

Peyami Safa, a twentieth-century novelist, journalist and intellectual, and one of the major personalities of conservatism in Turkey, encouraged Muslim and Christian believers to search for common ground and shared values that would yield a happy, virtuous way of life. His novel, The Armchair of Mademoiselle Noraliya, features character, Noraliya, who epitomizes the common ground between Islam and Christianity as a guide to peace of mind for individuals lost in the maze of modemity. Safa's literary construct is rooted in both religious inclination and admiration for the modem mind. Drawing on the main elements of the novel, this essay focuses on those features that reflect Safa's idea of a personal mysticism reached through religion, as well as interreligious dialogue, Safa's approach exemplifies Turkey's unique position in the Muslim world, inviting comparison arui appreciation of the nuances among the historical manifestations of Islam.

Since the end of the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, Croatia has been in the process of becoming a new society. As part of this transition, the Croatian news media are aspiring to practice a more democratic and professional journalism promoting an open forum. As Croatia looks forward to joining the European Union, nationalism remains a challenge for objective news reporting. How can the Croatian news media help toward this new society and its need for more unity? The news media play a central role in presenting the debates, remembering there is no room for biased reporting or hate speech, and that all should be treated equally regardless of nationality, race, class or gender. This essay draws on John Stuart Mill's concepts of freedom of the press, character building and tolerance, and concludes that open-minded Croatian students who study and are trained in Western-style journalism that stresses independence and freedom of expression are the country's best hope for transforming Croatian media via truthful, fair, and balanced news reporting in the future.

Modem warfare has a devastating effect on the well-being of children, especially those described as child soldiers. These children are taken out of their safe environment, their rights are violated, and they are subjected by warlords to all forms of suffering that not befit any stage of their life. Their experiences distort their personal development and disrupt family and community life. This essay explores the impact of war on children in a globalized world with particular focus on Sierra Leone and Uganda, two countries in Africa with prolonged wars. Efforts by various organizations and agencies to rehabilitate and reintegrate these children are commendable, but more preventive measures entailing political, economic, andl cultural changes are needed that provide young people with productive opportunities. Contemporary means of communication sensitive to indigenous cultures are also needed to complement folk media and empower people to demobilize and reintegrate child soldiers as well as prevent child soldiering.

An important intellectual challenge posed by globalization is how Enlightenment science interacts with traditional non-Western worldviews. This essay analyzes a key facet this challenge: the union of Darwinism with traditional conservative values. Political scientist Larry Amhart proposes that Darwinism provides a biological fouruiation for conservative notions of human nature, traditional morality, family values, private property, limited govemment, and the like. A foundation for his view is an Enlightenment claim that the laws of nature arui material causes are sufficient to produce "emergent" human minds capable of the kind of free will consistent with moral responsibility. Yet Amhart's stance implies determinism of the mind and the disintegration of morality. As such, members of the global community who hold conservative values need to re-examine the parameters of Enlightenment science in light of a more traditional view, which has a richer understanding of the human mind, will, and moral responsibility.

With its varied definitions, globalization evokes both skepticism and optimism. This essay explores how globalization relates to secularization and culture, in particular Christianity, It analyzes major aspects of this relationship: man as a globalizing being communication and obedience, and the global village in its historic, contemporary, and eschatological dimensions, Christianity has many tools at its disposal that can be used to enhance co-habitation as an enriching experience in a globalizing world. Some of these tools may be found in the traditional rituals of the Christian Church, while others are embedded in Christian doctrines, St. Irenaeus' doctrine of recapitulation is of special relevance for globalization. These tools need to be re-discovered, reassessed, and put to work. The essay proposes a type of globalization that enriches human life and dignity, and that integrates and builds unity and hope.

The United States and Westem Europe are on the edge of a cultural collapse brought about to a large degree by the mass media of entertainment, along with public schools and other institutions of mass cultural diversion, USA Today notes that 70 percent of Americans are unable to name the Ten Commandments. In a culture where physical health is a higher priority than spiritual vitality, another survey found that more Americans are familiar with the specific ingredients in a McDonald's hamburger than know the individual commands that comprise the Ten Commandments. Many Christian parents are concemed about the influence of media violence on their children, but do not know what to do about it. The good news is that there are effective ways to teach children to be media-wise. Specifically, there are five pillars of media wisdom that will help build the culture-wise family. Theodore Roosevelt said that if we educate a man's mind but not his heart, we will get an educated barbarian. Cultural and media wisdom involves educating the heart so that it will make the right decisions.

This essay proposes that while a "Christian" democracy may be too idealistic, liberal democracy presupposes transcendent moral and spiritual norms, in particular a Judeo-Christian foundation for human dignity and human rights. A Biblical understanding of human nature as fallible and imperfect susceptible to worldly temptations, emphasizes free choice and personal responsibility, and the imperative to limit the temporal exercise of power by any man or institution. Maritain's concept of integral or Christian humanism is founded on personalism, the unique value and dignity of each human being created in the image of God, and the need for community. The major challenge for literal democracy is how to reconcile individual freedom with socio-economic-political-legal institutions and processes which require the constraint of man-made laws and the exercise of authority and power The essay condudes that perhaps the major legacy of the American founding is the notion of the priority of liberty which offers the best prospects for conjoining reason and faith, the secular and the sacred, Athens and Jerusalem, The priority of liberty also animates Maritain's vision of a "Christianly-inspired" personalistic society capable of advancing both individual human flourishing and the common good.

Jacques Maritain's concept of ttte personalistic society describes a democratic unity of the body politc that mitigates the tension between the material and spiritual aspects of human existence. This unity, grounded in the principles of natural law, makes possible in our terrestrial existence a communion of good living and a rectitude of life--what Maritain calls the bonum honestum. The good he envisions both facilitates and reacts the ideals of an integral Christian humanism, but it necessarily requires for its realization the infusion of Christian ideals into the body politic. It is crucial to Maritain that the process by which this infusion occurs allow for a wide participation of diverse actors, bothh religions and non-religious. But it is also crucial that they are able to converge from their different perspectives into an agreement on "Christianly inspired" practical principles that will subsequently guide public policy. This essay argues that the collective character of the moral personally represented by Maritain in this unity describes a problematic corrtext tor public dialogue that risks undermining the social and political pluralism it presupposes.

The Judeo-Christian tradition has put its imprint on a fascinating and complex creation: Europe. Looking at the European stage today, one cannot help notice its struggles, challenges, and changes. The core of European unity cannot be stable and durable if the spiritual dimension is left aside, considered unimportant compared to the political and economic dimensions. In an era said to experience "pathologies of reason" and "pathologies of religion," the interdependence of reason and religion in a democratic, liberal state becomes highlty relevant. Understanding the complementarity between Christian values and the democratic ideal is the key to a genuine democracy that remains true to its goals. Maritain insisted that democracy needs virtue, and hence must not be separated from its moral dimension.

Historically, modern democracy can be rightly regarded as an extension of some of the basic tenets of Christianity, with the letter's focus on individual dignity and inalienable rights of every person regardless of their ethnic or social origin. In some aspects, however, democracy remains a project directly rivaling Christianity. This essay traces the rivalry to the French Revolution which tried to replace Catholicism with the cults of Reason and Supreme Being, which shows that without recourse to traditional sources of authority, such as religion, democracy is incapable of constructing a legitimate social order While democracy continues to be the form of government most compatible with Christian doctrine, the relationship between the two is not a necessary nor an equal one. It depends on whether democracy is viewed as a technique of government, when compromise and cooperation are possible, or as an ideology, when such coexistence is increasingly difficult.