Three news stories appeared today, none of them
related in their reporting but taken together hint at simmering unrest in a
region that a century ago served as the kindling that sparked the First World
War.
History doesn’t repeat, but it does
haunt. Many of the economic, diplomatic, military and communication structures –
not to mention the well-documented history of the war-torn 20th
century – did not exist when the Europeans went sleepwalking into World War I,
as historian Christopher Clark so compellingly described in his book, “The
Sleepwalkers: How Europeans Went to War in 1914.”
Nonetheless, history shows passion
and delusion has conquered reason, and that is no different today. War is often
the risk that ambitious political leaders will pursue to secure power – see Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad – and corporate leaders will welcome to increase
wealth.
Here are excerpts from the three
news stories, starting with the Balkan nation of Serbia, which 100 years ago this year Austria-Hungary
went to war against after Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, entered the city of
Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
A crisscross of alliances quickly brought the rest of Europe into war.
Fears of Serbia return to iron rule of nationalism
Hate speech is on the
rise. Anti-Western propaganda fills the airwaves. Liberal journalists are
pulled off air. Nationalists talk up redrawing Balkan borders. Mafia-style
hits, a hallmark of the Milosevic years, are returning. And as Russia and the
West collide over Ukraine, Serbia is falling firmly into the camp of
traditional mentor Moscow, even as it tries to advance its case for EU
membership.
"Somebody wants to
remind us of the 1990s," said government ombudsman Anika Muskinja-Hajnrih.
"That is worrisome."
Serbia, whose stability
is crucial for peace in the still-volatile Balkans, has been simmering with
ethnic and social tensions that exploded after fans brawled during a European
Championship qualifying match between Serbia and Albania. The fight, which
involved players and fans over an Albanian flag that was flown over the
stadium, stirred the most strife in the multi-ethnic north of Serbia where
Ballaj is from.
American and Russian energy giants battle over a small Romanian town
Like
many areas of Eastern Europea, the rural town of Pungesti is dependent on
Russian energy delivered by Gazprom, the oil and gas behemoth based
in Moscow. So the town's mayor, Vlasa Mircia, invited Chevron to drill for
natural gas in the area, hoping to end Gazprom's monopoly.
But Mircia's idea
didn't go as planned: Some of the town's residents staged violent
protests, driving both Chevron and Mircia out of town — or did they?
"It depends who you listen to," says New York
Times reporter Andrew Higgins.
Protesters say they were fighting back against a big, rapacious
multinational. But Romanian officials, including the country's prime
minister, accuse Gazprom of orchestrating the protests.
Those
officials believe the Russian government, which is the majority owner
of Gazprom, is trying to keep Romania in line and in Moscow's pocket. It's
also concerned about Romania's smaller and poorer neighbor, Moldova, which is
considering closer ties with the European Union.
There's also simple bad blood: Romanians have a long history
of tension with Russia, especially under Communist dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu.
As oil prices plunge, wide-ranging effects for consumers and the global economy
The 40 percent drop in the price of the
international benchmark Brent-grade crude oil over the past five months will
reduce annual revenue to oil producers worldwide by a whopping
$1.5 trillion.
“Those losses are staggering,” Edward Yardeni,
president of Yardeni Research, wrote to investors Monday.
The losers include Russia, where the value of the
ruble has been crumbling, inflation has crept up to more than an 8 percent
rate and oil prices have done more to hurt the economy than Western sanctions.
