Split, Croatia - The toll of endless war is reflected in the darkness of many works of art here at the Galerija Umjetnina Split.
The powderkeg that is the Balkans has found Croatians, Serbs, Bosnians, other former "Yugoslavs" and their historic predecessors warring with one another and against external adversaries for so much of human history.
The last 20 years of peace here seem the except...ion and not the rule. This is especially poignant in light of the many new books emerging now commemorating the start of the World War One Centenary next year.
It was in this context that a comment made by a resident of Dubrovnik the other day really hit home. He said that centuries ago the Catholic Kingdom of Dubrovnik adopted a self-preservation strategy of diplomacy over militancy. It really had no choice.
They negotiated a treaty with the Ottomans wherein the latter would protect them against an attack by the Hapsburgs. They reached the same accord with the Hapsburgs to protect them against the Ottomans. Then, they struck a deal with both these empires to protect them against the Venetians.
They had a knack for competing well on the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" chessboard - of necessity. Too bad such cunning was not available to the Croatians in the more recent, 20th Century history of needless bloodshed.
The powderkeg that is the Balkans has found Croatians, Serbs, Bosnians, other former "Yugoslavs" and their historic predecessors warring with one another and against external adversaries for so much of human history.
The last 20 years of peace here seem the except...ion and not the rule. This is especially poignant in light of the many new books emerging now commemorating the start of the World War One Centenary next year.
It was in this context that a comment made by a resident of Dubrovnik the other day really hit home. He said that centuries ago the Catholic Kingdom of Dubrovnik adopted a self-preservation strategy of diplomacy over militancy. It really had no choice.
They negotiated a treaty with the Ottomans wherein the latter would protect them against an attack by the Hapsburgs. They reached the same accord with the Hapsburgs to protect them against the Ottomans. Then, they struck a deal with both these empires to protect them against the Venetians.
They had a knack for competing well on the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" chessboard - of necessity. Too bad such cunning was not available to the Croatians in the more recent, 20th Century history of needless bloodshed.
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