The return of Eastern and Central Europe to true independence, following the collapse of Communist rule, has reanimated an enormous number of historical and cultural issues largely dormant since the disasters of World War II.

Conflict and Chaos in Eastern Europe analyzes five of the most important of these issues: the legacy of the Habsburg Empire; the "cultural faultline" of Bosnia-Hercegovina; the disputes over the region of Macedonia; the tensions between Hungary and Romania over Transylvania; and the instability of Poland's eastern borders.

Cutting through the tangle of nationalist propaganda that obscures so many of Eastern Europe's historical problems, Dr. Hupchick has produced an intriguing and evocative book that greatly enhances our understanding of this fascinating, but highly unstable, part of the world.