In Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed,
Donia and Fine Shatter the myth that the former Yugoslavia has been plunged into civil strife by the end of the Cold War. To prove this point they examine Bosnia’s rich historical traditions in light of the conflict that erupted there in 1992. The authors explain the origins of Bosnia’s major ethnonational groups in the religious conversions of the Middle Ages and under the Ottomans as a prelude to the transformation of its principal religious communities into twentieth-century nationalities.

Taking issue with the widespread perception that ancient rivalries and primordial ethnic hatreds among the Serbs, Muslims, and Croats are behind the tragedies occurring today, Bosnia and Hercegovina emphasizes instead the rich tradition of diversity, pluralism, and toleration that has developed over centuries and flourished until very recently.