They were
mutually exclusive and strived to achieve ethnically homogeneous
lebensraums by all means, fair and foul. The nation's genuine and
natural ("historic") territory always overlapped with another nation's
no less historic claims. This led to recurrent conflicts and to a
growing sense of deprivation and loss as actual territories never
tallied with national myths disguised as national histories. It also
prevented the emergence of what du Bois calls "Double Consciousness" -
the mental capacity to contentedly belong to more than one social or
national grouping ("Afro-American", "Latino-American", "American Jew").
Thus, the Big Powers proffered a nationalist solution when a regional
one was called for. Following two devastating Balkan Wars (1912 and
1913) and a World War (1914-1918), regional groupings began to emerge
(example: Yugoslavia). The regional solution stabilized the Balkan for
almost 7 decades (excluding external shocks, such as the combined
invasions of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy).
Yet, the regional solution was dependent on both the existence of real
or perceived outside threats (the USSR, the USA, Great Britain) - and
on the leadership of charismatic figures such as Tito and Hoxha. When
the latter died and the USSR evaporated, the region imploded.
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