The agenda of such a Congress should have included minorities and
borders. There is no doubt that sporadic fighting would have punctuated
the deliberations of such a congregation. It is certain that walk-outs,
crises, threats, and break-ups would have occurred regularly.
But the participants could have aired grievances, settle disputes,
discuss differences, judge reasonableness, form coalitions, help each
other to multilateral give and take, and establish confidence building
measures. With the West keeping all cards close to its chest, such a
venue was and is sorely lacking.
With the exception of Imperial Russia, "stability in the Balkan" has
always been the mantra. But stability is never achieved diplomatically.
If there are lessons to be learned from history they are that diplomacy
is futile, peacekeeping meaningless, imposed agreements ephemeral. War
is the ultimate and only arbiter of national interest. Parties resort
to peace only when they are convinced that all military or coercive
options have been exhausted. When nothing further is to be gained by
means of force and its application - peace prevails. But peace (as
opposed to a protracted ceasefire) is impossible even a second before
the combatants are struck by this realization.
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