The people of the Balkan Peninsula - Greeks, Turks, Slavs, Croats, Serbs - have struggled for centuries with a legacy of oppression and fractiousness. Divided by geography, language, religion, and above all, ethnic affiliation, they have embraced uncompromising nationalism in a perpetual, sometimes brutal drive to assert their rich cultural identities. Consequently, this tiny area has loomed large on the international landscape throughout the 20th century, destabilizing empires, sparking global war and ever threatening to upset the balance of power in Europe.