Tim Judah, who has spent years covering the region, offers succinct, penetrating answers to a wide range of questions: Why is Kosovo important? Who are the Albanians? Who are the Serbs? Why is Kosovo so important to Serbs? What role does Kosovo play in the region and in the world? Judah reveals how things stand now and presents the history and geopolitical dynamics that have led to it.

Tim Judah is a correspondent for The Economist covering the Balkans. He is the author of Kosovo: War and Revenge, and The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia.

• c Preface: Why Kosovo?


• Who are the Albanians?


• Who are the Serbs?


• Why is Kosovo so important to Serbs?


• A Brief History


• Kosovo in World War Two


• Kosovo in Yugoslavia


• The Beginning of the end


• Who was Milosevic? How did he use Kosovo?


• The birth of the Kosovo Liberation Army


• The UN years. 1999 - ?


• Who wants what?


• Kosovo and the Region


• Kosovo and the World


• Conclusion