Unresolved issues in the Balkans

Even with peace, major problems were left unresolved. Bosnia was divided between a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb republic, with little authority vested in the central government and a large international military - and eventually civilian - presence needed to hold it together. Kosovo was left as a United Nations protectorate whose "final status" was uncertain.

These unresolved issues are now returning: prompted by Serbia's government, Bosnia's Serb leadership is contemplating secession, even as its Muslim leadership tries to increase central control.