Befolkningen i Balkanlandene har været underlagt politiske ledere og herskende klasser, hvis overdrevne patriotisme har kostet mange mennesker livet. Europæiske stormagters indgriben forværrer kun situationen yderligere for disse landes befolkning.
Although the peoples of the Balkans have been paying for the prejudices of the political leaders of their own ruling classes with their blood for over a century, they are paying an infinitely higher price for the actions of the major European powers.