The book you have in front of you, dear readers, was published thanks to the Croatian Heritage Foundation and the Croatian Information Centre under the guidance of Mr. Ante Beljo. Mr. Beljo and his collaborators prepared the International Symposium entitled "Southeastern Europe 1918-1995" and invited distinguished scholars, university professors, publicists (historians, sociologists, geopoliticians, lawyers, geographers, demographers, politicians - the witnesses of these events) from numerous European and overseas countries. Of the fifty prominent names invited, thirty accepted: 12 from the Republic of Croatia and 18 from abroad. Some, who were unable to attend, promised to come to the next symposium and some submitted their written works prior to or after the Symposium. Ten states and twenty-odd nationalities from Europe and America were represented at the gathering leading us to the conclusion that this was the largest international symposium in the field of social sciences to be held in the democratic Republic of Croatia subsequent to the establishment of its independence.

Although the topic of the Symposium was dedicated to Southeastern Europe, covering the period from the end of the First World War up to 1995, some lecturers encompassed somewhat broader spheres of time and place. Namely, events in Europe as a whole were reflected to a certain degree in these regions and the events prior to 1918 certainly influenced subsequent happenings. The Symposium took place in Zadar, an ancient Croatian coastal town with a long and troubled history. The Venetians tried to conquer it, but failed and in 1202 they called upon the crusaders to do it in their stead. In recent times (19181943) Zadar was held by the Italians and in 1991, it was attacked and greatly damaged by rebel Serbs from the hinterland, persuaded from Belgrade.

The participants of the Symposium met in Zagreb and were received by the highest Croatian state officials and President Franjo Tudjman. They arrived at Zadar on 27 September, 1995, having travelled across the "burned land", the parts of the Republic of Croatia liberated by the Croatian Army in a flash action called "Storm" at the beginning of August 1995. The Symposium and the subsequent round table entitled "Serbia and its neighbours" lasted three days. Afterwards, the participants paid a visit to Split - the largest Croatian town on the Adriatic Coast, then Siroki Brijeg in Herzegovina, the location of a well known church festival, and then the cultural and administrative centre of Herzegovina, the city of Mostar, which is currently under international administration. They finally arrived at Dubrovnik - a pearl of Croatian culture and history, so proudly called "Croatian Athens". Lectures were given in all these places and debates were held on this topic which are represented in this book in both the Croatian and English language.

In Zagreb, 15 January, 1995 (on the fourth anniversary of the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia).