Review of 'Serbian Paramilitaries and the Breakup of Yugoslavia' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
While obviously this book is about paramilitaries (and/during) the breakup of Yugoslavia, this book is also great for those who want to know more about other subjects, such as international criminal trials, the use of law (and court archives) in trials, and paramilitaries in general. The book talks about how states can set up paramilitary forces and use them to distance themselves from illegitimate violence to create plausible deniability; the different kinds of violence that paramilitaries perpetrate; and the entanglement of organized crime, paramilitaries and the state.
It is thoroughly researched, based in large part on the ICTY archives, and includes several “nuggets” from those archives, such as this quote from the Scorpions commander: “I loved three things in life, and I am going to share them with all of you. I loved, and I am going to be vulgar because that is the kind of man I am…I loved …
While obviously this book is about paramilitaries (and/during) the breakup of Yugoslavia, this book is also great for those who want to know more about other subjects, such as international criminal trials, the use of law (and court archives) in trials, and paramilitaries in general. The book talks about how states can set up paramilitary forces and use them to distance themselves from illegitimate violence to create plausible deniability; the different kinds of violence that paramilitaries perpetrate; and the entanglement of organized crime, paramilitaries and the state.
It is thoroughly researched, based in large part on the ICTY archives, and includes several “nuggets” from those archives, such as this quote from the Scorpions commander: “I loved three things in life, and I am going to share them with all of you. I loved, and I am going to be vulgar because that is the kind of man I am…I loved pussy,the rifle, and the state and I still stand by that.”
I definitely recommend this book to everybody interested in any of these topics or just history in general!
