The Rediscovery of Ethnic Identity

Abstract

The monumental events following the tall ot the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989) and the formal dissolution ot the Soviet Union (December 25, 1991) brought about a radically new geopolitical order. They meant not only the end ol the bipolar world and the partition ot Europe as a result ot the Yalta and Postdam agreements, but also the exhaustion or a turbulent cycle more than 70 years old, which detined a century ot unprecedented violence. The end ot this terrible period does not mean the "end ot history" or the disappearance ot force in relations between states. It does imply, however, a redetinition ot those geopolitical relations leading to a more general evolution ot thought and custom.