A Modern Reflection of Germany and Austria-Hungary?

2014 has seen, ironically, not just the centenary of the start of the First World War, but also troubling parallels to the Balkans in the Western post-Soviet region which – as has become particularly apparent due to the recent crisis in Ukraine – is characterized by unrecognized borders, weak sovereignties, great-power rivalries. Meanwhile, on the eastern flank of Eurasia, the current developments may be less dramatic but potentially even more perilous.