From Brussels to Belgrade: Challenges in Conducting Research and Constructing Explanations of the Collapse of Yugoslavia

While acknowledging that it is important to examine events within their appropriate context, this article is interested in the capacity of qualitative research methods to assist us so that we can get a more accurate picture of European Community involvement in the Yugoslav federation and the decisions that terminated its existence. More precisely, the article is concerned with the extent to which archival collections and interviews with state as well as nonstate actors can shape our ideas and consequent explanations of the Yugoslav state crisis. In addition, the last section elaborates on a number of challenges one may encounter while being on such a demanding research journey. As suggested by the concluding remarks, new interpretations, apart from managing to satisfy the researcher’s own ambition to complement the existing scholarship, should also serve to encourage fresh questions and answers.