Abstract
This paper examines ethnic divisions in post-Communist Bulgaria. The primary division is between the Bulgar/Bulgarian Orthodox majority and the Muslim/Turk minority.

Abstract
This paper discusses and analyzes the topic of Chechnya. Specifically, it discusses the Chechen conflict with Russia, including how it started and when, along with the causes, effects, main events and attacks, and a current perspective on events in Chechnya today. It discusses how Chechnya has always desired independence from Russia and continues to fight for its freedom today. The tiny country has not been able to shed Russian influence and government, but it has evolved into a world political crisis that has affected thousands of Chechen civilians and continues to cause strife and violence today.

From the Paper
"Chechnya is a Soviet Republic that declared independence from Russia in 1991. However, Russia's leaders refused to acknowledge Chechnya's independence, and instead sent in troops to subdue the Chechens. They withdrew when they met armed Chechens ready to defend their country, but the current conflict had its beginnings in these events in 1991, which escalated to full-scale war by 1994. However, the roots of the problems between Chechnya and Russia go much, much deeper than the current crisis."

Tags:soviet, russia

Abstract
This paper analyzes the purpose and intent of Art Spiegelman's books "Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History" and "Maus: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began". The paper discusses the intensely personal side of the story and suggests that it tells a great deal about Spiegelman's motivations for creating these books. It discusses the themes and emotions that he reveals in the books.

From the Paper
"When considering Art Spiegelman's books Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History and Maus: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began, the reader twice asks, "Why did Art Spiegelman write these?" That is, the reader wonders what purpose Spiegelman hoped his books would serve, and what personally drove Spiegelman to write the books in the first place. Though related, these are two different questions. These books are very personal works that not only chronicle his father's experiences as a Jew in Poland during WWII, but also reveal "Artie's" struggles to relate to his father. The intensely personal side of the story tells a great deal about Spiegelman's motivations for creating these books; this aspect is about Artie. Yet clearly purpose of the books is not to tell Artie's story, but to tell Vladek's."

Tags:holocaust, vladek, survivors

Abstract
This paper examines the influx of Eastern European immigrants to the United States especially after the Second World War. It discusses three major immigrant groups - Poles, Czechs and Russians and also discusses Americans' attitudes towards these groups.

From the paper:

"Established Americans often look down on new immigrants. The cultural habits of immigrants are frequently targets of criticism, especially when the new arrivals come from a different country than those in the established community. This is true despite the fact that so much of what we have accomplished as a nation has been due to the contributions of recent immigrants who have been willing to work as hard as they can to make a better life for themselves and their families ? and alon the way for the rest of the country as well."

Tags:census, population, demography, Poland, Russia, Czechoslovakia

From the Paper
"Introduction
Since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Germany has undergone significant changes throughout its culture. Divided by the Allies after World War II, the country was reunited in the early 1990s bringing the formerly communist East Germany (German Democratic Republic) into the democratic and capitalist West (Federal Republic of Germany). The reunification has not been without problems: unemployment runs high among those from the former East Germany, for example, and there has been an increase in the number of nationalist demonstrations in recent years. In addition, the country has seen a large influx of refugees from other former communist countries, and Germany's once strong economy has faltered somewhat as the nation tries to assimilate these new residents. Germany was also instrumental in bringing about not only the European.."

Abstract
This paper examines Samuel P. Huntington's clash of civilizations thesis in relation to the recent conflict in Kosovo. The paper concludes that all of the major players in the recent conflict in Kosovo performed as predicted by Huntington's thesis. The author discusses how the primary combatants, Serbs and Kosovars represent a fault line conflict between two civilizations, and both drew in support from kin-countries and how Russia came to the defense of Serbia, although only diplomatically as the situation permitted.

From the Paper
"Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has become one of the premier institutions of the Western civilization. The recent entrance of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into the alliance had little-to-no strategic or military importance, but symbolized the re-joining of these states with the West. NATO's main role is changing from that of a military alliance to a club of Western market democracies. Countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Baltics seek membership to this club because they want to be recognized as a part of the West. NATO has become the dominant symbol of Western power, and thus exclusively the West carried out the air war over Kosovo."

Tags:culture, huntington, new, order, religion, samuel, world, milosevic

Abstract
Immigration has been on the American national agenda for some time, with many complaining that immigration is out of hand and that limitations on immigration are needed. One issue is whether too many people are coming from certain regions of the world, or whether those who are coming are sufficiently prepared to take their place in the American economic system.

From the Paper
"INTRODUCTION

Immigration has been on the American national agenda for some time, with many complaining that immigration is out of hand and that limitations on immigration are needed. One issue is whether too many people are coming from certain regions of the world, or whether those who are coming are sufficiently prepared to take their place in the American economic system. Internationally, the immigration picture is even more difficult, with many immigrants moving from one place to another to escape war, persecution, and economic devastation. Immigration is usually treated as a political issue, certainly a domestic political issue for the country receiving large numbers of refugees or immigrants, but also as an international political issue because it affects how contiguous countries behave toward one another. Immigration ..."

Abstract
This paper looks at the history of the ethnic diversity of Yugoslavia and the way that these cultural and ethnic divisions were the cause of the war with Bosnia. It examines the issue of nationalism and how this term has been used by all the nations within Yugoslavia's borders in an attempt to rule or expel other ethnic groups.

From the Paper
"Yugoslavia was a nation under the Soviet sphere of influence, yet it was largely an artificial nation made up of entities that did not get along and that tried to divide up the region once the threat of Soviet force was removed. The current ethnic conflict in what was formerly Yugoslavia has roots that extend far back into history. The ethnic groups in the region have long been divided by cultural differences, religion, and language. Efforts to unify the region failed until after World War I, when the impetus to come together increased for economic and security reasons. Yet, the state that emerged was always tenuous because the union did not satisfy the needs of all the groups equally. The former Yugoslavia is perhaps the most unstable of all the former Soviet satellite states, and even though the direct attack on Kosovo was stopped by U.N. forces last spring, stability is unlikely in the foreseeable future."

Tags:nationalism, bosnia, communist, serbia

Abstract
This paper looks at the nature and long duration of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. The writer reviews the deep and long lasting effects on the nations which today make up the Balkan Peninsula. The first part examines how during the first several centuries of Ottoman rule, its legacy was conducive to the maintenance of order, prosperity and ethnic and religious toleration. The second part explores how certain facets of Ottoman policy and practice, also contributed to the stunting of the area's political, economic and intellectual growth.

From the Paper
"The term Balkans, which means in Turkish 'chain of wooded mountains,' refers to the southeastern peninsula of Europe, the largely mountainous lands which lie between the Adriatic Sea on the west, the plains of Central Europe to the north, the steppes of Russia/Ukraine to the east, the Black Sea and Asia Minor to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It contains the modern nations of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania and all of the nations which have emerged from the breakup in the 1990s of the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia."

Tags:turkish, turkey, adriatic, rule, peninsula, tanzimat

Abstract
This paper is a country profile on Italy that reflects the current adversities that Italy faces. Afflictions outlined include illegal immigration, corruption, and elections. The paper explains the problems Italy has faced in the past, and the problems they face now. It also emphasizes the difficulty in repairing these problems.

From the Paper
"The Italian Republic, better known as Italy, became a nationwide state in 1861; they were united under King Victor Emmanuel. It originally had a parliamentary government; that came to an abrupt end in the early 1920s when the Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, established a dictatorship. He formed an alliance with Nazi Germany that ultimately led to both Mussolini and Italy's defeat in World War II.(1) Italy's economy was finally revived in 1946 when a democratic republic replaced the monarchy. In 1999, Italy joined the European Monetary Union and now uses the "Euro Dollar" as their currency. This paper will show that Italy's most current affliction revolves around the influx of illegal immigration."

Tags:benito, mussolini, europe, lira, euro, sicily, silvio, berlusconi, government, rome