The Balkans: What Are the Balkans?

The Balkans: What Are the Balkans?

Author: BBC Radio 4 April 3, 2026 Duration: 41:34

June 28 1914 - a young Bosnian on a street corner in Sarajevo fired a shot that triggered World War One. Why is this region so unstable, and what lessons can we learn from that event. Misha Glenny was a famous reporter during the wars of the 1990s, well-placed to find answers in a region he's travelled for years. Is the violence the fault of the people who live here, or are there bigger, outside forces at work?

This is the latest from the team behind The Invention of ... series which has recently been to China, Russia, Turkey and Hungary. Much of it is recorded on location, and contributors include Vesna Goldsworthy, Maria Todorova and Tim Butcher, author of The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Bought the World to War.

Misha Glenny is the outgoing rector of the IWM in Vienna and presenter of In Our Time. His reporting from Yugoslavia won a Sony Gold in 1993.

The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde. This is series eighteen and other contributors include Hannah Lucinda-Smith, Ivan Krastev, James Heneage, Lea Ypi, Faruk Sehic and Dubravka Stojanovic. Locations include Sarajevo, Belgrade and Thessaloniki in northern Greece and the team occasionally pause for lunch.


We often take the world map for granted, but the lines that define nations are far from permanent. In How to Invent a Country, award-winning journalist Misha Glenny, presented by BBC Radio 4, digs into the fascinating and often turbulent processes that bring a nation into being. This isn't just a dry history lesson; it's an exploration of the powerful forces-political ambition, cultural narratives, and sheer accident-that draw borders and forge identities. Each episode takes you to a different corner of the globe, unpacking the specific moments when a place transformed from an idea or a territory into a country recognized by the world. You'll hear about the contested lands, the foundational myths, and the real people whose lives were shaped by these creations. This podcast reveals how the countries we know today were invented, showing that their stories are alive, contested, and continually being rewritten. Tune in for a compelling journey that changes how you see every line on the map.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Invention Of...
Podcast Episodes
The Balkans: The Birth and Death of Yugoslavia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:24
Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans to report on the birth and death of Yugoslavia.With contributions from Lea Ypi, Radina Vucetic, Ivan Veyvoda, Tim Heneage, Jelena Dureinovic, plus former soldier turned writer Faruk Se…
The Balkans: Episode 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:50
Churchill may have said that the Balkans produce more history than it can consume, but in this episode Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head out to discover if it's true. This is a road trip through Bosnia, Belgrade and nort…
The Balkans: Episode 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:50
Churchill may have said that the Balkans produce more history than it can consume, but in this episode Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head out to discover if it's true. This is a road trip through Bosnia, Belgrade and nort…
The Balkans: What Are the Balkans? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:34
June 28 1914 - a young Bosnian on a street corner in Sarajevo fired a shot that triggered World War One. Why is this region so unstable, and what lessons can we learn from that event. Misha Glenny was a famous reporter d…
Hungary: Two World Wars and One Failed Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:43
It's easy to forget how entwined Hungary has been in some of the worst events of the last 100 years – losers in the first world war, the country initially sided with the Nazis in the second, tried to change its mind, was…
Hungary: Two World Wars and One Failed Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:43
It's easy to forget how entwined Hungary has been in some of the worst events of the last 100 years – losers in the first world war, the country initially sided with the Nazis in the second, tried to change its mind, was…
Hungary: The Butcher and the Poet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:47
"Brussels is abusing its power," said Victor Orban, "just as Vienna once did." The date, March 15 2025 - this year - but the reference was to March 1848 when Hungary rose up against its Austrian overlords, a great moment…
Hungary: The Butcher and the Poet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:47
"Brussels is abusing its power," said Victor Orban, "just as Vienna once did." The date, March 15 2025 - this year - but the reference was to March 1848 when Hungary rose up against its Austrian overlords, a great moment…
Hungary: Hungary and Mohacs 500 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:26
Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde travel from Vienna to Budapest and beyond to find out how Hungarian hardman Viktor Orban stays in power. With an election coming up next year, now seemed a good time to find out how…
Hungary: Hungary and Mohacs 500 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:26
Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde travel from Vienna to Budapest and beyond to find out how Hungarian hardman Viktor Orban stays in power. With an election coming up next year, now seemed a good time to find out how…