[d10r]

> What I observe among today's people of these regions ..., regardless of their age, is defeatism and lack of confidence.

My personal experience (mainly from visits to Bosnia) confirms that. In my opinion, the ongoing brain drain is a main reason behind it. It's a rational choice for talented and motivated young people to move to a Western European country, thus many do so. Unfortunately, the result is that those not leaving have a very hard time forming a critical mass which could break through the various deadlocks left behind by the war years.