And, beyond the impact of Europe's crisis on tourism, Croatia faces difficulties within its own borders, Bartlett said.

CNN: Croatia PM: We need Italy to recover

Japan's current loss of technological confidence, in contrast, comes not from some external threat, but from failures within its own borders.

ECONOMIST: The land of disappointments

By taking in eastern countries with lower labour costs and workers who are far more mobile than their western cousins, the EU in effect brought globalisation within its own borders.

ECONOMIST: The future of Europe: Staring into the abyss | The

While all parties appear determined to avoid a return to the dark days of the past, Lebanon's future could rely as much on the outcome of the Syrian conflict as on political goodwill within its own borders.

CNN: Syria's conflict stirs up old rivalries in Lebanon