Battling over the Balkans: Historiographical Questions and Controversies. Edited by John Lampe and Constantin Iordachi
The tumultuous history of the Balkans has been subject to a plethora of conflicting interpretations, both local and external. In an attempt to help overcome the stereotypes that still pervade Balkan history, Battling over the Balkans concentrates on a set of five principal controversies from the precommunist period with which the region’s history and historiography must contend: (1) the pre-1914 Ottoman and Eastern Christian Orthodox legacies; (2) the post-1918 struggles for state-building; (3) the range of European economic and cultural influence across the interwar period, as opposed to diplomatic or political intervention; (4) the role of violence and paramilitary forces in challenging the interwar political regimes in the region; and (5) the fate of ethnic minorities into and after World War II, particularly Jews, Muslims and Roma.
In an attempt to give a voice to eminent local authors, the chapters provide samples of new regional scholarship exploring these contested issues—most of them translated into English for the first time—and are prefaced with historiographical overviews addressing the state of the debate on these specific controversies. These translations help bridge the language barriers that often separate scholarly traditions within Southeast Europe, as well as scholars in Southeast Europe and English-speaking academia. It is hoped that the volume will enable readers to identify common patterns and influences that characterize the writing of history in the region, and will stimulate new transnational and comparative approaches to the history of the Balkans.
Table of contents
John R. Lampe and Constantin Iordachi: “Beyond Stereotypes: Recent Trends in the Historiography on the Balkans”
Chapter 1 The Ottoman Balkans and Nation-Building
Vangelis Kechriotis and Roumiana Preshlenova
Roumiana Preshlenova: “Bulgarian Debates on the Ottoman Political Legacy”
Nadia Danova, Osmanskoto vreme v bŭlgarskiia natsionalen diskurs prez
XIX i XX vek [The Ottoman Time in the Bulgarian National Discourse in
the 19th and 20th Centuries]. In Sledva (Sofia: New Bulgarian University,
2009), 31–42.
Roumen Daskalov, “Problematizatsiia na Vŭzrazhdaneto” [Problematizing the Revival]. In Diana Mishkova (ed.), Balkanskiiat XIX vek: drugi prochiti [The Balkan Nineteenth Century: Other Readings] (Sofia: Riva, 2006), 159–63.
Aleksandǔr Vezenkov, “Ochevidno samo na prǔv pogled: ‘Bǔlgarskoto vǔzrazhdane’ kato otdelna epoha” [Not So Apparent Truths: The ‘Bulgarian Revival’ as a Separate Era]. In Diana Mishkova (ed.), Balkanskiiat XIX vek: drugi prochiti [The Balkan Nineteenth Century: Other Readings] (Sofia: Riva, 2006), 82–127.
Iliia Todev, “Ekzarkhiyata—fakticheskoto nachalo na modernata bŭlgarska dŭrzhavnost?” [The Exarchate—The Real Establishment of the Modern Bulgarian Statehood?]. In Gochev Ganev, Georgi Bakalov, and Iliia Todev (eds.), Dŭrzhava & tsŭrkva, tsŭrkva & dŭrzhava v bŭlgarskata istoriia [State & Church, Church & State in Bulgarian History] (Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Okhridski,” 2006), 235–46.
Iliia Todev, “Vŭzgledut na Marin Drinov za Bŭlgarskoto natsionalno vŭzrazhdane” [Marin Drinov’s View on the Bulgarian National Revival]. In Iliia Todev, Mikhail Stanchev, Roumiana Radkova, and Sergeĭ Strashniuk (eds.), Sbornik po sluchaǐ 170–godishninata ot rozhdenieto na prof. Marin Drinov [Corpus Dedicated to the 170th Anniversary of Prof. Marin Drinov] (Sofia: Akademichno izdatelstvo “Prof. M. Drinov,” 2009), 135–42.
Vangelis Kechriotis, “Greek Historiography and the Role of the Orthodox Church”
Elli Skopetea, Ē Dýsē tēs Anatolḗs: Eikónes apó to télos tēs Othōmanikḗs Autokratorías [The Twilight of the East: Images from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire] (Athens: Gnosi, 1992), 166–73.
Sia Anagnostopoulou, “Ē Neotourkikḗ epanástasē: To néo othōmanikó plaísio exousías 1908–1914” [The Young Turk Revolution: The New ‘Ottoman’ Framework of Authority: 1908–1914]. In Mikrá Asía 19os ai-1919 Oi Ellēnorthódoxes koinótētes. Apó to Millét tōn Rōmiṓn sto Ellēnikó Éthnos [Asia Minor, 19th Century–1919. The Greek Orthodox Communities from Rum Millet to Greek Nation] (Athens: Ellinika Grammata, 1998), 453–9.
Paraskevas Konortas, Othōmanikés theōrḗseis gia to Oikoumenikó Patriarcheío: Verátia gia tous prokathēménous tēs Megálēs Ekklēsías 17os—archés 20ou ai [Ottoman Views of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Berats for the Prelatesof the Grand Church 17th–Early 20th Centuries] (Athens: Alexandria, 1998), 39–46.
Eleni Gara, “Christianoí kai mousoulmánoi stēn Othōmanikḗ Autokratoría tōn prṓimōn neóterōn chrónōn: istoriographikés prosengíseis” [Christians and Muslims in the Ottoman Empire in Early Modern Times: Historiographical Approaches]. In Molly Greene, Krḗtē, énas koinós kósmos: Christianoí kai mousoulmánoi stē Mesógeio tōn prṓimōn neotérōn chrónōn (Athens: Ekdoseis tou Eikostou Protou, 2005), 17–23 [Greek translation of A Shared World: Christians and Muslims in the Early Modern Mediterranean, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press: 2000].
Andreas Lyberatos, Oikonomía, politikḗ kai ethnikḗ ideología Ē diamórphōsē tōn ethnikṓn kommátōn stē Philippoúpolē tou 19ou aiṓna [Economy, Politics and National Ideology: The shaping of national parties in Philippoupolis (Plovdiv) of the 19th Century] (Herakleio: Panepistimiakes Ekdoseis Kritis, 2009), xiv- xxi.
Chapter 2 Struggling with State-Building in Interwar Yugoslavia
Vjeran Pavlaković and Vladan Jovanović
Vjeran Pavlaković: “Recent Croatian Historiography on the Interwar Period”
Mira Kolar-Dimitrijević, “Gospodarske prilike na hrvatskom prostoru izmedju dva rata” [Economic Opportunities on Croatian Territory between the Two World Wars]. In Ivo Peric (ed.), Povijest Hrvata od 1918 do danas [History of the Croats from 1918 Until the Present] (Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 2007), 103–5.
Ivo Goldstein, Hrvatska 1918–2008 [Croatia 1918–2008] (Zagreb: EPH, 2008), 79–80, 84–5.
Aleksandar Jakir, “O nekim aspektima oblikovanja nacionalnih identiteta na primjeru Dalmacije između dva rata” [Several Aspects in the Formation of National Identity in Dalmatia between the Two World Wars]. In Tihomir Cipek and Josip Vrandečić (eds.), Nacija i nacionalizam u hrvatskoj povijesnoj tradiciji [Nations and Nationalism in the Croatian Historical Tradition] (Zagreb: Alinea, 2007), 134–8.
Vladan Jovanović: “Recent Serbian Historiography on the Interwar Period”
Ivana Dobrivojević, Državna represija u doba diktature kralja Aleksandra 1929–1935 [Governmental Repression during the King Alexander’s Dictatorship, 1929–1935] (Belgrade: Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2006), 193–8.
Zoran Janjetović, “Uticaj srpskog faktora na položaj nacionalnih manjina u Jugoslaviji u razdoblju između dva svetska rata” [The Influence of the Serbian Factor on the Position of National Minorities in Yugoslavia during the Interwar Period]. In Pisati istoriju Jugoslavije: Viđenje srpskog faktora [Writing a History of Yugoslavia: The Perspective of the Serbian Factor] (Belgrade: INIS, 2007), 105–9.
Sofija Božić, “Srbi u Hrvatskoj, hegemonisti ili potlačeni? slučaj osječkih Srba (1918-1924)” [Serbs in Croatia, Hegemonists, or the Oppressed? The Case of Osijek Serbs (1918–1924)]. In Pisati istoriju Jugoslavije: Viđenje srpskog faktora [Writing a History of Yugoslavia: The Perspective of the Serbian Factor] (Belgrade: INIS, 2007), 65–78.
Chapter 3 Irregular Violence: Bandits, Guerillas, and Militias
James Frusetta and Stefan Sotiris Papaioannou
James Frusetta and Stefan Sotiris Papaioannou: “Irregular Violence: Bandits, Guerillas, and Militias in Southeastern European Historiography”
Paramilitaries versus Armies: Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia
Tasos Kostopoulos, Pólemos kai Ethnokátharsē: Ē xechasménē pleurá mias dekaetoús ethnikḗs exórmēsēs, 1912–1922 [War and Ethnic Cleansing: The Forgotten Side of a Decade-Long National Campaign, 1912–1922] (Athens: Vivliorama, 2007), 40–2.
Dmitar Tasić, Rat posle rata: Vojska Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca na Kosovu i Metohiji i u Makedoniji, 1918–1920 [War After the War: The Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in Kosovo and Metohia and in Macedonia, 1918–1920] (Belgrade: Utopija & Institut za Strategijska Istraživanja, 2008), 475–7, 479.
Vladan Jovanović, Jugoslovenska država i Južna Srbija 1918–1929. Makedonija, Sandžak, Kosovo i Metohija u Kraljevini SHS [The Yugoslav State and Southern Serbia, 1918– 1929. Macedonia, Sanjak, Kosovo, and Metohija in the Kingdom of S.C.S] (Belgrade: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije, 2002), 197–205.
Veselin Yanchev, Armiya, obshtestven red i vutreshna sigurnost. Bulgarskiyat opit 1878–1912 [Army, Public Order and Internal Security: The Bulgarian Experience 1878–1912] (Sofia: IF-94, 2006), 203, 208–9.
Fascism in the Interwar Balkans
Mario Jareb, Ustaško-domobranski pokret [The Ustasha-Homeguard Movement] (Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 2006), 225, 230–7.
Ivo Goldstein, Hrvatska 1918–2008 [Croatia 1918–2008] (Zagreb: EPH 2008), 145–8.
Nikolai Poppetrov, Fashizmut v Bulgariia: razvitie i proiavi [Fascism in Bulgaria: Development and Activities] (Sofia: IK Kama, 2008), 7–9, 69–72.
Constantin Iordachi, “Charisma and Violence: Criminal Revenge versus Christian Morality.” In Charisma, Politics and Violence: The Legion of the “Archangel Michael” in Inter-war Romania (Trondheim: Trondheim Studies on East European Cultures & Societies, 2004), 137–45.
Chapter 4 European Influence and Reaction: Economics and Culture
Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe
Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe: “The Retreat from European Historiography”
Accommodating the Interwar European Economic Order and Influence
Ivan M. Becić, Finansiska politika Kr. SHS, 1918–1923. [Financial Policy in Kingdom SCS] (Belgrade: Stubovi culture, 2003), 220–3, 227–8.
Roumen Avramov, Stopanskiyat XX vek na Bulgariya [Bulgaria’s Twentieth Century Economy] (Sofia: Tsentur za liberalni strategii, 2001), 25–9, 63–4, 81–2, 103–4.
Dimitar Dimitrov, Znaesh li ti koi sme? (Ili trite bulgarski prehodi kum Evropa [Do You Know Who We Are? Or Three Bulgarian Transitions Toward Europe] (Blagoevgrad: Univ. Izd-vo “Neofit Rilski,” 2006), 42–8.
Goran Nikolić, Kurs dinara i devizna politika Kraljevine Jugoslavije, 1918–1941 [The Course of the Dinar and Foreign Exchange Policy in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1918–1941] (Belgrade: Stubovi kulture, 2001), 219–21, 226–9.
Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe: “European Cultural Influences in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria”
Comparing European Cultural Influences in Belgrade and Sofia
Ranka Gašić, Beograd u hodu ka Evropi. Kulturni uticaji Britanije i Nemačke na beogradsku elitu 1918–1941 [Belgrade on the Way Toward Europe: British and German Cultural Influences on the Belgrade Elite, 1918–1941] (Belgrade: Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2005), 259–65.
Miroslav Jovanović, Ruska emigracija na Balkanu 1929–1940 [The Russian Emigration in the Balkans, 1920–1940] (Belgrade: Čigoja štampa, 2006), 199–200, 203–4, 409–11, 419.
Milcho Lalkov, “Germaniya v bulgarskata istoriya 1878–1939—problemi i tendentsii na edno neravnomerno prisustvie” [Germany in the Bulgarian History 1878–1939. Problems and Trends of an Uneven Presence]. In Atanas Natev (ed.), Usvoyavane i emantsipatsiya: vstupitelni izsledvaniya vurhu nemska kultura v Bulgariya [Acquisition and Emancipation. Introductory Studies on German Culture in Bulgaria] (Sofia: “K&M,” 1997), 177–94.
Chapter 5 The Jews and Other Minorities during the World War II
Constantin Iordachi and James Frusetta
Constantin Iordachi and James Frusetta: “The Holocaust and the Treatment of Minorities in Wartime Balkans”
The Holocaust in Romania
“The Comparative Trivialization of the Holocaust” in Chapter 13, “Distortion, negationism, and minimalization of the holocaust in postwar Romania.” In The Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, 2004, 45–55, available at http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/en/report/english/1.13_Distortion…
Lya Benjamin, “Bazele doctrinaire ale antisemitismului antonescian.” In Viorel Achim and Constantin Iordachi (eds.), România şi Transnistria: Problema Holocaustului. Perspective istorice şi comparative [Romania and Transnistria: The Question of the Holocaust. Historical and Comparative Perspectives] (Bucureşti: Curtea Veche, 2004), 242–51.
The Bulgarian Debate over “Who Saved the Jews?”
Yosif Ilel, “Why did the Bulgarians save the Jews in Bulgaria.” In Vladimir Paunovski and Yosif Ilel, Evreite v Balgariya mezhdu unishtozhenieto i spasenieto [The Jews in Bulgaria between the Holocaust and the Rescue]. Bilingual edition (Sofia: Adasa Press, 2000), 165–6, 167–9.
Mihail Gruev, Mezhdu petoluchkata i polumesetsa: Bulgarite miosiolmani i politicheskiiat rezhim (1944–1959) [Between the Five-Pointed Star and the Crescent: The Bulgarian Muslims and the Political Regime (1944–1959)] (Sofia: IK Kota, 2003), 107–8, 122–4.
The Albanian Debate over “Who Saved the Jews?”
Artan Puto, “Disa Plane për Emigrimin e Çifutëve në Shqipëri” [Plans for the Emigration of Jews in Albania], Përpjekja 2 (1995) no. 3: 102–7.
Valentina Duka, Çështje të Historisë Bashkëkohore të Shqiptarëve [Contemporary Questions of the History of Albanians] (Tirana: Libri Universitar, 2008), 202–5.
CEU Press
Publication date: 2020
340 pages
http://ceupress.com/book/battling-over-balkans