The Modern Balkans: a Concise Guide to Nationalism and Politics
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The Modern Balkans: A Concise Guide to Nationalism and Politics. The Rise and Decline of the Nation State. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ....................................................................................... 4 PREFACE ............................................................................................ 6 Part I. THE BALKANS: FROM THE 19th TO THE 21st CENTURY. THE BUILDING AND DISMANTLING OF NATION STATES .......................... 9 Chapter 1: Perceptions and Misreading ....................................... 9 Chapter 2: Common Elements in the State Formation of the 19th Century ....................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: From the Nation State to the Stateless Nation ......... 35 Chapter 4: Albanians, South-Slavs and Bulgarians ..................... 51 Chapter 5: Era of Fermentation and Wars .................................. 58 Chapter 6: The Interwar Conundrum ......................................... 71 Chapter 7: From War to Communism......................................... 87 Chapter 8: The Balance of Forces in the Balkans ...................... 103 Chapter 9: In Search of Multilateralism .................................... 115 Chapter 10: Redefining Security: Yugoslavia 1989-1995 ......... 127 Part II. THE BALKANS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ................. 139 Chapter 1: Nationalism & Identity in the Balkans..................... 139 Chapter 2: The Economies ........................................................ 153 Chapter 3: The Army in Politics ................................................ 167 Chapter 4: Western Amateurs and the End of History ............. 191 Part III. UNFINISHED BUSINESS ..................................................... 207 Chapter 1: The Macedonian Question 1991-2010 ................... 207 Chapter 2: Independence for Kosovo ....................................... 225 Chapter 3: Bosnia-Herzegovina: An Intractable Problem? ...... 262 EPILOGUE: The Chances of Post-Modernity in the Balkans ......... 271 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SUPPLEMENT .................................................. 281 CHRONOLOGY ............................................................................... 289 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ 303 FOREWORD The Balkans has often been a source of confusion for foreign observers, leading to a sense of a separate identity or ‘otherness’. ‘Balkan’ and ‘Balkanisation’ have been pejorative terms transferred to describe or dismiss other contexts. Undoubtedly, the region has also been of geo- strategic importance in the modern development of Europe and the rise and decline of empires and ‘great powers’. In the 1990s, the West looked with horror at the wars emanating from the collapse of Yugoslavia. More recently, the European Union has embarked on a set of strategies that may lead to the accession of further countries from the region. Underlying this historical landscape are the themes of what constitutes a nation, the tensions of distinct nationalisms, and the capacity of nation states to achieve their stated goals. Thanos Veremis has long been recognised internationally as a pre-eminent authority on the modern political history of the Balkans. LSEE Research on South East Europe, a research unit at the London School of Economics, is very pleased to be able to bring his latest work to the attention of a wider audience. In this book, Veremis synthesises much of the contemporary historiography of the Balkans and provides a clear, accessible narrative. The book has a broad historical reach, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. It has three main sections: the first covers the emergence of the new nation states and the stateless nations; the second makes thematic connections between this Balkan history and that of the wider world, with respect to issues of nationalism and identity; and 4 the third explores the ‘unfinished business’ of the present – the issues that linger and challenge the region and its allies. This work will be of much value to students and scholars, new and old, who seek a ready companion and reference to their inquiries. It will illuminate the grand themes of Balkan history, but also answer more specific queries. Individual episodes are located easily within the bigger picture. LSEE has a mission to promote the better understanding of the Balkans internationally, through its own scholarly contributions and by facilitating informed public debate. It has developed a strong research programme of its own; created innovative research networks internationally; and promoted a variety of public events to debate key issues. LSEE welcomes international collaboration in these activities. Veremis’ new work serves many of these core objectives. We are confident that you will find it a very useful addition to your library – either as a first guide or as a stimulus to renewed reflection. Professor Kevin Featherstone Chair, LSEE Research on South East Europe European Institute London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) 5 PREFACE Besides a common religious tradition, there are other elements that run through the nineteenth century nation states of South Eastern Europe. Nationalism, a vital western import, will prove a lasting influence within and between the young nation states of the region. Nationalism as a powerful creed will undergo many transformations before it confronts western ultimatums at the last part of the twentieth century. In this work we will attempt to pursue the pervasive nationalist theme that went hand in hand with other significant western influences in the Balkans. Throughout the state-building process of Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and later, Albania, the West provided legal, administrative and political prototypes to this less developed part of the European continent, bedevilled by competing irredentist claims. Our intention, furthermore, is to present the above elements alongside political highlights of the modern Balkan states in concise form and discuss their current reincarnations and of course their relations with other states. Since Leften Stavrianos’ monumental work cannot be abridged without losing the charm of its narrative, the student of regional politics that wishes to excel in his/her field must still look into the entire oeuvre: The Balkans since 1453 (Holt, Rinehart & Winston 1963, Hurst & Co, 1999). Traian Stoianovich with his, Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe (M.E. Sharpe, 1994) offers extracts of lasting wisdom on the subject. This is nevertheless a work to be consulted after having secured a basic knowledge of 6 South Eastern Europe. Other prominent scholars of the Balkans, such as Charles & Barbara Jelavich and Robert Lee Wolff, have dealt extensively with the modern history of the region but their works need updating. This author has attempted 1) a cursory analysis of Balkan history, 2) a comparative study of Balkan economies, the military and nationalist creeds and finally 3) a discussion of unfinished business in Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania and FYROM. The reader will also discover that this book does not reproduce the conventional western wisdom in dealing with the Balkans. It’s somewhat contrarian slant however may provoke scholars into new discussions of Balkan phenomena. During his years of teaching Balkan history and politics at Princeton, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and the University of Athens, the author realised that a concise history of events and the presentation of recurring themes, would be useful to the uninitiated scholar and university student. The author has therefore tried to be selective in his use of secondary sources, many of which appeared without critical care in the thick of the Yugoslav crisis. Separating the essential from the trivial and facts from passionate conviction, is part of the task of teaching history. Without a doubt his greatest debt is to the late Mark Dragoumis who discussed salient points of this work and encouraged him to put the manuscript to print. Many thanks are due to Professor Susan Woodward for her important corrections, Assoc. Professor Dimitris Livanios of Thessaloniki University for his valuable remarks, to Dr. Evangelos Kofos of ELIAMEP for his expert advice, to Yannis Armakolas of the University of Macedonia Thessaloniki, for vital updates and to Ms Maria Konstantaki for reaching the finishing line in her typing Marathon. 7 Much of the research for this book was completed during the author’s term at the Hellenic Observatory of the LSE (January – May 2010). His gratitude for their hospitality goes to Kevin Featherstone, Spyros Economides and Ismini Demades. Without the valuable input of the LSEE – Research on South Eastern Europe and especially the editorial work of Tena Prelec and Dimitris Sourvanos, this work would not have been published in this form. Thanos Veremis Athens 2014 8 Part I. THE BALKANS: FROM THE 19th TO THE 21st CENTURY. THE BUILDING AND DISMANTLING OF NATION STATES Chapter 1: Perceptions and Misreading The term ‘Balkanisation’ first appeared in British magazines of the 1920’s to denote the fragmentation of large administrative entities as well as the hostile relations between the ensuing states. Balkanisation is a derogatory term that signifies weakness, underdevelopment and a hapless division.1 The Balkans as we know them, consist of states that broke free of Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian rule. Their ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity is similar to the state-entities of