STATE, LAW, AND REVOLUTION: AGRARIAN POWER AND THE NATIONAL STATE IN ALBANIA, 1850-1945 by Besnik Pula A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology) in the University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Professor George P. Steinmetz, Chair Professor Howard A. Kimeldorf Professor Margaret R. Somers Professor Ronald Grigor Suny Professor Michael D. Kennedy, Brown University © Besnik Pula 2011 DEDICATION To my wife, Shpresa. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I ponder all the individuals that have had a role in making this dissertation see the light of day, I realize how difficult it is to properly recount the numerous ways and uncountable acts, large and small, with which others have shaped, supported, and directly or indirectly helped me arrive at this finished product. I was extremely fortunate to have had a group of exceptional historical social scientists as members of my committee, whose support carried me from my early days as a graduate student at Michigan through the years of research and writing of this dissertation. All these individuals have made tremendous efforts in giving me the best training a rookie graduate student in sociology can get. I can only hope to live up to the high standards they have set. My principal advisor, George Steinmetz, has played an enormous intellectual and mentoring role not only during the research and writing of this dissertation, but during my entire graduate career. George was patient enough to stick with me as I scrapped my original dissertation topic to end up working on the one here. But even while I wavered in my research interests, he remained steadfast in his support throughout, always making himself available for critical suggestions regardless of whether he found himself in Ann Arbor, Paris, Berlin, or New York. While I am responsible for all the flaws, deadlocks, and unresolved issues of this dissertation – of which I am sure there are many – it is iii George’s critical input during the many iterations of drafting and revising of the chapters of this dissertation that one must credit for whatever value one finds in this work. Peggy Somers has been a source of inspiration and support in more ways that I can describe. My first learning experiences with Peggy began when I enrolled in her graduate theory course, continued with her outstanding seminar on the sociology of knowledge and carried on with her committee work. Peggy made sure that I do not lose sight of the big picture – a challenge indeed when one is a comparative historical sociologist doing a dissertation on Albania. Whatever the future may hold, I am quite certain that my thinking as a social scientist will always bear her intellectual stamp. Howard Kimeldorf is responsible not only for teaching an entire generation of graduate students at Michigan the nuts and bolts of historical research, but made key interventions in the framing of the research problem and the development of my ideas. His feedback kept me on my mental tiptoes, pulling me back when, as sometimes happens in projects like this, I became too immersed in historical detail, and pushed me to sharpen my thinking on the contribution of the project to the wider discipline. And research of this kind would have perhaps been unthinkable only some decades ago without the singular efforts of Michael Kennedy, who has helped pushed the geographical boundaries of the discipline of sociology. Michael’s numerous critical interventions as well as his institutional roles have helped make sociology more global, more encompassing – and hence more universal as a scientific and cultural project. Michael has been a steadfast supporter and provided an open ear from the first day I arrived in Ann Arbor, and he stayed on board even as his path took him away from Michigan to Brown University. I am grateful for this and for the constant support he has provided. iv Last but certainly not least, I thank Ronald Suny for becoming part of the committee, even though he came on board towards the more focused final stages of rewriting and revision rather than the fretful early stages of planning and research. I had been an admirer of Ron’s work since my days as a Masters’ student in Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University. It was an honor and a privilege to have him read this work and give his critical comments. The quality of the dissertation has improved immensely as a result. There are numerous others who have helped along the way. There are few true experts on the history and politics of Albania in American academia, and Shinasi Rama is no doubt one of the best of them. His advice has been crucial, as has his support, which extends back many years. While doing archival research in Tirana, I was fortunate to have the help and support of many. Altin Ilirjani, Adri Nurellari, Delina Fico, Genti Sulo and Ardit Duma provided assistance at key junctures during my time there. Vera Doda and the rest of the staff at the Central State Archives spared no effort in guiding me through the multitude of archival materials and never failed to locate the documents I was after. The director of the Archives, Dr. Nevile Nika, kindly gave me permission to photograph documents with my digital camera, saving me much trouble in the storing and transportation of files back to the United States. Enis Sulstarova, Blendi Kajsiu and Ermal Hasimja provided not only friendship and company during my time in Albania, but were also gracious enough to listen to my ideas and help me reflect on them. The Shkreli family proved to be wonderful hosts. The research for the dissertation was supported in part by a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship and a grant from International Research and Exchanges Board with funds provided by the United States Department of State through v the Title VIII Program and the IREX Scholar Support Fund. Support from the International Institute of the University of Michigan helped prepare the groundwork for the research, while a grant from the American Council for Learned Societies helped support the writing of this dissertation for a year upon my return to the United States. Of course, none of these organizations are responsible for the views expressed here. As the writing of the dissertation was done away from Ann Arbor, I received warm welcomes from two places that provided true institutional homes away from home. Mark Gould and the Department of Sociology at Haverford College hosted me for a year, providing an exemplary environment for me to give form to my scattered ideas. I am especially grateful to the two exceptional students in my undergraduate course on state formation, Yotaro Natani and Kellsey McMillen, who provided a patient but critical audience for a junior instructor to contemplate his ideas out loud. Craig Calhoun and Samuel Carter extended a warm welcome at the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, where I completed the final revisions of my chapters. A heartfelt thanks to them and to Martha Poon, my colleague and deskmate at the Institute, for her solidarity during a period when both of us were dealing with the anxiousness of finishing and defending our dissertations while away from our respective home departments. Of course, only those who go through the vagaries of graduate school, with all its moments of insight, anticipation, anxiety, and gratifications large and small, can only truly appreciate how deeply one is transformed by the experience. I am lucky to have shared that experience with my Ann Arbor colleagues and friends Bariş Büyükokutan, Lai Sze Tso, Alexandra Gerber, Sadia Saeed, Rachel Schroeder, David Dobbie, Eric Eide, Nita Luci, Kim Greenwell, Claire DeCoteau, Andy Clarno, Avi Astor, Atef Said, Hiro Saito, vi Chris Roberts, Ursula Lawrence, Chris Gauthier, Jewel Woods, Mucahit Bilici, Cedric De Leon, Hiroe Saruya, Camilo Leslie, Burçak Keskin-Kozat, Byungho Lee, Dan Rose and many others. My dear friend and comrade Agon Hamza helped make the experience that more rewarding, even while preparing to embark on his own. Finally, my family, both immediate and extended, have been both an inspiration and a source of unconditional love and support throughout. My parents Bardh and Lule have been unwavering in the support ever since as a young undergraduate student I decided to pursue a career in academia. I thank them for their love, care and patience. My in-laws, Sahrije and Hamdi Henci, have been no less caring and supportive. Words cannot express my gratitude to them. Others who I must acknowledge: my grandmothers Vahide Hoxha and Nezafete Pula, who are lifelong sources of inspiration; my brother Petrit and sister Erza, who were kind enough not to poke fun at their older brother who remained a student for much longer than they; my brother’s partner Karina Correa, and my sisters- and brothers-in-law Dardana and Paul Geller and Teuta and Tony Bifano, who give real meaning to the word family in the term extended family. Of course, words cannot express the love and support I received throughout my academic and many other life ordeals from my wife Shpresa. She is a true source of inspiration and the one who bears responsibility for any capability I may have of accomplishing anything of real value. The beginning and end of the research and writing of this dissertation were marked by two extraordinary events: the birth of our sons Rioll and Norik. They have provided many more blessings than I can count. Shpresa managed to keep me on track even while the wonders and distractions of parenthood were added to our lives.