Bøker i South-East European History-serien

Bringing together twelve experts from nine countries, this volume explores intelligence and diplomatic activities, both historical and contemporary, in the Balkan region. Covering a wide range of periods and radically different historical conditions, the various contributions are united by a common theme: the intimate relationship between diplomacy and intelligence. Subjects include: the Venetian dragomans of Zara; 'informal diplomacy' between Bulgaria and Turkey; 'diplomacy without a state' (Adam Czartoryski's 'embassy' in Paris); diplomacy and diplomats in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1943); case studies on diplomats Otto von Essen, Stojan Novakovic, Adam Czartoryski, Josip Djerdja, and Jovan Ducic; British policy toward Albania during the Second World War; diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Albania; the 1992 'arms delivery scandal' in Bulgaria; and the normalization of Bulgarian bilateral relations with Turkey.

This edited collection sheds new light on the complex dialogue between religion and science which played out at universities in South-East Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This discourse took place against a backdrop of great political, cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, as well as the long-term transition from Habsburg rule to new nation states. The book¿s contributors¿an international team of scholars with a wide range of expertise¿delve into a range of key questions, including the influence of political regimes on faculties of theology and implications for university autonomy, the role of theology as a science in defining the status of these faculties, and the development of science in the face of religious divisions.The book will appeal to readers interested in religious and intellectual history, the history of science, and the relationship between faith and science, as well as all those interested in South-East Europe either side of the First World War."The collection holds significant value for graduate and postgraduate students, especially when studying the relationship between faith and science, the approach to theology as a science, and critical examination of specific dogmatic and ecumenical matters. The contributors to this volume provide insightful analyses on these topics, making it an indispensable resource for scholars seeking to enrich their understanding of these complex areas of inquiry."¿Ante Mateljan, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Split, Croatia

This book examines patterns of behavior during an era of mass brutality by analyzing, in a transnational context, mechanisms of violence and ethnic cleansing in the Balkan Wars of 1912¿13. The main goal is to incorporate these conflicts into the broader discussion of the Greater War (1917¿1923), thereby challenging western, Eurocentric dominance of historiography about the First World War. In contrast to earlier works of the political, diplomatic, and military history of the Balkan Wars, this book deals with what took place behind the front lines. Panagiotis Delis explores interactions between the regular army, irregulars, and local civilians, and discusses how the collective experience of war generated an undeclared ¿war on the sidelines¿.The Balkan Wars: Notions of Violence and Ethnic Cleansing on the Eve of the First World War is a fascinating new assessment of an important but often neglected conflict. It is also a major new contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms of violence and ethnic cleansing.The Balkan Wars have a special place in the history of twentieth-century violence and one that is not often recognised in Western scholarship. As Panagiotis Delis shows in his excellent book, many of the logics and practices of violence that came to dominate in Europe between 1914 and 1945 were anticipated in the Balkan Wars.¿Robert Gerwarth, Professor, Director, UCD Centre for War StudiesThis is a rigorously researched and masterfully analyzed study of violence at the local level, offering an indispensable comparative perspective on several Balkan borderlands.¿Theodora Dragostinova, Professor of History, The Ohio State UniversityPanagiotis Delis holds a PhD in history from Simon Fraser University. He serves as a permanent civil servant and as research associate at the University of Athens.

Described as the "sick man of Europe" by the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century was in terminal decline. The newly independent Balkan states¿Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgariäeach had significant ethnic populations who had remained under Ottoman rule. Under the guidance of Russia, which had its own interests in south-east Europe, they joined forces against the Ottomans, under the name of the Balkan League, in 1912.In the first phase of the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian, Greek, Montenegrin and Serbian armies fought together against the Ottoman Empire, dealing the Ottomans a heavy defeat in a result that made headlines around the world. In the second phase, the Balkan states fought each other, and Romania also entered the war. In the conflict¿s aftermath, new borders failed to satisfy any of the belligerent parties. Interventions by the Great Powers further increased tensions in the region. As the ultimate result, the first bullet that triggered the First World War was fired in Sarajevo in June 1914.The causes and effects of the Balkan Wars have remained controversial despite the passage of time. In this volume, writers from various Balkan nations and from across various disciplines have come together under the aegis of the Balkan History Association to address little-known and little-studied aspects of the wars. Collectively they analyze a huge range of political, historical, medical, sociological and religious aspects of the conflict. The book, with its ground-breaking content and unique bibliographies, will be an important guide for undergraduate and graduate students studying the political, military and social history of the Balkan Wars and the Balkan nations."The Balkan Wars of 1912/13 were a disaster for the Ottoman Empire, a triumph for the Balkan governments, and a tragedy for the population of the belligerent states.This well structured collection brings together contributors from various backgrounds. Together they help to understand overarching issues far beyond the military event, and especially the still underresearched Ottoman perspective."¿Katrin Boeckh, LMU Munich/IOS Regensburg