The Routledge Handbook of Balkan and Southeast European History

This Handbook provides essential guidance through the complex past of Southeastern Europe, gathering 47 international scholars and researchers from the region. It explores shifting early modern divisions, the First World War, the interwar promise, authoritarian politics, the spread of European economic and social features, the Second World War, postwar and Cold War experiences, and the uncertainties in Yugoslavias successor states and its neighbors.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 556 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Southeastern Europe, formerly known as the Balkans, has a complex history marked by turmoil and progress. This Handbook, compiled by 47 international scholars and researchers from the region, offers essential guidance through this intricate past. It sets aside premodern claims and recent controversies stemming from the wars of Yugoslavia's dissolution.

Part I delves into the shifting early modern divisions among three empires, leading to the national movements and independent states that grappled with Great Power intervention in the nineteenth century. Part II explores a decade of war, marked by forced migrations rivaling the immense loss of life, centered on the First World War. Part IV examines the interwar promise and the subsequent authoritarian politics of five newly independent states: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

Part V focuses on the spread of European economic and social features that had begun in the nineteenth century. The Second World War inflicted severe damage on the region, resulting in immense death and destruction, as noted in Part VI. The final set of chapters in Part VII examines postwar and Cold War experiences, varying among the four Communist regimes and non-Communist Greece. Lastly, an Epilogue extends the narrative past 1989, into the uncertainties that persist in Yugoslavias successor states and its neighbors.

The Handbook's concise and accessible chapters cater to a broad audience, including students and scholars. Each chapter includes a short list of selected readings for further study. This comprehensive resource provides valuable insights into Southeastern Europe's past, contributing to a deeper understanding of this region's rich and complex history.

Weight: 982g
Dimension: 174 x 245 x 36 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367550622