The tumultuous history of the Balkans has been subject to a plethora of conflicting interpretations by local as well as non-Balkan historians. In an attempt to help overcome the stereotypes that still pervade Balkan history and historiography, Battling over the Balkans concentrates on five principal controversies from the precommunist period: (1) pre-1914 Ottoman and Eastern Christian Orthodox legacies; (2) post-1918 struggles involving state-building; (3) in the interwar period, the effect of European economic and cultural influence, as opposed to diplomatic or political intervention; (4) in the same period, the role of violence and paramilitary forces in challenging political regimes; and (5) before, during and subsequent to World War II, the fate of ethnic minorities, particularly Jews, Muslims and Roma.
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. They are prefaced with historiographical overviews addressing the state of the debate on these controversies. These translations help bridge the language gaps that so often separate scholarly traditions within Southeast Europe, as well as those between Southeast Europe scholars and English-speaking academics.