The fundamental contrast between convergent and divergent tendencies in the development of Balkan cultural identity can be seen as an important determinative both in the contradictory self-images of people in the Balkans and in the often biased perceptions of Balkan societies held by external observers, past and present. In bringing together case studies from such heterogeneous lines of research as linguistics, anthropology, political, literary and cultural history, each presenting insightful analyses of micro- as well as macro-level aspects of identity construction in the Balkans, this collection of essays provides a forum for the elucidation and critical evaluation of an intriguing paradox which continues to characterize the cultural situation in the Balkans and which, moreover, is of undeniable relevance for our understanding of recent political developments. As such, it also provides a window into the actual state of scholarly interest in the rich interdisciplinary field of Balkan studies. This book contains a selection of papers presented at the international conference «Developing Cultural Identity in the Balkans: Convergence vs. Divergence», organized by the Center for Southeast European Studies at Ghent University on 12 and 13 December 2003 in Ghent.

The authors in this volume seek to treat the modern history of the Balkans from a transnational and relational perspective in terms of shared and connected, as well as entangled, histories, transfers and crossings.

This book explores the historial role of the Balkan Wars. In Eastern Europe, the two Balkan Wars of 1912/13 had greater importance than the First World War for the construction of nations and states. This volume shows how these “short” wars profoundly changed the sociopolitical situation in the Balkans, with consequences that are still felt today. More than one hundred years later, the successors of the belligerent states in Southeastern Europe memorialize the wars as heroic highlights of their respective pasts. Furthermore, the metaphor that the Balkans were Europe’s “powder keg”, perpetuated at the beginning of the twentieth century in the face of these wars, was reactivated in both the West and the East up through the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. The authors entangle the hitherto exclusive national master narratives and analyse them cogently and trenchantly for an international readership. They make an indispensable contribution to the proper integration of the Balkan Wars into the European historical memory of twentieth-century warfare.

This book revisits images of the Balkans in twentieth-century travel writing that vividly mirrors the turbulent changes that the region went through. As such, it provides a vital basis for research into the variety of possibilities, or obstacles, present on the region’s path to accession, when its unique heritage will have to be reconciled with a more European identity. This volume explores the work of well-known authors, such as Rebecca West, Paul Theroux, Robert D. Kaplan, and also contributes to travel writing theory by addressing less-known travellers who recorded their thoughts on the social dynamics of the region. The corpus offers divergent and often contradictory views, ranging from moral and political criticism to a delight in the rich heritage and the still “undiscovered” Balkan paths. More importantly, its generic potentials prove to overcome both the discourse of power and the discourse of apology. Its narrative style also comprises striking variations, from the objective and well-researched approaches to quick impressionist sketches. Being a multi-generic form, travel writing is observed from a multidisciplinary perspective, encompassing fields such as literature, linguistics, history, sociology, anthropology, ethnology, political sciences, and geography.

This volume investigates the complex relationship between language and identity of the peoples speaking Romance languages in the Balkans, offering a thorough sociolinguistic and anthropological account on this crossroads region.