Notes on: "The Balkans: A Short History" by Mark Mazower (
e-Book, 2007, Random House)
So,... I've read variously that taking notes on material that you are studying is a good way to improve retention of the material, make connections with previously learned facts, ideas and concepts -- and thereby build and reinforce a strong network of memories for future recall. I've played around with a number of electronic note-taking methods -- none of which has really proved better and more feasible for me (I usually get hung up on the minutiae of the technology) than just good ol' paper-and-pencil. In fact, recent studies with college-age students showed that the mental and physical processes involved in actually WRITING to take notes improves connecting with and retaining material. Because of that, I hope to transition to stylus-based writing and note-taking in the near future -- but for now, I'm just typing.
Table of Contents:
The Balkans: A Short History
Introduction: Names
1. The Land and Its Inhabitants
2. Before the Nation
3. Eastern Questions
4. Building the Nation State
Pre-Notes... What do I already know?
First, what do I think of when I think of "The Balkans?"
Geographically, I think of the area sandwiched between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. From my upbringing in the Cold War of the 70s and 80s, I think of the countries "behind the Iron Curtain" -- I think of Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, what was then known as Yugoslavia, and, maybe, Hungary, and also, maybe, what was then known as Czechoslovakia (though both of these may be too far north to really be "Balkan"). Poland, Germany, Austria, Greece (let alone Italy or the rest of Europe) -- definitely NOT geographically "Balkan." Here's the map of Eastern Europe and "The Balkans" that I grew up with (Soviet Union in yellow at the upper-right, Turkey in green at the lower-right, with the Black Sea in blue to the right of Bulgaria and Romania):
...and here is, I believe, a current (~2017/2018) map of that region (also including Germany and Poland for reference).
Historically, I think of the beginning of WWI with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo -- which provided the spark that ignited the war. With my background in Russian language and literature, I also think much of Bulgaria -- as the source of the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russian (and Bulgarian, and a number of other Slavic languages) -- credited to the Byzantine missionaries (and, later, Orthodox Saints) Cyril & Methodius. Then, as indicated above, I think of the cold war "Iron Curtain" that enclosed and isolated all of these "Balkan" countries (as well as many others).
From my high school and college history classes, I also recall hearing the terms "balkanize" or "balkanization." These terms were used in pejorative to indicate the fragmentation or break-up of something. During those relatively stable (for the Balkans, anyway) times of the 70s and 80s, I had the sense that the term also represented something possibly wild, chaotic and, possibly, violent (thinking mostly of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand).
From the TOC above, I see that the ideas of "nation" and "nation-state" are of primary importance when talking about "The Balkans." From the recent history of this region, the question of what does, or should, constitute both a nation or nation-state has had extraordinary importance in the post-Cold War restructuring of the region. The people of the former Yugoslavia, in-particular, suffered greatly in the transition from the first map to the second map, above! Much of the 1990s were spent in a state of conflict. I'm ashamed to say that I failed to pay much attention to the important events of this time period in this region! I remember the seemingly overwhelming complexity of the ethnic-, national-, and religious overlaps that existed -- for me, unexpectedly -- in what once seemed the more "friendly" (I vividly remember that they even hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, for gosh sakes!) and unified, Communist country of Yugoslavia. In light of our planned trip to the region, in addition to educating myself generally on the languages, cultures, and history of the region, I plan to make up for my oversight of the history of that time period!
Topographical map from Britannica.com "Balkans" article
here:
What I find interesting about this map is the great mass of hills and mountains (some (in dark red) -- particularly to the south of Sofia, Bulgaria -- and along the Adriatic coast, rising above 3,280ft) extending diagonally from the Alps in the upper-left, all the way to Bulgaria, Turkey, and to the Black Sea. Romania is composed of two regions: 1. The low plain of the Danube river -- running west-to-east now far from the southern foothills (with the capital of Bucharest) of the Transylvanian Alps (which then curve back to the north and west to form the Carpathian Alps); and 2. The northern elevated plain defined, to the south and east, by the Transylvanian- and Carpathian Alps, respectively. I also note, almost in the dead center of the map, how the Danube flows from the large plain of Hungary (which also includes the northern part of Serbia -- including its capital, Belgrade) through what is known as "The Iron Gate." I also note how many of the major cities shown here are located not right in the broad plains, but are either within, or just in the foothills of, the mountains. This includes, among others, Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna.
