Abstract
Of late, Reaktion has published a number of good national histories focusing on recent decades. This book adds a valuable regional dynamic. Richard Hall, Professor of History at Georgia Southwestern State University, is a specialist on Balkan warfare in the early twentieth century, and the military dimension is particularly strong in this study. Unfortunately, this is an all too reasonable account of the Balkans. Military force plays a prominent part throughout, both in domestic and international politics. For example, in Albania, which from the outset as a modern state had a violent politics, Ahmed Zogu used White Russian troops to help seize power. Moreover, in 1928, five Croatian deputies in the Yugoslav Parliament were shot; and so on. Nevertheless, Hall also covers much more. However, the type and layout are very generous on the eye, which ensures that the pagination does not reveal the relatively limited wordage. The major weakness is a failure to engage seriously with cultural history, a significant point given its linkage to questions of identity, while there is also room for more discussion of economics. This is an important topic, not only in itself, but also because it helps explain contrasts with other parts of Europe, notably contributing to the theme of backwardness. There is also the problem that the book is somewhat Bulgarocentric. Because of the diversity of Balkan materials, it is difficult not to centre any account on one particular country.
To be more positive, Hall ably engages with the impact of imperial legacies and pressures, notably the impact of Ottoman, Habsburg and Russian power. These interacted with religious and ethnic identities and alignments. Hall is good on these elements and on the perception of the Balkans, a subject that would benefit from comparative examination. It is not easy to cover so much in such a short book printed with a generous typeface. Hall is to be congratulated.