Balkan Legacies is a study of the aftermath of war and state socialism in the contemporary Balkans. The authors look at the inescapable inheritances of the recent past and those that the present has to deal with. The book's key theme is the interaction, often subliminal, of the experiences of war and socialism in contemporary society in the region. Fifteen contributors approach this topic from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and through a variety of interpretive lenses, collectively drawing a composite picture of the most enduring legacies of conflict and ideological transition in the region, without neglecting national and local peculiarities. The guiding questions addressed are: what is the relationship between memories of war, dictatorship (communist or fascist), and present-day identity - especially from the perspective of peripheral and minority groups and individuals? How did these components interact with each other to produce the political and social culture of the Balkan Peninsula today? The answers show the ways in which the experiences of the latter part of the twentieth century have defined and shaped the region in the twenty-first century.
John Paul Newman is associate professor in twentieth-century European history at Maynooth University in Ireland. His current research interests include a scholarly biography of Habsburg general Josip Jela?ii?c, a book-length narrative history of guerrilla warfare in the Balkan region, and a study of suicide in modern Bohemia. Balazs Apor is associate professor in European studies at Trinity College Dublin. His research interests include the study of Sovietization and Communist propaganda, and the history of leader cults in twentieth-century Eastern Europe.
Acknowledgments Introduction, by Balazs Apor and John Paul Newman LEGACIES OF WAR 1. The Legacy of War and Nation-Building in Croatia since 1990, by Vjeran Pavlakovic 2. Invented Warriors: The Legacy of the Invented Serbian Hajduk Tradition, by Stevan Bozanich 3. The 1940s and Their Afterlives: Resistance, Collaboration, and the Enduring Problem of Communism in Greece, by Evi Gkotzaridis POLITICS AND THE LEGACIES OF COMMUNISM 4. The Dimitrov Legacy in Bulgaria, by Marietta Stankova 5. Commemorating Socialist Cultural Heritage in Albania: Between Nostalgia and Rehabilitation, by Matthias Bickert and Irida Vorpsi 6. The Unstable Boundaries of Communism: Discourse and Politics in Post-Communist Romania, by Alina Thiemann EVERYDAY LEGACIES OF COMMUNISM 7. Smoke Screens and Liminal Spaces in Socialist Romania:Legacy, Diversity, and Cultural Dissent on the Shores of the Black Sea, by Ruxandra I. Petrinca 8. YU-rovision: The Eurovision Song Contest in the Memory Regimes of the Post-Yugoslav States and Its Cold War Legacy, by Irena Sentevska 9. On Resilient Memories, Heroes, and Public Spaces:Legacies of Communism in Urban Life of Post-Yugoslavia, by Jovana Janinovic NONCOMMUNIST LEGACIES 10. The Unexpected Twist: The Historical Legacies of the Twentieth Century and the Process of "Antiquisation" in Macedonia, by Miso Dokmanovic 11. Remembrance of the Monarchy as a Factor in Bulgarian Politics, by Markus Wien 12. Remembering the 1990s in Croatia: The Potential ofDiscarded Books on and beyond Anniversaries, by Dora Komnenovic ENTANGLED LEGACIES, MINORITIES, AND OUT-GROUPS 13. "Tell me a name and I will tell you who they are":Post-Yugoslav Refugees and the Legacy(ies) of Ethnification, by Dragana Kovacevic Bielicki 14. Glimpses of the Other in Eastern Europe: Historical Legacies and Values Seen through Education of Roma and People with Disabilities during and after Socialism, by Madalina Alama, Bob Ives, and Kenneth Bleak 15. Divided by Borders, United in History: Minority Identities and Cross-Border Memories among the Burgenland Croats, by Katharina Tyran About the Contributors Index
