Founding a Balkan State : : Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925 / / Robert Clegg Austin.

• VerfasserIn: Austin, Robert Clegg,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2017]; ©2012
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 p.) :; 10 illustrations; 2 maps

Founding a Balkan State examines the pivotal period in Albanian history when the country's fundamental goals and directions were most hotly contested. In 1920, liberal Albanian leaders - led by the US-educated Bishop Fan S. Noli - began working to introduce democracy to the country, hoping that it would lead to modernization, prosperity, and overturning the legacy of five hundred years of Ottoman rule. In 1924, these leaders mounted a successful revolution; by 1925, however, their forces were in retreat. Albania soon slid into dictatorship under Ahmed Bey Zogu - first as president, then as self-proclaimed king.Founding a Balkan State provides the only comprehensive assessment in English of these events. Robert C. Austin first delves into the country's weak domestic and international position both before and after the First World War, then assesses the internal and external challenges posed to its state- and nation-building efforts. Austin shrewdly demonstrates how the missed opportunities of Albania's political transition affected the course of Balkan history for decades to come.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Map: Albania in the Twentieth Century -- 1. Internal and External Challenges -- 2. Creating a Revolutionary Situation -- 3. Fan Noli in Power -- 4. Albania's Neighbours - Yugoslavia and Greece -- 5. Great Britain, Italy, and the United States -- 6. The League of Nations and the Soviet Union -- 7. Traitor One Day, Patriot the Next -- 8. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index