Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe transformation of Ottoman Cisr-i Mustafa Paşa to Bulgarian Svilengrad was the outcome of a combination of both local violence and state-policy that took place throughout the Balkan Wars (1912-13) and within the framework of state-building efforts in both Ottoman imperial and Bulgarian post-imperial contexts. This sequence of mass violence stands at the core of this article. Based on Ottoman, Jewish, international, and translated Bulgarian sources, this article discusses the everyday dynamics and events that took place in the town by placing them in the contexts of the macro-historical transformations generated by the Balkan Wars. It likewise turns to micro-historical analysis to study the violence perpetrated by locals. While it is evident that much of the violence was state-sponsored or, at least, tacitly accepted by the state, and reflected top-down planning, non-state players also took part in the retribution against those they deemed alien to the national cause.

The Balkan wars (1912-13) represent, together, the first total war of the Ottoman state. During this conflict, the Ottomans endeavoured to enlist all its citizens into the war effort. The aim of this study is twofold. First, to explore Ottoman propaganda and the set of symbols it employed to promote patriotism and cohesion among soldiers and civilians. Second, by using memoirs written by army officers, contemporary press articles, literature produced by and for non-Muslims, theatre plays, etc., it will dwell upon the responses from below to this propaganda, and the reactions of the different groups inside Ottoman society to the mobilization, to the war and to the military disaster.

Recent studies in social and cultural history underscore the modern war experience as a crucial event in which the collective and the individual merge together in an extensive and demanding encounter. This challenging convergence can affect, question, or reshape social and political structures and shared collective identities, as well as different individual self-identities or sub-identities of small communities. This encounter is not molded merely according to the ability and coercive force of the modern state to superimpose its will upon its subordinated citizens; rather, it is formed by an ongoing negotiation between the state, through its various agencies, and the citizens, in order to win the latter's support and willingness to participate in the war effort. With the onset of general mobilization in nineteenth-century Europe, the need to persuade the citizens to join forces with the state produced many new forms of propaganda. An assortment of texts and activities conveyed the establishment's messages, with the intention to garner wide public support for the war's aims and to increase cohesion among its citizens. The various means of propaganda used by the state, combined with diversified responses from below, shaped the cultural arena of the war.

"The decisive consequences of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 had ramifications over the entire Ottoman Empire--and the Ottoman territory of Palestine was no exception. 'Late Ottoman Palestine' examines the impact of Young Turk policies and reforms on local societies and administration, using Palestine as a prism through which to explore the impact of the Revolution in the provincial arena, far from the administrative and political centre of the capital. It thus sheds light upon the last decade of Ottoman rule in Palestine, crucially dealing with the roots of Jewish-Arab conflict in the area and the early crystallization of Arab, Palestinian and Zionist identities, along with that of an Ottoman imperial identity. 'Late Ottoman Palestine' explores the ethnic, religious and social diversity of Palestine's population at the time, and analyses the Young Turks' perceptions of Palestine as reflected in their political, economic and cultural policies, as well as in their development programmes. Conversely, it also discusses the responses of local populations to new directives and programmes originating in Istanbul and shows how the Young Turk Revolution changed the lives and perceptions of the various groups living in Palestine. It thus examines how the Revolution altered local views of status and role within the Empire, and how the various social groups perceived it differently according to their own particularistic agendas. Based on a wide and extensive variety of primary Ottoman, local and European soucrces, this volume provides new insights into a fascinating and troubling period in the history of this contested land whose impact can still be felt. It will be a vital resource for students and researchers dealing with issues such as centre-periphery relationships, reforms and modernization, Ottoman policy towards minorities and inter- and intra-communal relationships in the Empire. It will also appeal ot academics interested in the modern history of the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire and Palestine"--Publishers' description, p. [2] of dust jacket

Klappentext: Though persistently overshadowed by the Great War in historical memory, the two Balkan conflicts of 1912-1913 were among the most consequential of the early twentieth century. By pitting the states of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro against a diminished Ottoman Empire - and subsequently against one another - they anticipated many of the horrors of twentieth-century warfare even as they produced the tense regional politics that helped spark World War I. Bringing together an international group of scholars, this volume applies the social and cultural insights of the 'new military history' to revisit this critical episode with a central focus on the experiences of both combatants and civilians during wartime.