The primary goal of this course is to introduce the student to the historical and political complexities of mainly the western Balkans, especially since the Congress of Berlin (1878).
Emphasis will be placed on the rise of nationalist movements and subsequent conflicts, the socialist period following World War II, and the post-communist transitions to democratisation implementation. Of special interest will be the 1990s break-up of Yugoslavia, the independence movements of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosova, and an assessment of the contemporary situation vis-à-vis the European Union. The course is meant to complement POLS 461 Turkish-Greek Relations, and POLS 460 Cyprus Issue.
Vertical Tabs
Course Learning Outcomes
| Learning Outcomes |
Program
Learning Outcomes |
Teaching Methods | Assessment Methods |
| The student should be able to recognize the competing histories of the Balkans; | 1 | 1,2,3a,b | A, B, (C), D |
| The student should be able to identify the different conflicts of the nations of Southeastern Europe since the second half of the 19th century; | 1 | 1,2,3a,b | A, (C), D |
| The student should also be able to analyze the ways in which Balkan leaders have attempted to steer courses of national autonomy in the presence of the Great Powers; | 1 | 1,2,3a,b | A,B, (C), D |
| The student should be able to distinguish how Balkan nations have constructed their own identity apart from - and yet with the assistance of - those Great Powers; | 2 | 1,2,3a,b | A,B, (C), D |
| The student should be able to assess the role of Great Power intervention in the contemporary situation; | 1 | 1,2,3,9 | A, (C), D |
| The student should be able to evaluate the prospects for long-term legitimacy, viability, and stability for the fledgling countries of the Balkans. | 1 | 1,2,3,9,12 | A, (C), D |
Course Flow
| COURSE CONTENT | ||
| Week | Topics | Study Materials |
| 1 | Course Overview, review of syllabus | Syllabus |
| 2 | Ottoman Balkans: Expansion, Retreat, and Legacy |
Malcolm, Noel,
pp. 43-69. |
| 3 | The Balkans Between Competing Empires: Focus on Regional and Extra-regional actors; Congresses of San Stefano and Berlin | S.A. Giannakos, pp. 43-66. |
| 4 | Serbian Nationalism, then and now | Njegoš. ‘The Mountain Wreath’, ‘1937 Memorandum’, ‘1986 Memorandum’ |
| 5 | State and Nations: ‘Yugo’-slavia: It’s Necessity and Artificiality | Allcock, John B. 2000. 311-350. |
| 6 | Before the Rain, Macedonian film | Directed by Milcho Manchevski |
| 7 | Bosnian Muslim Identity and Nationhood: Construction and Conflict | Friedman, Francine, pp 143-176 |
| 8 | Midterm Examination | - |
| 9 | From Totalitarianism and Back Again: Socialist Yugoslavia’s Collapse | Banac, Ivo, pp. 461-466; Ramet, Sabrina, pp. 277-305 |
| 10 | Focus on: Wars in Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, and the Dayton Accord | Banac, pp.466-478 |
| 11 | Focus on Kosovo | Judah, Tim, pp. 117-139 |
| 12 | Focus on Macedonia and Albania | Ohrid Agreement |
| 13 | The Regional and Extra-Regional implications of Kosovo’s Independence | Ramet, Sabrina, pp. 306-336 |
| 14 | Glimpsing the Future: Assessing Western Intervention in the Balkans | Mazower, Mark, , pp. 115-142 |
| 15 | Glimpsing the Future: Assessing Western Intervention in the Balkans | Mazower, Mark, , pp. 115-142 |
| 16 | Final | - |
Recommended Sources
| RECOMMENDED SOURCES | ||
| Textbook | None; various and diverse reading sources | |
| Additional Resources |
BOOKS
Allcock, John B. 2000. Explaining Yugoslavia. London: Hurst & Co. Allcock, John B., Marko Milivojević and John J. Horton, eds. 1998. Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia: An Encyclopedia. Denver and London: ABC-CLIO. Allin, Dana H. 2002. NATO’s Balkan Interventions. Oxford: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, Adelphi Paper 347. Anzulovic, Branimir. 1999. Heavenly Serbia: From Myth to Genocide. London: Hurst & Co. Banac, Ivo. 1984. The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ________. “What Happened in the Balkans (or Rather ex-Yugoslavia)?” in East European Politics and Societies, 23/4, Fall 2009, pp. 461-478. Bellamy, Alex J. 2003. The Formation of Croatian National Identity: A Centuries-Old Dream?Manchester: Manchester University Press. Bokan, B. J. 1996. Genocide of the Serbs of Bosnian Krayina 1941-1945. Beograd: Evropsko Slovo. Campbell, Greg. 2000. The Road to Kosovo: A Balkan Diary. Oxford: Westview Press. Chandler, David. 1999. Bosnia: Faking Democracy After Dayton. London: Pluto Press. Conner, Walker. 2002. “A Primer for Analyzing Ethnonational Conflict” in Ethnic Conflict: Religion, Identity and Politics, S.A. Giannakos, ed. 21-42. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. Ćović, B., ed. 1993. Roots of Serbian Aggression: Debates, Documents, Cartographic Reviews. Zagreb: Centar za Strane Jezike. Čubrilović, Vaso. 1997. “The Minority Problem in the New Yugoslavia: Memorandum of 3 November 1944” in Kosovo: In the Heart of the Powder Keg, Robert Elsie, ed., 449-64. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs. Duijzings, Ger. 2000. Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo. London: Hurst & Co. Elsie, Robert, ed. 1997. Kosovo: In the Heart of the Powder Keg. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs and New York: Columbia University Press. Friedman, Francine. 1996. The Bosnian Muslims: Denial of a Nation. Boulder, CO and Oxford: Westview Press, Inc. Giannakos, Symeon A., ed. 2002. “Violent Conflict and Patterns of Geopolitical Interaction in Southeastern Europe” in Ethnic Conflict: Religion, Identity, and Politics, Symeon A. Giannakos, ed. 43-66. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. Goodwin, Stephen R. 2006. Fractured Land, Healing Nations. Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang Verlag. Gordy, Eric D. 1999. The Culture of Power in Serbia: Nationalism and the Destruction of Alternatives. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Heywood, Colin. 1996. “Bosnia Under Ottoman Rule, 1463-1800” in The Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina: Their Historic Development from the Middle Ages to the Dissolution of Yugoslavia. 2nd edition, 22-53. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Judah, Tim. 2000. The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. Second Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press. ________. 2008. Kosovo: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford: OUP. Malcolm, Noel. 1994. Bosnia: A Short History. London: Macmillan. ________. 1998. Kosovo: A Short History. London: Macmillan. Mazower, Mark. 2000. The Balkans: From the End of Byzantium to the Present Day. London: Phoenix Press. Özdoğan, Günay Göksu, and Kemali Saybaşıl, eds. 1995. Balkans: A Mirror of the New International Order. Marmara University, Istanbul: EREN. Ramet, Sabrina. 2002. Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia from the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević. Fourth edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Shay, Shaul. 2009 [2007]. Islamic Terror and the Balkans. New Brunswick and London: The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, and Transaction Publications. Silber, Laura, and Allen Little. 1996. Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation. New York: BBC and TV Books. Stavrianos Leften S. 2001 [1963]. The Balkans, 1815-1914. New York: Holt Rhinehart and Winston. Stoianovich Traian. 1994. Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Zulfikarpašić, Adil. 1998. The Bosniak. London: Hurst and Co.
ARTICLES Bieber, Florian. 2011. “Building Impossible States? State-Building strategies and EU Membership in the Western Balkans” in Europe-Asian Studies 63(10): 1783-1802. Boose, Lynda E. 2002. “Crossing the River Drina: Bosnian Rape Camps, Turkish Impalement, and Serb Cultural Memory” in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 28(1):71-96 Boyd, Charles G. 1998. “Making Bosnia Work” in Foreign Affairs 77(3): 43-51. Erjavec, Karmen, and Zala Volčič. 2007. “The Kosovo Battle: Media’s Recontextualization of the Serbian Nationlistic Discourses” in The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 12(3): 67-86. Gotovska-Popova, Todoritchka. 1993. “Nationalism in Post-Communist Eastern Europe” in East European Quarterly 27(2): 171-186. Hansen, Lene. 2000. “Past as Preface: Civilizational Politics and the ‘Third’ Balkan War” in Journal of Peace Research 37(3): 345-362. Kuperman, Alan J. 2008. “The Moral Hazard of Humanitarian Intervention: Lessons from the Balkans” in International Studies Quarterly 52: 49-80.
WEBSITES Southeast European Politics Online: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/ Balkan Academic News: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans/ Serbianna Online (Pro-Serb nationalist website): http://www.serbianna.com/ Transitions Online: www.tol.cz/ International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: http://www.un.org/icty/ Economic Recostruction and Development in Southeastern Europe: http://www.seerecon.org/ Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina: www.ohr.int/ Consortium of Minority Resources: http://lgi.osi.hu/comir/ Council of Europe's Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM): http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/minorities/ The Balkan Human Rights Web Pages: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/index.html Institute for War and Peace Reporting: http://www.iwpr.net/ GFAP, 1995. “General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina” at <http://www.osceBosnia-Herzegovina.org/essentials/pdf/general_framework _agreement_eng.pdf>. |
|
Material Sharing
| MATERIAL SHARING | |
| Documents | |
| Assignments | Written assignments: (1)Review of film for discovery of Balkan themes surrounding conflict. (2) Essay assignment on John Alcock, ‘The Forging of National Identity’ in Explaining Yugoslavia, pp. 311-350; optional paper exploring in greater depth a theme of Balkan politics or society, as suggested and agreed by the lecturer. |
| Exams | Midterm and Final examinations |
Assessment
| ASSESSMENT | ||
| IN-TERM STUDIES | NUMBER | PERCENTAGE |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 40 |
| Assignments | 2 | 20 |
| Total | 60 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE | 40 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE | 60 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Course’s Contribution to Program
| COURSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM | |||||||
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 1 | Students will demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of the basic concepts and theories of Political Science and International Relations as well as other related disciplines such as Law, Economics and Sociology. | X | |||||
| 2 | Students will interpret the structure, institutions and operation of national, international and supranational entities via utilization of the concepts and theories of Political Science and International relations and produce project reports that include possible solutions to problems of such institutions when necessary. | X | |||||
| 3 | Students will demonstrate that they have developed a comparative, analytical and interdisciplinary approach vis-à-vis human societies and political systems. | X | |||||
| 4 | Students will have improved their skills and awareness of personal responsibility and team membership through conducting group or independent research projects, doing internships and producing their graduation dissertations. | X | |||||
| 5 | Students will demonsrate proficiency in quantitative and qualitative data collections methods. | X | |||||
| 6 | Students will prove their understanding of the rapidly-evolving dynamics of national and global environments requires constant self-assessment, life-long learning, and the ability to formulate innovative solutions to maintain their personal and professional development. | X | |||||
| 7 | Students should be able to critically evaluate the body of knowledge in political science, assess self-competency and direct self-learning efforts accordingly. | X | |||||
| 8 | Students will implement written and oral communication skills in English and Turkish in both academic and professional settings. | X | |||||
| 9 | Students should be able to effectively demonstrate their knowledge of written, oral and reading skills in English both in international institutional settings and follow and interpret the global dynamics of the International Relations discipline. | X | |||||
| 10 | Students will demonstrate their social skills and experience required by public or private institutions or in the academia. | X | |||||
| 11 | Students will show empathy and respect towards societies other than one’s own. | X | |||||
| 12 | Students should be able to effectively utilize computer and information technologies commonly-used in the social sciences. | X | |||||
| 13 | Students will interpret domestic and international developments and express opinions, having acquired advanced knowledge and proficiency in the via communication with international scholars and students. | X | |||||
| 14 | Students will respect personal, social and academic ethical norms. | X | |||||
| 15 | Students should understand the personal, social, and ecological dimensions of social responsibility, and show duties of active and global citizenship. | X | |||||
| 16 | Students should know that universality of social-political and legal rights and social justice are the principle components of contemporary society, and that scientific thinking is an essential prerequisite for maintaining social advancement and global competitiveness. | X | |||||
ECTS
| ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION | |||
| Activities | Quantity |
Duration (Hour) |
Total Workload (Hour) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours) | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 16 | 2 | 32 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Presentation | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Final examination | 1 | 23 | 23 |
| Total Work Load | 125 | ||
| Total Work Load / 25 (h) | 5 | ||
| ECTS Credit of the Course | 5 | ||