Hundred years have passed since the Balkan Peninsula witnessed its first wars resulting in the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Both Balkan Wars (1912-1913) started as wars of the Balkan States against the Ottoman domination over these territories and turned into wars of invasion of these territories amongst those states involved. The Balkan Wars had serious consequences on the Balkan nations as well as on the reallocation of its territories.

The expansion of the winning states and the declaration of Albania’s independence are both processes that took place whilst the Ottoman Empire dissolved. In the meanwhile, the Great Powers of European Concert tried to reestablish control of the situation created in Balkans to their best interests.

The intervention methods of the International Community, which had been primarily addressed towards Albania, even though they derived from the mechanism of European Powers, were partially of a very modern nature. Nevertheless, they failed. The autonomous actions of the winning states and their strengthened position led to the destabilization of the situation in the region as well as that of the equilibrium system of European Powers.

The Balkan Wars therefore, prepared part of the way for the First World War and it may be said that for the majority of the Balkan nations the period of wars lasted from 1912 until 1918, in fact, in the case of Greece and Turkey it continued until 1922.

Initially during events of 1912, the strive for an Albanian state was largely neglected in the international and regional context. Later, however, due to the war implications, the international community had to intervene quite often in order to resolve the conflicts.

Conference Details

The International Academic Conference will focus on the developments in the region during 1912-1914 and link them with some lasting aspects of the European perspective of Albania and the Balkans.

The Conference will be held on a three day span between 10-11 June 2013 and will take place at the Tirana International Hotel & Conference Centre – Tirana, Albania.

The Conference is expected to host more than 20 scholars, half of whom will come from Albania and the Albanian speaking areas in the region and the other half from farther abroad.

General topics

1. The Ottoman Empire and the Balkans 1908-1914 – political and identity causes and consequences of the defeat.
2. The Balkans Alliance from victory to dissolution – political and social consequences of victories and defeats.
3. The movement of people and refugees.
4. The interests and policies of European Powers over the Balkans.
5. The consequences of Balkan Wars to the international system in the pre-1914 Europe.
6. The concept and strengthening of nation-states before and after 1912 - nationalism and ethnic conflicts.
7. The developments in Albania – aspects of an international intervention with the “state-building” concept and the consequences that followed.
8. The position of Albanians at the new home country and abroad. The interpretations and the truth about the developments on the war terrain, whether the Balkan Wars were liberation or occupation wars?!

There will be two papers presented on two of the conference days, in the disposition of three-four state officials, or to the chiefs of Albanian diplomacy and the neighboring countries, to address a broader yet selected public opinion. They will present topics such as:
- The process of the Balkan states formation and the featuresof the Albanian state creation.
- Albania and its role in the regional system.
- Regional and Euro-Atlantic integration, as the only way to overcoming hostilities created from the Balkan Wars and beyond.

Timelines

- The Proposals (abstracts plus short CV) need to be submitted until 8 March 2013.
- The selection of the topics and the notification of foreign and local scholars to be finalized till Mid-March 2013.
- The editing and the coordination of topics to be completed by end of March 2013.
- The collection of extracts and their translation from Albanian and German into English and from English and German to Albanian, by April 2013.
- The International Academic Conference to take place on 10 – 11 June 2013.

Language
The languages used in the conference will be Albanian, English and German. The materials in Albanian and German will be translated in English.

Application details
The abstract should comprise of 300-500 words in total. It will include the name of the author, grade and academic title, telephone and facsimile number, email and mail address. Additionally, a short CV needs to be attached.

The deadline of the registration for paper presentations is 8 March 2013. The succeeding registration of the participants and the invitees will be based on confirmation (RSVP).

Conference folder
The conference folder includes the invitations, conference and accommodation programs, and the extracts of the papers in Albanian, German and English languages. The complete papers will be published in a dedicated book in 2014, in Albanian, English and German.

Travel expenses and accomodation
Tirana International Hotel & Conference Centre. The Institute of Southeast European Studies will cover the accommodation, travel and food expenses for the lecturers coming from abroad. These expenses include a three nights stay in town.

Further contact
Dr. Konrad Clewing
Institute for East and Southeast European Studies – Regensburg, Germany.
Tel: + 49 (0) 941-943-5471
Fax: + 49 (0) 941-943-5485
Email: balkanwars@ios-regensburg.de
Website: http://www.ios-regensburg.de

Dr. Enver Bytyçi
Executive Director
Institute of Southeast European Studies – Tirana, Albania
Tel: + 355 (0) 4 222 12 93
Fax: + 355 (0) 4 222 0479
Mob: + 355(0) 67 20 81 919
E-mail: enver.bytyci@ises.org.al
Website: http://www.ises.org.al
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