The Macedonian question : Britain and the southern Balkans, 1939-1949 / Dimitris Livanios.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Livanios, Dimitris

Series:

Oxford historical monographs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

Eastern question (Balkan).

History.

Macedonian question.

Macedonia--History--1919-1945.

Macedonia.

Macedonian question--History.

North Macedonia--History.

North Macedonia.

Eastern question (Balkan)--History.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--Balkan Peninsula.

Great Britain.

Balkan Peninsula--Foreign relations--Great Britain.

Balkan Peninsula.

Balkan Peninsula--Foreign relations--20th century.

Physical Description:

xv, 274 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : University Press, 2008.

Summary:

The Macedonian Question-the struggle for control over a territory with historically ill-defined borders and conflicting national identities-is one of the most intractable problems in modern Balkan history. In this lucid and persuasive study, Dimitris Livanios explores the British dimension to the Macedonian Question from the outbreak of the Second World War to the aftermath of the Tito-Stalin split.

Investigating British policy towards the Bulgar-Yugoslav controversy over Macedonia, the author assesses the impact of British actions and strategy during this period, with a particular focus on wartime planning concerning the future of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria and attempts to prevent Tito from creating a federation of the South Slavs both during and after the war. Making extensive use of British archives, Livanios brings to light important documentary evidence to offer a fresh perspective on the emergence of the federal Macedonian unit within Tito's Yugoslavia, and on the efforts to create a functioning Macedonian national ideology.

Contents:

Part I Weaving the Nessus Shirt, 1870-1939

Macedonian Illusions 3

The Balkan 'Nessus Shirt': The Politics of the Macedonian Question, 1870-1939 15

The Discreet Charm of Nationalism: Communism and the Macedonian Question, 1894-1935 30

2 Tampering with the 'Sleeping Dogs': Britain and Macedonia 1878-1935 42

From San Stefano to the Great War, 1878-1918 42

Influence for Moderation: Britain and Macedonia in the Interwar Period 52

Part II Wartime, 1939-1945

3 Chronicle of Failures Foretold: Britain and Bulgar-Yugoslav Relations, 1939-1943 81

The Improbable Rapprochement, 1939-1941 81

'Acres of Paper': Bulgar-Yugoslav Relations in British Wartime Planning, 1941-1943 102

4 The Difficult Withdrawal: Britain and the Bulgarian Army in Yugoslav and Greek Macedonia, September-December 1944 115

The Setting, 1944 115

The Bulgarian Army in Yugoslav Macedonia, 1941-1944 118

Sinister Designs: September-December 1944 127

Percentages Observed: Greek Macedonia, September-October 1944 136

5 Ghost Resurrected: Bulgar-Yugoslav Negotiations for Federation, and the British Response, 1944-1945 142

Ambitions and Realities: Tito's Balkan Policy, 1942-1944 144

Slav Unity at Work, September 1944-February 1945 152

British Attitudes towards Bulgar-Yugoslav Union, April-December 1944 159

British Intervention, December 1944-March 1945 166

Part III From War to Cold War, 1945-1949

6 Between Centralism and Separatism: The Emergence of the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 1944-1948 177

'Bulgarians', 'Macedonians', and Others 177

The Making of the People's Republic of Macedonia, 1944-1948 184

An Ideology that fits the Time: The Function of Macedonian National Ideology in Yugoslav Macedonia, 1944-1948 198

7 Britain and the Macedonian Question, 1945-1949 209

Years of Reassessment: Britain and the Balkans, 1944-1948 209

Britain and the Macedonian Question, 1945-1948 215

Full Circle: The 1948 Split and its Aftermath 234

8 A Loveless, but Necessary, Entanglement 243.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-261) and index.

ISBN:

9780199237685

0199237689

OCLC:

191758334