“Winston Churchill is alleged to have once stated that the Balkans produce more history than they can consume. The events in the region over the last two decades have shown that, on the whole, his (alleged) assessment was correct.
James Pettifer and Miranda Vickers's writings illustrate that the Balkan tendency to churn out excessive history is true particularly in the case of Albania. They record the Albanian nation’s recent „surplus” of history in the two books they have co-authored: Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity (2000) and The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans (2007). The former concentrates on events from 1985 to 1996. The latter catalogues what happened between 1997 and 2006 in Albania and its neighboring territories such as Kosovo and Western Macedonia, where the population is overwhelmingly Albanian.
Anyone with a general and professional interest in Albania and the Balkans would benefit from this meticulously researched book. This study could be useful, especially for Western scholars, politicians and reporters who have made it a habit to use terms such as „the Balkans”, „Balkanize” and „Balkanization” in a derogatory manner and often out of context, or who conveniently ignore that the „insignificant” Balkans and the „unimportant” Albanian nation have often been at the centre of attention of imperial powers. The Balkans will cease being such a „prolific‟ producer of history when regressive forces in the region no longer enjoy the support of the powers which have contributed to past and present Balkan troubles.” - Gëzim Alpion, Department of Sociology, University of Birmingham, Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, Vol. 9, No. 2, August 2007, pp. 204-6
"This pioneering book, by two foremost experts on Albanian affairs…is a brilliant account of key events in recent Balkan history." -- John Phillips, The Tablet
"They are to be congratulated on the objective way in which they have presented the Albanian history of the last ten years" -- Tom Winnifrith, Times Literary Supplement
"Pettifer and Vickers provide a first-class analysis of the always intricate, and at times convoluted, relationships between Albania’s political elites and the ethnic Albanian communities of neighboring countries." -- Gabriel Partos, Transitions Online
"a very detailed account of some aspects of the transition to democracy in Albania and the relationship of Albania to surrounding Balkan states, in particular Serbia and Kosovo." -- John Loughlin, Professor of European Politics at Cardiff University and Senior Associate Member at St. Antony's College, Oxford
"Anyone with a general and professional interest in Albania and the Balkans would benefit from this meticulously researched book." -- Gezim Alpion, JOURNAL OF SOUTHERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS, August 2007
James Pettifer
James Pettifer is a British academic, author and journalist who has specialised in Balkan affairs.
He was born in 1949 in Hereford and was educated at King's School, Worcester, and Hertford College, Oxford.
Pettifer has travelled extensively in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans and he has written several tourist guides to the region, including the Blue Guide to Albania and Kosovo, one of the few such guides to the area. In the media, he has reported mainly for The Times and the Wall Street Journal and he is a regular broadcaster and commentator on the Balkan countries on both radio and television.
His expertise has been employed academically. He was a Senior Associate Member of St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1993 to 1996 and a Visiting Professor in the Institute of Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki) He is currently teaching Balkan history at St Cross College,Oxford and in the Oxford University History Faculty
Личен сайт: http://www.professorjamespettifer.com/
Miranda Vickers
Miranda Vickers is a British historian of the Balkans, writer and analyst of Albanian affairs. She is an author of “Albania: a Modern History” (London 1994) and “Between Serbs and Albanians: a History of Kosovo” (London 1998), and, with co-author James Pettifer, of “Albania: from Anarchy to a Balkan Identity” (London 1996) and “The Albanians: Reshaping the Balkans” (London 2006).
Miranda is a regular contributor to newspapers and periodicals on Albanian affairs.
Допълнителна информация
The Cham Issue: Albanian National and Property Claims in Greece
A small but vocal movement is seeking redress for the massacre and expulsion of Muslim ethnic Albanian inhabitants from Greek territory during the period 1912-45. The Greek government refuses to discuss the issue, which could be fairly easily solved to Greek advantage. Meantime, it is likely to be exploited by both pro- and anti-Albanian elements in the Balkans.
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