Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country
by John R. Lampe
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Yugoslavia as History is the first book to trace the bloody demise of the former Yugoslavia through its history and its earliest roots. A Yugoslav idea had already emerged before the First World War, and it led to two states called Yugoslavia, between 1918 and 1941, and from 1945 until 1991. This book examines the origins of that idea among the related but separate peoples who have populated the region over the last 1,000 years, drawing out the connections this story has with the violent end show more of Tito's Yugoslavia in 1991. The author follows these peoples, their institutions and ideas from their earliest interaction, into the two World Wars and the states which resulted from them, detailing the tortuous search for political and economic viability which characterised Yugoslavian statehood. Accessible and authoritative, this book provides a unique insight into the origins of the tragedy that has overtaken the region. show lessTags
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John Lampe wrote to explain Balkan events to westerners. However, Lampe tightened the scope of his work to geographical region of Yugoslavia. His purpose was narrow, yet ambitious: to account for Yugoslavia and its successor states. Lampe arranged his material chronologically with subdivisions which focused on specific areas or groups. He provided an introductory chapter that capsulated the thousand years before 1800. Lampe is professor of history with a specialization in economics. Lampe did not limit himself to military and political events; he offered economic statistics on banking, trade, industry and agriculture, as well as tables of literacy rates, voting patterns, ethnic migra-tion and mortality rates to round out his examination show more of Yugoslavian life. Lampe’s approach seemed, if not of the Annales school, then at least reminiscent of the cliometric variety.
Lampe contended that the horrors of aftermath of Yugoslavia’s dissolution could be rationally explained by examining relatively recent events rather than relying on “the region’s ‘age-old antagonisms’Â?. He implied that western writers found it more convenient to use this over-simplified explanation and furthermore, that they would abandon it for an equally simplistic, opposite account when that suited their purposes. Although he did not voice the idea as specifically as Misch Glenny in _The Balkans_, Lampe indicated that great powers tended to view Yugoslavia as it suited their needs. The interaction of the great powers and Yugoslavia tended to be expressed in terms of how Yugoslavia could benefit the external powers more than vice versa.
Lampe emphasized two main points. The first point was that western politicians and analysts were apt to misunderstand and underestimate the Balkans and the regionâÂÂs importance. Second, the great powers framed their stance on Balkan affairs in their own, usually over-simplified, terms with little regard to the needs of the Balkan people or to the facts of the matter. show less
Lampe contended that the horrors of aftermath of Yugoslavia’s dissolution could be rationally explained by examining relatively recent events rather than relying on “the region’s ‘age-old antagonisms’Â?. He implied that western writers found it more convenient to use this over-simplified explanation and furthermore, that they would abandon it for an equally simplistic, opposite account when that suited their purposes. Although he did not voice the idea as specifically as Misch Glenny in _The Balkans_, Lampe indicated that great powers tended to view Yugoslavia as it suited their needs. The interaction of the great powers and Yugoslavia tended to be expressed in terms of how Yugoslavia could benefit the external powers more than vice versa.
Lampe emphasized two main points. The first point was that western politicians and analysts were apt to misunderstand and underestimate the Balkans and the regionâÂÂs importance. Second, the great powers framed their stance on Balkan affairs in their own, usually over-simplified, terms with little regard to the needs of the Balkan people or to the facts of the matter. show less
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Author Information
8 Works 123 Members
John Lampe is Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country
- Original publication date
- 1996 (1st edition ∙ Cambridge ∙ New York ∙ Cambridge University Press) (1st edition ∙ Cambridge ∙ New York ∙ Cambridge University Press); 2000-03-28 (2nd edition ∙ Cambridge ∙ New York ∙ Cambridge University Press) (2nd edition ∙ Cambridge ∙ New York ∙ Cambridge University Press)
- Important places
- Yugoslavia
- Disambiguation notice
- Full title (1996): Yugoslavia as history : twice there was a country / John R. Lampe
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 949.7 — History & geography History of Europe Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria Former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina ∙ Croatia ∙ Kosovo ∙ Montenegro ∙ Macedonia ∙ Serbia ∙ Slovenia) [formerly also Bulgaria]
- LCC
- DR1246 .L36 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Balkan Peninsula History of Balkan Peninsula Yugoslavia History General
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 80
- Popularity
- 397,898
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.20)
- Languages
- Chinese, English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
