Contested Borders: Territorialization, National Identity and «Imagined Geographies» in Albania (Nationalisms across the Globe)

Description

This book argues that power struggles between internal and diasporic elites play a central role in the development of political agendas that have the potential to shift national borders. The author uses Albania as the primary case study, examining how the understanding of the Albanian nation has taken on varying geographical borders over time and why different Albanian communities have often had differing perceptions of the borders of the nation. On the basis of this case study, the author constructs a theoretical model that captures the dynamic of domestic versus international constraints on elite choices and analyses how this leads to the (re)construction of borders. The book explores the way in which competing elites manipulate national symbols to create the necessary environment for personal political gain, using both expansionist and contractionist versions of «virtual» borders that may or may not be congruent with internationally recognized borders. Cover Contents List of Tables List of Maps Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1: Delineating the Playing Field: Virtual Borders and Imagined Geographies 1.1 Focus of the Study 1.2 The Puzzle of Shifting Borders in the National Imagination 1.3 Elite Clashes and International Constraints in Determining Border Shifts 1.4 Importance of the Study 1.5 Tracking Causes and Variables 1.6 Plan of the Book Chapter 2: Boundary Mapping and Territorialization of Identity 2.1 Existing Theories of Nationalism and How They Explain Borders 2.2 A Theoretical Framework of Virtual Border Shifts 2.3 Delineating Borders in Nationalist Discourse and a Nation’s Mental Mapping 2.4 The Two Overlapping Maps of the Albanian Nation 2.4.1 External Constraints During the Mapping of Virtual Borders 2.4.2 Domestic Political Competition and (Re)drawing of the National Map Chapter 3: From Nation-Building to State Formation: How Virtual Mapping Intersected with Recognized Borders in the Albanian Imagination 3.1 Albanian Identity Construction and How It Mapped onto Territory Pre-1880 3.2 The Map Resulting from Albanian Elite Struggles During the Years 1878–1899 and 1911–1912: Hypotheses and Predictions 3.3 The Mapping of Albanian Boundaries From the League of Prizren to Independence 3.4 Great Powers Geopolitics and Its Effect on Shaping the Newly Created Albania’s Borders: Shifts from 1912 to 1917 3.5 Elite Struggles, Ethnic Underbidding and Map Contraction from 1912 to 1917 3.6 National Borders as Perceived by the Masses on Both Sides of the Border from 1878 to the First World War 3.7 Elite Struggles, Ethnic Underbidding and Map Contraction from 1912 to the First World War Among the Albanian Elite Chapter 4: The Interwar Period and the Shifting of Virtual Borders at Elite and Mass Level in Albania and Abroad: From Contractionary to Expansionary and Vice-Versa 4.1 External Constraints on the Albanians in the Interwar Years and the Effects on Map Weaving 4.2 Elite Struggles and the Outcome for the Albanian Map in the Interwar Period 4.3 Imagined National Borders: “Bottom-Up” Changes in Map Perception in the Interwar Period 4.4 The Imagined Nation Among the Ethnic Kin: The Expansionary Map in Kosovo in the Interwar Period 4.5 Conclusion Chapter 5: From “Greater Albania” During the Second World War to Contractionary Borders in the Communist Era 5.1 Direct International Intervention During the Second World War and the Redrawing of the Map to Create “Greater Albania” 5.2 Elite Struggles and the Irredentist Outcome 5.3 Principal Map Shifts During the Early Communist Period in Albania and Their Impact on Visualizing the Nation’s Borders 5.4 Consolidation of National Communism in Albania and Its Effects on the Imagined Map and the Visualization of Borders 5.5 Perception of Borders Among Ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia During the Communist Era 5.5.1 Vernacular Education and Nationalizing Textbooks Causing Shifts in Perception of Virtual Borders Among Ethnic Albanians in Yugoslavia 5.6 Mass Media in Albania and Its Role in (Re)shaping Mental Boundaries on Both Sides of the State Border During the Communist Era 5.7 Ideologizing History to Create a Perennial Map: Instrumental Use of a National Hero in Textbooks and How It Has Impacted Virtual Border Shifts Chapter 6: Reimagining Territorial Landscape and Mental Borders in the Post-Communist and Democratic Transition Era Introduction 6.1 Competing Elite Projects on National Boundaries in Albania during Democratic Transition 6.2 External Constraints on Albanian Transition and the Resulting National Map 6.3 Map-Shaping Political Projects Among the Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia 6.3.1 The Albanians of Kosovo and Their Shifting Stance Toward Albania in 1990s: A View From Below 6.4 Alternative Map Configuration and Virtual Borders Seen From Below: Kosovo and the Other Albanian-Speaking Regions in Albania’s Textbooks During the 1990s 6.5 Mass Media and Its Role in (Re)shaping Mental Boundaries on Both Sides of the State Border in the Post-Communist Period 6.5.1 Recent Debate on the Shaping of Territorial Identity in Albania, Kosovo and Amongst the Albanian Community in Macedonia 6.6 Virtual Borders as Imagined by the Masses on Both Sides of the State Border in the Post-Communist Period Conclusion References Index