Back to basics? International engagement and recurring conflict in southeastern Europe

Abstract

With the Ottoman and Habsburg empires caught up in a process of disintegration, the newly independent states of Southeastern Europe embarked on an uphill battle to solidify their territorial integrity, to forge robust political institutions and enhance the cohesiveness of society at large. In the late 19 century and especially the early 20, problems associated with state building were aggravated by the fact that governments of independent Southeast European countries began perceiving their national projects as competitive to those of their neighbors. The powerful dynamic of relationships between majority and minority populations, within and across state borders, was another factor that prolonged the process of creating viable and sovereign states.