Political Systems in the Balkans

Course Information
TitlePolitical Systems in the Balkans / Political Systems in the Balkans
CodeΚΕ0Ε04
FacultySocial and Economic Sciences
SchoolPolitical Sciences
Cycle / Level1st / Undergraduate, 2nd / Postgraduate
Teaching PeriodSpring
CoordinatorVemund Aarbakke
CommonYes
StatusActive
Course ID100001013

Programme of Study: PPS Tmīma Politikṓn Epistīmṓn 2023-sīmera

Registered students: 8
OrientationAttendance TypeSemesterYearECTS
KORMOSElective CoursesSpring-4

Class Information
Academic Year2023 – 2024
Class PeriodSpring
Faculty Instructors
Weekly Hours3
Total Hours39
Class ID
600231417
Course Type 2016-2020
  • Scientific Area
Course Type 2011-2015
Specific Foundation / Core
Mode of Delivery
  • Face to face
Digital Course Content
Erasmus
The course is also offered to exchange programme students.
Language of Instruction
  • Greek (Instruction, Examination)
  • English (Examination)
Learning Outcomes
The student becomes acquainted with general issues related to Balkan political history from the early 19th century until the present within a comparative framework that takes into consideration general international political developments as well as Balkan particularities.
General Competences
  • Retrieve, analyse and synthesise data and information, with the use of necessary technologies
  • Make decisions
  • Work autonomously
  • Work in an international context
  • Work in an interdisciplinary team
  • Be critical and self-critical
  • Advance free, creative and causative thinking
Course Content (Syllabus)
The modern Balkan states have faces many similar challenges since their foundation. They can consequently be viewed as a subsystem in international relations, and it is difficult to understand many aspects of Greek politics without taking into consideration the framework of the wider geographic region. The common traits are maybe more easily discernable in their early phase of development when they had common challenges related to the introduction of Western European models of government and irredentist foreign policies. During the interwar period Greece tried to consolidate its position, but was faced with the twin challenge of a revisionist Bulgaria and the difficulties related to the rise of authoritarian regimes in Europe. WWII marks another round of challenges to the territorial division of the Balkans that ultimately did not change the prewar status. With the advent of Communism the Balkans were divided within the Cold War framework. The bipolar regime was the overriding structure, but with variations because of the fluctuation in bilateral relations, first of all in the relationship with Turkey. After 1990 we encounter a new attempt to unite the Balkans as a periphery of the EU. In this new climate of cooperation it is important to be aware of the peculiarities of the area and their significance for further developments. Finally, the background and consequences of Yugoslavia’s demise will receive its due attention.
Keywords
Balkans, nation building, international relations
Educational Material Types
  • Book
Use of Information and Communication Technologies
Use of ICT
  • Use of ICT in Communication with Students
Course Organization
ActivitiesWorkloadECTSIndividualTeamworkErasmus
Lectures391.4
Reading Assigment401.5
Written assigments311.1
Total1104
Student Assessment
Student Assessment methods
  • Written Exam with Extended Answer Questions (Summative)
Bibliography
Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
Θάνος Bερέµης, Bαλκάνια – από τον 19ο ως τον 21ο αιώνα, ∆όµηση και αποδόµηση κρατών, Πατάκης, Αθήνα 2004. Θάνος Bερέµης, Bαλκάνια - από το διπολισµό στη νέα εποχή, Γνώση, Aθήνα 1995. Zωρζ Kαστελάν, H ιστορία των Bαλκανίων, Γκοβόστης, Aθήνα 1991. Σωτήρης Bαλντέν, H Eλλάδα στα Bαλκάνια και τον κόσµο 1995-2003, Θεµέλιο, Aθήνα 2004. Mark Mazower, Τα Βαλκάνια, Εκδόσεις Πατάκη, Αθήνα 2002 Λευτέρης Σ. Σταυριανός, Τα Βαλκάνια από το 1453 και μετά, Βάνιας, Θεσσαλονίκη 2007
Additional bibliography for study
Aarbakke, Vemund. “Die Region Makedonien” in Oliver Jens Schmitt – Michael Metzeltin (Hg.), Das Südosteuropa der Regionen, Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp. 603-639. Barkey, Karen & Mark Von Hagen. After Empire Multiethnic Societies and Nation-Building The Soviet Union and the Russian, Ottoman and Habsburg Empires, Boulder Co 1997. Exertzoglou, Haris . “Shifting Boundaries: Language Community and the ‘Non-Greek-Speaking Greeks”, Istorein, Athens 1999. pp. 75-92. Gallagher, Tom. The Balkans After the Cold War. From Tyranny to Tragedy. London and New York 2003. Goldschmidt Jr., Arthur & Lawrence Davidson, A Concise History of the Middle East, Boulder Co 2010, (9th Edition). Hupchick, Dennis P. The Balkans From Constantinople to Communism, New York N.Y. 2002. Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans, Volume 1, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press 1983. Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans, Volume 2. Twentieth century. Livanios, Dimitris . “Beyond ‘ethnic cleansing’: aspects of the functioning of violence in the Ottoman and post-Ottoman Balkans,” Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 8, No. 3, September 2008, pp. 189–203. Pearson, Raymond. National Minorities in Eastern Europe 1848–1945. London 1983. Pond, Elizabeth. Endgame in the Balkans Regime Change, European Style, Washington D.C. 2006. Stavrianos, L. S. The Balkans since 1453, New York 1958. Wilkinson, H. R. Maps And Politics, Liverpool 1951. Zurcher, Erik J. Turkey A Modern History, Revised Edition. London 2004.
Last Update
27-09-2022