HY249 - War, Social Conflict and Nation Building: The History of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in the Twentieth Century 2024/25

For centuries, Eastern and Southeastern Europe constituted borderlands of four competing European empires. The twentieth century finally ushered in self-determination and independence, but tragically, subsequent efforts at nation-state building were beset by political and ideological divisions, social unrest, conflicts, wars and genocide. This course aims to engage students with the complex history of these borderlands, from vassalage under four Empires in nineteenth century Europe to full independence towards the end of the twentieth century, and the lasting legacies. It highlights the extent to which until relatively recently, national, ethnic, cultural and political subjugation were as prevalent in Europe, as in the extra-European world. Through the study of the history of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, this course focuses on phenomena firmly imbedded in modern history. The syllabus will address several themes. First, it will look at the legacies of the pre-First World War imperial rule and the social, economic and political challenges imposed by the post-War settlement. Second, the course will investigate the impact on the region of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the creation of the USSR. Third, the course will examine the significance of the turbulent inter-war period: the causes and consequences of economic crises, the collapse of democratic institutions, and the emergence of fascist and anti-Semitic movements. It will also analyse the responses to German and Italian aggression and occupation during World War II – resistance and collaboration. Four, the Cold War dynamics after the Second World War will be discussed in considerable detail, including the establishment, character and collapse of Soviet domination in the region. The course will explore these themes through the comparative histories of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece and the Baltic States. Final lectures will concentrate on the transition from communism to democratic regimes following the end of the Cold War, and the impact of the post-Cold War international system on the region, including the break-up of Yugoslavia and the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s.