HIB026n Superpowers and the Balkans in the 19th and 20th Century

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Ladislav Hladký, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Ladislav Hladký, CSc.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The lecture series aims at understanding the impact of the Great Powers on the course of political history, and the nature of relations between the Balkan nations, from the onset of the solution of the so-called Eastern Question to nearly the present time. The course focuses especially on the period of the 19th and 20th century.
Learning outcomes
Students who complete the course will be able to distinguish issues in the Balkans caused by the interests of the Great Powers from issues resulting from the tension between the individual Balkan nations and ethnic groups.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction (Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans in the 17th and 18th century; roots of the so-called Eastern Question); 2. Austrian – Turkish wars in the 18th century and the Balkans; 3. Russian – Turkish wars in the 18th and early 19th century and the Balkans;
  • 4. The revolutions of 1848/1849 – reaction in the Balkans; the Crimean War; the Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1878); the Congress of Berlin; the Concert of Europe);
  • 5. The turn of the 19th century in the Balkans (young Balkan states and emerging power blocs in Europe);
  • 6. The Balkans on the eve of World War I (the Macedonian issue; the Balkan wars; the Sarajevo assassination);
  • 7. World War I and the Balkans (course and consequences of the War); 8. The fight over the Balkans between the Great Powers during the interwar period; Fascism in the Balkans;
  • 9. World War II and the Balkans (course of War, consequences for the Balkan region);
  • 10. Post-war sovietization of the Balkans; civil war in Greece;
  • 11. Conflict between Yugoslavia and the USSR; the Trieste problem; Greece and Turkey within the Western power sphere;
  • 12. Dissolution of Yugoslavia and the powers;
  • 13. European Union and the Balkans.
Literature
    required literature
  • VYKOUKAL, Jiří P., Bohuslav LITERA and Miroslav TEJCHMAN. Východ :vznik, vývoj a rozpad sovětského bloku 1944-1989. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2000, 860 s. ISBN 80-85983-82-6. info
  • KINDER, Hermann and Werner HILGERMANN. Encyklopedický atlas světových dějin : mapy a chronologický přehled. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 1998, 628 s. : m. ISBN 80-7106-243-X. info
  • DRŠKA, Václav, Aleš SKŘIVAN and František STELLNER. Kapitoly z dějin mezinárodních vztahů 1648-1914. Praha: Institut pro středoevropskou kulturu a politiku, 1994, 217 s. ISBN 80-85241-57-9. info
  • MORAVCOVÁ, Dagmar, Pavel BĚLINA and Marek PEČENKA. Kapitoly z dějin mezinárodních vztahů 1914-1941. Praha: Institut pro středoevropskou kulturu a politiku, 1994, 133 s. ISBN 80-85241-70-6. info
    recommended literature
  • Prekolonialismus, kolonialismus a postkolonialismus : impéria a ti ostatní ve východní a jihovýchodní Evropě. Edited by Stanislav Tumis - Hanuš Nykl. Vydání první. Praha: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, 2015, 243 stran. ISBN 9788073085827. info
  • TEJCHMAN, Miroslav. Balkán ve válce a v revoluci : 1939-1945. 1. vyd. Praha: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, nakladatelství Karolinum, 2008, 768 s. ISBN 9788024613741. info
  • HLADKÝ, Ladislav. Bosenská otázka v 19. a 20. století. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně, 2005, 388 s. ISBN 8021036745. info
  • GLENNY, Misha. Balkán, 1804-1999 : nacionalismus, válka a velmoci. Translated by Olga Kovářová - Martin Kovář. 1. vyd. v českém jazyce. Praha: BB art, 2003, 547 s. ISBN 8072579762. info
  • SKŘIVAN, Aleš. Císařská politika : Rakousko-Uhersko a Německo v evropské politice v letech 1906-1914. Vyd. 1. Praha: Karolinum, 1996, 373 s. ISBN 8071840815. info
Teaching methods
The course is conducted in the form of a lecture.
Assessment methods
The course is conducted in the form of a lecture, ended by a “kolokvium”. Students will successfully pass the class by attending at least two thirds of all lectures and by demonstrating solid knowledge of the issues studied in class.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/HIB026n