ABSTRACT

In a brief chapter, one can no more than identify key topics related to the larger subject of urban power in the nineteenth-century Balkans.1 Unlike the advanced field of British urban studies, for example, there is less scholarship one could build on to discuss the urban history of the Balkans. As for the history of urban power and urban elites in this region, one might say the field is still in its fledgling stage. The nineteenth century in particular has been considered transitional, and attention has been concentrated on issues of state-and nation building. Attempting to address more than one country does not make the task easier. Despite possible limitations, this is a worthwhile challenge, and rather than an elaborate discussion, my goal is to present some ideas, illustrated by some appropriate cases. These examples should provide a comparative perspective on the Balkans and begin to answer the question whether belonging to a specific state unit matters in regard to local (urban) government. Additionally, the essay will consider whether the Balkans differ from other European countries and if so, in what respect? Nineteenth-century Balkans: some introductory remarks The nineteenth century was not only the period in which the political map of the modern Balkans emerged, but also a time marked by the struggle with modernisation, within both the Ottoman Empire and the newly established Balkan states. The route to modernity for all Balkan societies was emphatically difficult and explains my use of the word ‘struggle’. Most of the difficulties evolved from the fact that tasks of state-and nation-building took precedence over efforts of economic modernisation. This pattern of Balkan

1 I use ‘Balkans’ not as a geographical or political designation but as a useful

term for all lands that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, regardless of their exact

modernisation created an imbalance between westernised institutions and ideas and traditional social structures, behaviour and mentalities. In western societies, social mobility conditions the individual who is ‘distinguished by a high capacity for identification with new aspects of his environment’ and able ‘to incorporate new demands upon himself that arise outside of his habitual experience’. This ‘mobile person’ was missing in most Balkan societies and presented one of the main obstacles to modernity.2 Balkan peoples clearly felt more comfortable interacting with acquaintances in familiar situations. In contrast, the adjustment to a new socio-cultural context and the acquiring of control over an unfamiliar environment required the abandonment of traditional customs and values.3 Obviously, Balkan modernisation was a major transition that required significant time.