B ritain, Balkan Conflicts and the Evolving Conceptions of Militarism, 1875–1913
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9879140 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mika Suonpää (0000-0002-4281-2168, University of Turku, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 337 |
| Pages | 632-651 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-2648 • E-ISSN: 1468-229X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1468-229x.12072 |
| OpenAlex | W1928035492 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 42 |
This study explores official B ritish perceptions of Balkan soldiers and armed forces against the background of evolving theories of militarism from the 1870s until 1913. The article is based on research on reports of B ritish intelligence agents, the B ritish W ar O ffice and the F oreign O ffice on Balkan armies and military exercises. These primary sources have hitherto remained unexploited in the historiography examining B ritish images of the Balkans. B ritish perceptions of Serbian and Montenegrin armies and soldiers remained relatively static until the early twentieth century. Through most of the period in focus here, they were regarded as untrained gangs of peasants incapable of engaging in armed conflict with advanced militaries. This perception began to change during the Balkan Wars as a consequence of the Serbian army's satisfactory performance. B ritish images of Bulgarian soldiers and military traits were much more complex. In the late 1870s, they were represented as a submissive race; in the 1880s as masculine and obedient fighters; in the 1890s as militaristic; and on the eve of the Balkan Wars as a non‐expansionist nation of peasants. B ritish officials' views were usually firmly rooted in personal observations and reflected the increasing emphasis on empiricism in intelligence gathering. Moreover, at the same time, racial theories and codes of masculinity influenced their opinions, as did preconceptions about Balkan social, religious and cultural realities
Bulgarian · Expansionism · Historiography · Masculinity · Militarism · Political science · Politics · Serbian · Sociology · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
Spies in Arabia
Ecological Imperialism
A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire
Europe Evropa
Bulgarian Society in the Early 19th Century
History of the Balkans
The Making of Israeli Militarism
In the Wake of the Balkan Myth
The Balkan Wars 1912-1913
Imagining the Balkans
The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913
The Sword of the Sultan
"A Peasant Mob"
British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918
Sir Walter Scott and the Medieval Revival
Inventing Race
From the Eastern Question to the Death of General Gordon
The Vision of Soldiers
Frustrated Great Gamesmanship
Raising Frankenstein
The Ottoman Empire, The Great Powers and the Straits Question, 1870-1887
Liberalism and nationalism in the Middle East
Western Attitudes to War in the Balkans and the Shifting Meanings of Violence, 1912–91
The Making of Israeli Militarism
The Martial Spirit
IV. Sir Charles MacGregor and the Defence of India,1857–1887
Herbert Spencer's Optimum Development Path
Militarism. The History of an International Debate, 1861-1979
Britain's Secret Intelligence Service in Asia During the Second World War
Bravest of the Brave
British Perceptions of the Russian Threat to India
The Habitual Nobility of Being
The Untouchable Soldier
An Identity of Opinion
Ethnic Group Recruitment in the Indian Army
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |