Geography and Nationalist Visions of Interwar Yugoslavia

This book is the first historical work to examine the notion of national territories in Yugoslavia a concept fundamental for the understanding of Yugoslav history. Exploring the intertwined histories of geography as an emerging discipline in the South Slavic lands and geographical works describing interwar Yugoslavia, the book focuses on the engagement of geographers in the on-going political conflict over the national question. Duani shows that geographers were uniquely equipped to address the creation of the new country and the numerous problems it faced, as they provided accounts of Yugoslavia's past, present, and even future, all of which were understood as inherently embedded in geography. By analyzing a large body of geographical narratives on the Yugoslav state, the book follows both the attempts to naturalize and present Yugoslavia as a sustainable political and cultural unit, as well as the attempts to challenge its existence by pointing to unresolvable, geographically conditioned tensions within it. The book approaches geographical discourse in Yugoslavia as part of a wider European scientific network, pointing to similarities and specifically Yugoslav characteristics.

Examines the notion of national territories in Yugoslavia Explores the intertwined histories of geography as an emerging discipline in the South Slavic lands Approaches geographical discourse in Yugoslavia as part of a wider European scientific network

Auteur

Vedran Duan i is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Résumé
"Vedran Duancic monograph represents a very significant and important contribution to investigating nation building processes in their connection with geographical knowledge, related to the context of South Slavic regions. ... The book would have benefitted from a broader archival investigation of primary sources ... as well as a deeper comparison with Italian geographical works and intellectual figures. ... the book is a very rich contribution to the debate on histories of geographies and their involvement in nation building processes." (Matteo Proto, Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, Vol. 71 (1), 2022)

Contenu

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The Emerging Geographical Network In Yugoslavia.- Chapter 3: Jovan Cviji And The Anthropogeography Of The Balkans.- Chapter 4: Geographical Narration Of Yugoslavia After 1918.- Chapter 5: Geopolitical Visions Of Yugoslavia.- Chapter 6: The Fight of Filip Lukas Against Yugoslavia.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.