{"product_id":"founding-a-balkan-state-robert-clegg-austin-9781442644359","title":"Founding a Balkan State: Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFounding a Balkan State\u003c\/em\u003e examines the pivotal period in Albanian history when the country's fundamental goals and directions were most hotly contested. In 1920, liberal Albanian leaders - led by the US-educated Bishop Fan S. Noli - began working to introduce democracy to the country, hoping that it would lead to modernization, prosperity, and overturning the legacy of five hundred years of Ottoman rule. In 1924, these leaders mounted a successful revolution; by 1925, however, their forces were in retreat. Albania soon slid into dictatorship under Ahmed Bey Zogu - first as president, then as self-proclaimed king.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFounding a Balkan State\u003c\/em\u003e provides the only comprehensive assessment in English of these events. Robert C. Austin first delves into the country's weak domestic and international position both before and after the First World War, then assesses the internal and external challenges posed to its state- and nation-building efforts. Austin shrewdly demonstrates how the missed opportunities of Albania's political transition affected the course of Balkan history for decades to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Clegg Austin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1442644354\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781442644359\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/26\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d","brand":"Robert Clegg Austin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065597636863,"sku":"9781442644359","price":64.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_cd8d08f7-8c9e-4b0d-9179-7df22eba781d.jpg?v=1768676030","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/founding-a-balkan-state-robert-clegg-austin-9781442644359","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}