The international scientific conference “Thinking Balkan Borderlands: Violence, Conflicts, Cooperation was held in Devin and Koper between 26 and 28 June 2014. The main goal was to discuss the selected case studies on border areas of Western Balkans from different perspectives (political, social, cultural and economic) divided in three temporal frameworks: from the Balkan Wars to World War II (1912–1939); from World War II to the Breakup of Yugoslavia (1939–1991); from the Breakup of Yugoslavia to the present days. At the conference, 19 historians from Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Russia and the USA presented their latest research into Balkan border regions. The most important result of the Conference has been an outstanding debate on the questions of the borderlands conflicts between the states in Central and Southeastern Europe, which are despite the ongoing European integration processes still under the influence of historical traumas, incomprehension and conflicts. The excursion on the remnants of the Isonzo Front in Slovenia and Italy with an aim to present sites of memory in the former Austrian-Italian and present Slovenian-Italian border was also carried out.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536562884The workshop at the National University “I. Mechnikov" of Odessa was devoted to the comparison between the two transnational regions of north Adriatic sea and the Odessa area. It showed similarities and differences in terms of their multiethnical identity, historical process and economic activity based around their traditional role of port regions.
B.05 Guest lecturer at an institute/university
COBISS.SI-ID: 2225363Jože Pirjevec presented history of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and discussed about its current status as well. He found out that it did not succeed its mission from the time, when it was established. ICTY has not become moral entity, which should express position of international community towards war crimes committed not only on the Balkans, but also elsewhere. He underlined the problem of its inefficiency and dependence on Western Powers. In this sense it lost its decisive influence in the process of resolving conflicts in modern World.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 1536313028At the international scientific conference Socialism on the bench: socialism: construction and deconstruction (Pula, 1. 10. – 3. 10. 2015), Miha Kosmač had a presentation on the topic of attitude of various levels of Yugoslav authorities towards population migrations from Istria and the Slovene Littoral between 1945 and 1948. Postwar migrations have had great influence on the border demarcation in Slovene-Italian borderland, especially in the time of preparations for the Paris peace conference. Based on archival material author analyzes until recently lesser-known events related to the different kinds of irregularities made by Yugoslav authorities towards the local population. Pro-Italian organizations and propaganda tried to use this fact as an advantage for Italy during the postwar demarcation negotiation.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 1537992644During the interwar period, majority of Slovenian and Croatian refugees from Italian new province of Julian March (Venezia Giulia) immigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Because of the Fascist policy of forced assimilation (“snazionalizzazione”) of minorities and silence of the Holy See in this regard, as well as strong anti-Catholic propaganda from the side of Yugoslav authorities, the critical sentiment towards the Catholic Church arose among the immigrants from Venezia Giulia, which resulted also in conversions to Serbian Orthodox Church. The latter was considered a religion in line with the ideology of Yugoslavism. Due to lack of historical sources, the focus is on two cases: colony of Littoral Slovenes in Bistrenica in Macedonia, where nearly half of the people converted voluntarily or involuntarily, and the Serbian Orthodox community in Celje. In this Slovenian town very high percentage of Slovenian converts were immigrants.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 1537665988