The Shaken Lands
Violence and the Crisis of Governance in East Central Europe, 19141923
Tomas Balkelis editor Andrea Griffante editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Academic Studies Press
Published:4th May '23
Should be back in stock very soon

The volume focuses on violence during the breakdown of East Central European states brought by one of the most violent periods in modern European history: from the start of the Great War in 1914 until 1923 when Europe, finally, achieved peace after a series of civil conflicts and interstate wars. The contributors offer several case studies that cover the vast region stretching from the Baltic states to Hungary. They explore different types of violence against its civilian populations with a particular focus on communal violence committed by civilians onto their neighbors. They suggest that disintegration of state power brought by the Great War was a key condition that produced violence. Yet the process of post-WWI state building was equally or more violent as nascent East Central European states institutionalized the use of violence to achieve their political agendas.
“The Shaken Lands offers a valuable contribution to a growing body of literature that paints a much darker picture of these times, bringing into focus violence, mass population displacement and extreme economic hardship. In this regard, The Shaken Lands lays the groundwork for more nuanced, and possibly more hopeful, histories of the region.” — Vaida Niksaite, Cahiers d'histoire russe, est-européenne, caucasienne et centrasiatique
“The edited volume succeeds in portraying a multiethnic region in turmoil, with violence in its various forms remaining its central factor. The authors contribute to a better understanding of the interconnectedness of violence during the ‘Greater War’ in East Central Europe and ‘the multifaceted nature of its forgotten cruelty.’” — Karsten Brügemann, Ab Imperio
“East Central Europe was transformed by war, revolution, and the birth of nation-states after the First World War. The Shaken Lands excels by examining 1914 to 1923 as an interconnected ‘Greater War’. Combining conceptual insights with solid case studies, it suggests both national comparisons and transnational overviews of the manifold violence that shaped the entire region, including the Baltic states. It is an indispensable study in this rapidly emerging field.” — John Horne, emeritus Professor of History, Trinity College Dublin
“Based on the latest scholarship and written by some of the leading historians in the field, this volume makes an outstanding contribution to a better understanding of one of the most violent periods in modern European history and the deeper historical origins of present-day conflicts such as Russia’s current war against Ukraine.” — Prof. Robert Gerwarth, University College Dublin
ISBN: 9798887191737
Dimensions: 233mm x 155mm x 15mm
Weight: 539g
258 pages