Jivko
Some of the most compelling arguments against your line of thinking come
from your own posts - the identity with 'Bulgarian', the wish to attribute
the cradle of civilisation to the 'Balkans', and the claim that 'we' in the
'west' appropriated from 'there' and then imposed its 'own' notions back.
Some of the claims you make may well be 'true', and I'm certainly not trying
to act as an apologist for Western treatment or attitudes. I think your
chronology of when the Balkans was 'free' is off, but i don't dispute that
Western involvement in the breakup and repartition of the region at the
collapse of the empires was detrimental. I'm unconvinced that nationalism
would not have taken root anyway. I'm not at all convinced that Foucault's
claim 'we are not Greeks' supports your claims...
You point about the sermons doesn't fit with the Mazower point. The people
in question could understand both Greek and Bulgarian, the 'nationalist' was
claiming they should be in Bulgarian by right, not need. Once again, you're
missing the point.
Stuart
Some of the most compelling arguments against your line of thinking come
from your own posts - the identity with 'Bulgarian', the wish to attribute
the cradle of civilisation to the 'Balkans', and the claim that 'we' in the
'west' appropriated from 'there' and then imposed its 'own' notions back.
Some of the claims you make may well be 'true', and I'm certainly not trying
to act as an apologist for Western treatment or attitudes. I think your
chronology of when the Balkans was 'free' is off, but i don't dispute that
Western involvement in the breakup and repartition of the region at the
collapse of the empires was detrimental. I'm unconvinced that nationalism
would not have taken root anyway. I'm not at all convinced that Foucault's
claim 'we are not Greeks' supports your claims...
You point about the sermons doesn't fit with the Mazower point. The people
in question could understand both Greek and Bulgarian, the 'nationalist' was
claiming they should be in Bulgarian by right, not need. Once again, you're
missing the point.
Stuart