Monograph by Panagiotis Delis
Notions of Violence and Ethnic Cleansing on the Eve of the First World War The Balkan Wars of 1912-13, 2023
This book examines patterns of behavior during an era of mass brutality by analyzing, in a trans... more This book examines patterns of behavior during an era of mass brutality by analyzing, in a transnational context, mechanisms of violence and ethnic cleansing in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13. The main goal is to incorporate these conflicts into the broader discussion of the Greater War (1917–1923), thereby challenging western, Eurocentric dominance of historiography about the First World War. In contrast to earlier works of the political, diplomatic, and military history of the Balkan Wars, this book deals with what took place behind the front lines. Panagiotis Delis explores interactions between the regular army, irregulars, and local civilians, and discusses how the collective experience of war generated an undeclared ‘war on the sidelines’.
Papers by Panagiotis Delis
Études balkaniques, 2024
State formation has received serious attention in the literature on modern Greece yet some certai... more State formation has received serious attention in the literature on modern Greece yet some certain parameters of state transformation remain overlooked. One of them is the expansion of the security capacity of the state in a wartime period and particularly the mechanisms associated with internment and captivity. This article uses as a case study the Balkan Wars of 1912 and shows how a state of emergency brought by military conflict and the need to settle, monitor, and control thousands of prisoners of wars and "unreliable" civilians forced the state to expand its bureaucratic machinery and thus strengthen its coercive capabilities. As will be explained, in 1912-13, the Greek state faced an impending crisis. The masses of prisoners of war that arrived in Greece created security concerns for an administrative mechanism that was not at the time capable of dealing with these kinds of challenges. Likewise, the need to monitor "dangerous" ethnic groups in the newly conquered lands enhanced this threat and added further pressures on the Greek bureaucratic machinery. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, this security crisis provided an opportunity for state expansion.
In 1899 and 1907, international conventions providing for more humane treatment of prisoners of w... more In 1899 and 1907, international conventions providing for more humane treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) were signed at The Hague. But these new international norms seem to have done little to alleviate the mistreatment of POWs in the Balkan Wars in southeastern Europe in 1912–13. This article seeks to explain why this occurred by using the treatment of Ottoman and Bulgarian POWs held by the Greeks in the 1912–13 wars as a test case. Two intermingled factors seem to have led to the violation of the Hague Conventions: the inability of economically strapped Greece to cope successfully with such an urgent humanitarian situation and the negative stereotypes of the enemy, which were enhanced by combat brutalization. The participants in the two Balkan wars appropriated long extant European stereotypes of Balkan peoples as backward and uncivilized and applied them to their opponents.
A number of studies have approached violence against civilians during the Balkan Wars as a tradit... more A number of studies have approached violence against civilians during the Balkan Wars as a traditional example of ethnic cleansing. Although ethnic cleansing was present during these conflicts, it presented some distinctive characteristics. The shifting of boundaries between what was considered criminal behaviour provided an opportunity for a variety of groups to apply violence for several reasons. Thus, the investigation of the role of combatants and their incentives for committing violent acts should be conducted in conjunction with the agency of the local people. As argued in this article, the main reason for the extended level of violence against civilians was the combination of two historical occurrences. These were the brutalization from the experience of combat and the recent historical background of Rumeli.
The British intervention in December 1944 represents a major turning point in Greek history. The ... more The British intervention in December 1944 represents a major turning point in Greek history. The forces of EAM-ELAS suffered a severe blow in the streets of the capital, and their loss had significant consequences. The military defeat of the Left consolidated the anticommunist camp and exacerbated the polarization of Greek society and political life. During the December events, a bloody wave of retributive violence occurred that undoubtedly had its roots in the Axis occupation and the clashes that took place between the main resistance organizations and the state's security forces. Nevertheless, as this paper argues, these confrontations were not the only factors that produced the destructive cycle of violence that took place during the December events. Urban guerilla warfare played a critical role in the conflict, and an analysis of the battlefield can shed new light on certain developments during this crucial period. A series of military decisions taken during the counterinsurgency operation within the context of a civil war radicalized those involved and led eventually to a bloodbath.
Conference Presentations by Panagiotis Delis
Το συνέδριο εστιάζει στην ιστορία των ένστολων σωμάτων στην Ελλάδα από την Απελευθέρωση και το τέ... more Το συνέδριο εστιάζει στην ιστορία των ένστολων σωμάτων στην Ελλάδα από την Απελευθέρωση και το τέλος του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου ως σήμερα. Ως ένστολα σώματα γίνονται αντιληπτές πρωτίστως οι ένοπλες δυνάμεις και τα σώματα ασφαλείας κατά τον 20ο και 21ο αιώνα, τόσο στις πιο παραδοσιακές εκφάνσεις τους (πεζικό, αεροπορία, ναυτικό, χωροφυλακή, αστυνομία πόλεων, ελληνική αστυνομία), όσο και στις πιο καινοτόμες (τροχαία, λιμενικό, άμεση δράση, κτλ.). Ενώ ο στρατός και εν μέρει οι αστυνομικές δυνάμεις έχουν μελετηθεί από πολιτική και θεσμική άποψη, πολύ λιγότερο έχουν εξεταστεί τα παραπάνω σώματα υπό το πρίσμα της κοινωνικής ιστορίας και της ιστορικής κοινωνιολογίας. Κρίσιμες παράμετροι όπως η εσωτερική τους ιστορία, η εκπαίδευσή τους και εν γένει η κοινωνική τους συγκρότηση παραμένουν εν πολλοίς άγνωστες. Η δράση τους ως ευρύτερων κοινωνικών θεσμών και όχι μόνον ως τμημάτων του κρατικού κατασταλτικού μηχανισμού συνεχίζει να είναι εξίσου αφώτιστη.
Το συγκεκριμένο συνέδριο επιχειρεί να φωτίσει τις παραπάνω πτυχές και να χαράξει μια εκ τον ένδον ιστορία των ενστόλων. Οι τρόποι με τους οποίους οι παραπάνω δομούν το μικρόκοσμο τους και αλληλοεπιδρούν με την κοινωνία τίθενται στο επίκεντρο της διερεύνησης μας. Ιδιαίτερα μας ενδιαφέρει το ζήτημα της μεταπολεμικής κοινωνικής κινητικότητας σε σχέση με τα ένστολα σώματα, και οι τρόποι με τους οποίους η στελέχωση των σωμάτων αυτών σχετιζόταν με ατομικές και συλλογικές στρατηγικές κοινωνικής ανέλιξης. Το συνέδριο αντιλαμβάνεται αυτά τα ζητήματα τόσο από μια ιστορική όσο και από μια σύγχρονη οπτική και γι’ αυτό εξετάζει την περίοδο από το 1944 μέχρι σήμερα με όλες τις ιστορικές και κοινωνικές τομές που αυτή συνεπάγεται.
When soldiers met the locals: the Balkan Wars as a contact zone among
combatants and non-combatants.
The Treatment of War Prisoners in Greece during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.
Book Reviews by Panagiotis Delis
Newspaper articles by Panagiotis Delis
Talks by Panagiotis Delis
Analyzing violence in the Balkans has been a very challenging task for scholars. Nationalist hist... more Analyzing violence in the Balkans has been a very challenging task for scholars. Nationalist historiographies in the past placed in the center of their problematic the formation of the nation-state. Undoubtedly, these kinds of studies have managed to shed light to a lot of significant themes on the history of the peninsula such as the development of the irredentist programs of the Balkan states and the perceptions of contemporary intellectuals on national integration.
However, this approach inevitably left in the margin non state actors and the different dynamics that were generated from bellow, while at the same time it limited the scope of analysis by focusing explicitly on the actions of one nation and not its interactions in a wider regional framework. Thus, the aim of this presentation is to briefly outline the main benefits and drawbacks of this historical interpretation by using the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 as a case study.
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Monograph by Panagiotis Delis
Papers by Panagiotis Delis
Conference Presentations by Panagiotis Delis
Το συγκεκριμένο συνέδριο επιχειρεί να φωτίσει τις παραπάνω πτυχές και να χαράξει μια εκ τον ένδον ιστορία των ενστόλων. Οι τρόποι με τους οποίους οι παραπάνω δομούν το μικρόκοσμο τους και αλληλοεπιδρούν με την κοινωνία τίθενται στο επίκεντρο της διερεύνησης μας. Ιδιαίτερα μας ενδιαφέρει το ζήτημα της μεταπολεμικής κοινωνικής κινητικότητας σε σχέση με τα ένστολα σώματα, και οι τρόποι με τους οποίους η στελέχωση των σωμάτων αυτών σχετιζόταν με ατομικές και συλλογικές στρατηγικές κοινωνικής ανέλιξης. Το συνέδριο αντιλαμβάνεται αυτά τα ζητήματα τόσο από μια ιστορική όσο και από μια σύγχρονη οπτική και γι’ αυτό εξετάζει την περίοδο από το 1944 μέχρι σήμερα με όλες τις ιστορικές και κοινωνικές τομές που αυτή συνεπάγεται.
Book Reviews by Panagiotis Delis
Newspaper articles by Panagiotis Delis
Talks by Panagiotis Delis
However, this approach inevitably left in the margin non state actors and the different dynamics that were generated from bellow, while at the same time it limited the scope of analysis by focusing explicitly on the actions of one nation and not its interactions in a wider regional framework. Thus, the aim of this presentation is to briefly outline the main benefits and drawbacks of this historical interpretation by using the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 as a case study.
Το συγκεκριμένο συνέδριο επιχειρεί να φωτίσει τις παραπάνω πτυχές και να χαράξει μια εκ τον ένδον ιστορία των ενστόλων. Οι τρόποι με τους οποίους οι παραπάνω δομούν το μικρόκοσμο τους και αλληλοεπιδρούν με την κοινωνία τίθενται στο επίκεντρο της διερεύνησης μας. Ιδιαίτερα μας ενδιαφέρει το ζήτημα της μεταπολεμικής κοινωνικής κινητικότητας σε σχέση με τα ένστολα σώματα, και οι τρόποι με τους οποίους η στελέχωση των σωμάτων αυτών σχετιζόταν με ατομικές και συλλογικές στρατηγικές κοινωνικής ανέλιξης. Το συνέδριο αντιλαμβάνεται αυτά τα ζητήματα τόσο από μια ιστορική όσο και από μια σύγχρονη οπτική και γι’ αυτό εξετάζει την περίοδο από το 1944 μέχρι σήμερα με όλες τις ιστορικές και κοινωνικές τομές που αυτή συνεπάγεται.
However, this approach inevitably left in the margin non state actors and the different dynamics that were generated from bellow, while at the same time it limited the scope of analysis by focusing explicitly on the actions of one nation and not its interactions in a wider regional framework. Thus, the aim of this presentation is to briefly outline the main benefits and drawbacks of this historical interpretation by using the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 as a case study.