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Politically Motivated Violence in the 20th Century South Eastern Europe. An International Workshop

Publication

Abstract

The workshop focused on various forms and specific examples of politically motivated violence that have had a major impact on developments in Southeastern Europe during the 20th century. Attention was paid not only to the ideological motives and arguments used by the perpetrators of this type of violence, but also to its methods and practical implementation.

The individual contributions aimed to present both the traditional categories of "perpetrators" and "victims" of politically motivated violence, as well as the broader context of violent excesses, actions and campaigns, which were not only backed by the state or power apparatus, but also by a number of other, lesser-known actors. The research seminar presented newer research approaches that sought to both analyse the specificities of different types of politically motivated violence in Southeastern Europe and to capture their parallels, overlaps and interconnections.

In this way, the continuity and repetitive nature of violent activities has been emphasized, in contrast to the previously prevailing perception that emphasizes mainly their isolation and randomness. The research seminar was intended for interested professionals and master and doctoral students.

The seminar featured presentations by Amir Krpić from the University of Tuzla (The approach of the Austro-Hungarian occupation administration to the possession of weapons in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878-1914), Borut Klabjan from the Research Centre in Koper (Political violence in the northern Adriatic region after the First World War) and Martin Previšić from the University of Zagreb (Yugoslav Stalinism and political violence). The discussion was attended by experts on the history of Southeast Europe from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University (Jan Pelikán, Ondřej Žíla, Ondřej Vojtěchovský, Boris Mosković), Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University (Václav Štěpánek, Pavel Krejčí) and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Milan Sovilj) and PhD students.