Presentations by Streams

For a long time, Eastern and South-eastern Europe was divided under different imperial spheres of influence. With the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, that began in the second half of the 19th century, a process of political renegotiation and reconfiguration started. Within, outside and in between these Empires, discourses over nations as well as federal or anarchistic visions were discussed. But it was not until the last years of First World War that this process picked up pace. Only in the face of their military defeat, a political landscape without empires became thinkable in Eastern and South-eastern Europe.
While the new borders were found mostly during military conflicts that continued until the 1920s, the newly formed states where highly depended on narratives to justify their territorial claims against others. Knowledge therefore became a decisive tool in diplomatic interactions. The role of knowledge was long studied mainly from the perspective of the Western war parties. In the course of the preparations of the Peace Conference, Expert Commissions like the famous American „Inquiry“ were founded and produced handbooks, maps, and statements. The story, how this material was or wasn’t considered during the Peace Conference was already told in detail.
The aim of the Panel is therefore twofold: On the one hand, we would like to stress the agency of actors from Eastern Europe in shaping Western policy making and public opinion concerning possible state formations in Eastern Europe. On the other hand, would like to trace the phenomenon of knowledge-based diplomacy further back into the 19th century. Thus, our panel will contribute to an understanding of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in its various entanglements with other parts of Europe and the world in a long chronological perspective. Furthermore, the papers will explore the sometimes-thin line between knowledge and propaganda, respectively expertise and activism, and discuss their contribution to processes of state and nation building.