Violence, forced migration, and population policies during and after the Balkan wars (1912-14)

Abstract

Violence, forced migration, and government efforts to establish new pillars of population policies during and after the Balkan Wars affected large territories of the Balkan region. The essay demonstrates the interconnectedness and interactions among these elements, discussing the transfer and transformation of violence through to 1914, from “hard violence”-especially evident in times of war-to those of “soft violence” that emerged in the postwar period and became embedded in population policies with special regard to the Muslims and the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the author blends violence and demographic upheaval in the region, arguing that violence, migration, and population policy must be linked to understand how the scope of action changed in the Balkans from the prewar period through to 1914.