Imagining the Balkans: Croatia and Greece in the political imagination of its political leadership during the interwar years

This dissertation is a discussion of several approaches to obtain Bakan unity or collaboration, attempted by some Balkan statesmen during the interwar years of 1919--1939 to lessen Great Power influence and promote cooperation there. Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires and nation states such as Italy and Germany were particularly known for trying to expand into or economically dominate the Balkans.; In addition, there were the self-inflicted blows among the emerging Balkan states---all successor states to the Ottoman Empire---as they competed in their attempt to define their national; ethnic and geographic identity. These realities---foreign interventions and local rivalries---contributed to economic underdevelopment and growing suspicions between them. Chiefly to reverse this legacy during the interwar years, several plans were proposed with the prospect of rejuvenating the Balkans and reducing the region's vulnerability resulting from outside interferences.; This study concentrates on initiatives originating in two Balkan states: Croatia and Greece on opposite sides of the Samuel P. Huntington, Clash of Civilizations (1998) so called religious-cultural divide of the Balkans---Roman Catholic Croats and Eastern Orthodox Greeks. The emphasis is on the former. Greece is used chiefly for purposes of comparison. The proposals made by the leaders of these two Balkan states refute that inter-Balkan cooperation could not occur between these differing religious-cultural zones as geography, some cultural, historical and racial ties bound these peoples.; Croatia's Stjepan Radic supported a Russian protected but equal Balkan Federation. Non Slavic Balkan states feared "Pan Slav" domination. Vladko Macek, Radic's successor, opted for Croatia's autonomy within Yugoslavia.; Greek leader Alexander Papanastasiou supported a Balkan Federation proposed in the 1930s, which would eliminate Great Power influence. Contemporary Greek compatriot, Eleftherios Venizelos, proposed a Balkan Federation reminiscent of Byzantium. Historical, cultural and racial ties would unite the Balkan peoples. A federation of equal states would be established with necessary British and French protection.; This dissertation is based extensively on memoirs, correspondence and treaties' documents. Its primary contribution is a comparative discussion of efforts by Balkan statesmen to solve regional problems by promoting cooperation and not conflict.