Balkans between the Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian Empires in the historical memory and current foreign policy practices of several countries in the region

Abstract

The imperial legacy of the Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian Empires in the national historical memory in Balkan societies and its actualization in the context of formulation, or reformulation both in socio-political and academic discourses, and as an “action guideline” to the ruling circles of the Balkan countries in the foreign policy sphere, is one of the factors of domestic political life and international Realpolitik in the early 21st century. Simplified unambiguity and “linearity” in the perception of this heritage sets the stage for reference to it in the form of an argument that can explain the historical fate of the Balkan nations at the time of making of a “united Europe”, where its so-called “old”, i. e. Western, part was traditionally viewed as classical Europe throughout the 19th and entire 20th centuries, whilst the Balkans were considered as the outskirts and an area of constant turbulence threatening Europe proper.