Reconsidering Perceptions of the Balkan Wars (1912-3) in British War Correspondence

Abstract

Historiography about external representations of southeastern Europe places significance on the Balkan Wars (1912-3) in cementing negative stereotypes of the region. Despite this, there have been few studies dealing specifically with British representations of these conflicts. This article scrutinises British journalistic correspondence from the wars, sources neglected by previous scholarship in favour of overtly literary depictions of the region and tangible forms of Anglo-Balkan political contact. Foregrounding domestic political culture which shaped representations, notably the publicity of the liberal Balkan Committee, and the practicalities of war correspondence, this article argues British perceptions of the wars were more sympathetic than typically assumed. Representations of the conflicts were based around patterns of perception originating in orientalist assumptions about the Ottoman Empire. Reporters welcomed allied victories as the triumph of Western ‘progress’ over Eastern ‘stagnation’ and instrumentalised violent stereotypes about the Ottomans to highlight the just cause of the allied offensive via atrocity propaganda. While recognising growing dissent in Britain over pro-Balkan reporting from organisations such as the Ottoman Association, this article concludes by emphasising how the ‘fratricidal’ Second Balkan War had less of an impact on patterns of perception due to its short duration.