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Hugh Poulton

Who Are the Macedonians? Paperback – April 22, 2000

by Hugh Poulton (Author)

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"In Who Are the Macedonians? Hugh Poulton . . . provides a fair and perceptive account of the difficult relations between [Macedonians and Albanians in the new republic]. . . . it is one of the best guides I have read to what may be a dark and troubled future." ―Misha Glenny, The New York Review of Books

" . . . anyone needing a concise introduction to modern Macedonian history should be grateful for Hugh Poulton's book." ―Steven Sowards, H-Net Reviews

This first full historical survey of the Balkan Slavic peoples of Macedonia concludes with Macedonia's emergence as an independent state in the face of Greek opposition and a discussion of the prospects for its entanglement in the ongoing Balkan war.

Print length

242 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Indiana University Press
Publication date

April 22, 2000
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.55 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

9780253213594
ISBN-13

978-0253213594
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Poulton is a former researcher for Amnesty International, specializing in the Balkan countries. His publications include Top Hat, Grey Wolf and Crescent: Turkish Nationalism and the Turkish Republic and The Balkans: Minorities and States in Conflict.

HUGH POULTON is a former researcher on Eastern Europe for Amnesty International, specializing in the Balkan countries. His publications include The Balkans: Minorities and States in Conflict.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0253213592
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Indiana University Press; 2nd edition (April 22, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780253213594
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0253213594
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.55 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,768,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,131 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
- #41,865 in Ethnic Studies (Books)
- #78,675 in European History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
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A. M. Apostolou

Dull overview

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013

For a subject that arouses such extreme passions, Poulton's "Who are the Macedonians?" is an impressively dull read. The problem is that Poulton simply tries to cover too much; from Neolithic archaeology to the consequences of the 1999 Kosovo war. Within this, Poulton covers three subjects: geographic Macedonia (in which he includes parts of Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Albania), the ethnic Macedonians, and the independent Macedonian state. The result is a useful reference book aimed at the specialist rather than the casual reader. The section on ancient history is a sensible digest, but Poulton himself admits that Alexander the Great is irrelevant when analyzing contemporary Macedonia. As Poulton knows, nationalists will always twist the past to suit their political agendas. The book's strength is its frankness, both when dealing with outlandish nationalist claims and government brutality, be it Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Yugoslav. Although Poulton acknowledges the existence of a Macedonian ethnicity, he occasionally uses the Greek-favoured terms "FYROM" and "Slav Macedonians." Although largely chronological, the book also confusingly tries to focus on specific ethnic groups, countries and political movements. An account of the Greek conquest of Thessaloniki in 1912 and Greek attacks on the city's Jews precedes the section on the Balkan wars. Similarly, the Stalin-Tito split of 1948 comes before a section on Greece during the Second World War and the Civil War.

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An unbiased review.

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2007

I am neither Macedonian, Greek nor Bulgarian, so I do not have an ax to grind like many of the other reviewers do. Poulton's book merely tries to present the question of Macedonian nationalism in the backdrop of current prevailing nationalist theory. Currently, scholars consider nations to be imaginary constructions of identity perpetuated by the national myths of a shared cultural heritage. (For background reading in nationalist theory, I suggest reading Gellner's Nations and Nationalism and Anderson's imagined communities.)
Poulton successfully lays out the current competing theories surrounding the debate on Macedonian national identity. For this, his work is quite instructive as it presents the material in a clear and concise manner that is accessible to the layman as well as the expert. However, beyond this there is little to commend the work. The research is not that extensive and could have contained much more detail. In addition, it adds little to the overall academic debate as it does not present any groundbreaking theory. If you are layman only interested in learning a few facts about the general issues surrounding Macedonian identity, this is an easy and quick read. If you are a specialist looking for insight into the larger nationalist debate, look elsewhere.

7 people found this helpful

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Michael P.

Interesting Historical Book

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2004

It is nice to see a book written by a non native looking over the history of the region without being biased.
Macedonian history it's still a very hot topic in the Balkan Areas.
Speaking in favor of the demands of the Macedonian people in Greece, the leader of the parliamentary group of the Communist Party, Stelios Sklavenas, declared at the Parliamentary sitting of 25th April 1936: "Another problem which the Government keeps ignoring in its declarations is the question of giving the minorities in Greece rights equal to those of the native Greek population. This refers in the first place to the Macedonian people. Anyone who has traveled through Macedonia must have felt the specific pressure exerted on the Macedo-nians. They have been strictly forbidden to have their own schools, speak their own language or practice their own customs. As a result, the people are getting organized and ready to fight for their rights, in which we can't but support them. The winning countries in the Great War and the League of Nations sanctioned the right for the self-determination of oppressed nations. And we also grant this right to the Macedonian people...
General Metaxas established his dictatorship on 4th August 1936. One of the first things he did was to retaliate against deputy Stelios Sklavenas for his speech in Parliament in support of the Macedonian cause, by sending him to the dungeons of Manyadakis, chief of the Security police, where he was virtually subjected to inquisition.
Certain Greek scholars lacking a critical eye and disregarding historical arguments, consider the ancient Macedonians as Greeks and their language a Greek dialect. However, anyone looking at the facts with an open mind will realize that this is far from being true. Authentic evidence shows that the ancient Greeks regarded the Macedonian people as barbarians and Macedonia a barbaric land. This is also what the two coryphaei of Greek history, Thucydides and Demosthenes thought of ancient Macedonians. As a matter of fact, the ancient Greeks considered all non-Greek people barbarian and their land barbaric. Thus in his third Philippic, Demosthenes states: "... Ay, and you know this also, that the wrongs which the Greeks suffered from the Lacedaemonians or from us, they suffered at all events at the hands of true-born sons of Greece, and they might have been regarded as the acts of a legitimate son, born to great possessions, who should be guilty of some fault or error in the management of his estate: so far he would deserve blame and reproach, yet it could not be said that it was not one of the blood, not the lawful heir who was acting thus. But if some slave or superstitious bastard had wasted and squandered what he had no right to, heavens! How much more monstrous and exasperating all would have called it! Yet they have no such qualms about Philip and his present conduct, though he is not only no Greek, nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from any place that can be named with honor, but a pestilent knave from Macedonia, whence it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave ..." (Demosthene Crationes, IX, p.26, and Istorija diplomatije, vol.1, p.49).

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