Authors

Krisztián Csaplár-Degovics¹;  ¹ Research Centre for the Humanities , Hungary

Discussion

At the London Conference of Ambassadors (1912–1913), following a joint decision by the great powers, independent Albania was established on humanitarian grounds (“the preservation of international peace”). The borders and independence of the first Muslim-majority successor state to the Ottoman Empire were jointly guaranteed by the great powers, which also participated jointly in the organization of the new state. The supervision of state building, i.e. the supervision of the development of public administration, the organization of the country’s finances, and the drafting of a new constitution became the task of the International Commission of Control in Albania, whose members were delegated by the Albanian government alongside the great powers. The commission began its work on site in October 1913. Since, for various reasons, this commission also performed governmental functions for several months, it is particularly interesting to examine its relationship with the local Albanian elite. Contrary to the conclusions of international literature, the local Albanian elite was not entirely incapable of state-building, as it was able to establish local, i.e. municipal and regional, self-governing organizations even under wartime conditions, which, although not very effective, were able to function. In addition, in the spring of 1913, these regional governments were also able to organize themselves into a hierarchy under the loose authority of the Provisional Government in Vlora. The aim of the lecture is to demonstrate the local Albanian elite’s ability to organize local governments and their attitude towards the activities of the International Commission of Control. What does the concept of the Albanian political elite mean in 1913–1914, and what groups within the elite can be distinguished as having an interest in or opposition to state-building? Where and how were the Albanian centers of power, with which the commission had to cooperate, organized? The presentation also aims to reflect on the question that has been discussed in the literature for nearly a century: what state-building capabilities did the Albanian elite possess?