Former Fellows

The phenomenon of desertion during the 20th century conflicts still presents a very strong taboo in the Balkan historiographies. On the other hand, developments in western academia during the past 30 years made it clear that issues of military desertion and insubordination can provide valuable new perspectives. The aim of my project is to assemble and analyse the cases of desertion in the Bulgarian and Serbian army so that these cases can be treated as an analytical category. This way I will be able to reach out towards some of the most discrete processes of the front line developments in the Balkans. Two interlinked examples of Serbia and Bulgaria, the embattled neighbours, would present a significant step toward a more comprehensive understanding of everyday interactions within the two largest Balkan armies. As a result, I expect to show that the front line developments, attitudes and experiences of the men in uniform were much more complex than usually believed and that the “contract” between the state and its citizens during wartime had to be constantly renegotiated even in agrarian societies such as Serbian and Bulgarian one.