From Greater Serbia to the Kingdom of SHS. A Few Remarks of a State System Historian

Abstract

In the 19th century, the Balkan problem was a major political issue in Europe. The Balkans were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. Other great empires became increasingly involved in Balkan affairs: the Russian Empire and the Habsburg Empire of Austria (after 1867 Austria-Hungary). They divided the Balkans into their spheres of influence. The nations of the Balkans were culturally diverse. The process of forming the consciousness of nations was complicated; nationalisms and conflicts were growing. Religions were of great importance – Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Islam. Apart from tiny Montenegro, only the Serbs have fought heroically for independence since the early 19th century, making great sacrifices. Gradually they gained it: first, autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, then they became an independent principality, and finally an independent kingdom. From the mid-19th century until the end of World War I, they passed a total of five constitutions: 1835, 1869, 1888/9, 1901, 1903. They were based partly on the French (1814, 1830) and Belgian (1831) Basic Laws. All constitutions were relatively modern and liberal, at a high European level. In the article the author analyses and presents the most important contents of these constitutions. Over the years, a conviction was developed that it was Serbia that would unite and liberate the Balkan nations under its leadership. The author shows how the end of the First Great War brought a clash between the idea of a Greater Serbia and the ambitions of the Balkan nations living under Austro-Hungarian rule. The Kingdom of Serbs-Croats-Slovenes (Kingdom SHS) was established-full of internal troubles from the beginning.