Polska wizja bałkańskiej przestrzeni terytorialnej w kontekście pojęcia "kocioł bałkański"
The Polish Vision of the Balcan Territorial Space in the Context of Phrase „The Balcan Pot”

Summary/Abstract: This article is an attempt to answer the question in which way a phrase „The Balcan Pot” has contributed to an image of the Balcan territorial space in Polish literature.The reconstruction of its origins was made mainly on the basis of press materials that were describing historical facts in that area. The meaning of Balcans in the Polish language signified a functioning geographical name, remarking that a process of its introduction was very slow though it was popularized after the Berlin Congress. However, appearing of „The Balcan Pot” as a phrase had a connection with accidents in that area in 1908 and meant originally an ethnic diversity on the Balcan Peninsula. Uprisings and wars added a new meaning to that phrase – a meaning of conflicts. Such an image was cemented by historical works which determined all possible conflicts already in the 19th century with that phrase imposing stereotypical image of the Balcan space. A phrase „The Balcan Pot” contributed to the stereotypical vision of that region in Europe as a territory with unusual ethnical diversity, where incessantly accomplished situations were full of tension and difficulties to resolve.

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