@article{article_1829262, title={A COMMENTARY REVIEWING ROBERT GERWARTH’S “THE VANQUISHED: WHY THE FIRST WORLD WAR FAILED TO END”}, journal={Review of Armenian Studies}, pages={177–184}, year={2025}, DOI={10.54842/ras.1829262}, author={Khantamirova, İlaha}, keywords={World War I, Robert Gerwarth, The Vanquished, Ottoman Empire, Turks, Armenians, “Genocide” Allegation}, abstract={Robert Gerwarth’s The Vanquished is a comprehensive study that questions why peace in post–World War I Europe failed to transform into a lasting victory. The author’s primary aim is to examine the experiences of the populations of defeated states in the aftermath of the war and to reveal how Europe entered a chaotic and violence-ridden “peace” period during the postwar era. The peace conferences held and treaties signed in the aftermath of the war, contrary to expectations, failed to bring stability to Europe; on the contrary, they opened the door to a period of great uncertainty and political collapse. In this context, Gerwarth focuses on the disintegration of the multiethnic empires—the Romanov, Habsburg, Hohenzollern, and Ottoman—and on the social and political transformations experienced by the peoples within these structures. The author also examines how countries considered victors of the war, such as Italy and Greece, ultimately faced failure and instability in the long run, thereby questioning the traditional meaning of “victory.” The emergence of nation-states, along with the accompanying civil wars and ideological polarizations, is also explored in detail in the work. In summary, Gerwarth analyzes the postwar period not merely as a process of reconstruction between victors and vanquished states, but also as a transitional era in which new forms of violence emerged, fragile peaces took shape, and radical ideologies were born.}, number={52}, publisher={Terazi Yayıncılık}