The League of Prizren (1878-1881): The Institutional Construction of the Modern Albanian Nation and the Historical Foundations of the Greater Albania Ideal

Öz

According to the study, the League of Prizren (1878-1881) was not a temporary reaction but the first organized framework of Albanian nationalism. The partition of Albanian territories by the Treaty of Berlin compelled leaders to assemble in Prizren to defend their lands and articulate a collective identity. In light of Gellner’s modernization theory and Anderson’s “imagined communities,” the League is portrayed as having reached proto-statehood by collecting taxes, creating legal authority, and directing armed groups. The League functioned through a two-level system: the General Assembly in Prizren and provincial councils in Kosovo, Shkodra, Monastir, and Janina, supervised by Ymer Prizreni’s executive committee. These institutions managed education, law, finances, and order. Militarily, Abdullah Pasha Dreni and Ali Pasha Gusi resisted territorial concessions and defended Shkodra, initially in line with Ottoman policy, until the state intervened. In 1881, Dervish Pasha crushed the movement, dissolved its councils, and disbanded its militias. The article connects this organizational strength to the Rilindja Kombëtare (National Awakening), where education, publications, and linguistic reforms culminating in the 1908 Manastir Congress allowed Albanians to overcome religious divisions. The League’s four-vilayet program later influenced the League of Peja, the independence declaration of 1912, wartime projects for a “Greater Albania,” and Kosovo’s post-2008 debates. Though brief, the League established models of governance and political discourse, making it a pivotal Balkan case of early nation-building.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Albanian Nationalism
• League of Prizren
• Nation-Building
• Imagined Communities and Modernization
• Balkan History.

Prizren Ligi (1878-1881): Modern Arnavut Ulusunun Kurumsal İnşası ve Büyük Arnavutluk İdeali’nin Tarihsel Temelleri

Öz

Bu çalışma, Prizren Ligi’nin (1878-1881) kısa süreli bir tepki değil, Arnavut milliyetçiliğinin kurumsal düzlemdeki ilk örneği olduğunu savunur. Berlin Antlaşması’nın Arnavutların yaşadığı dört vilayeti bölmesi üzerine önde gelenler Prizren’de toplanmış; bu buluşma hem toprak savunusu hem de ortak bir kimliğin oluşumunda dönüm noktası olmuştur. Ernest Gellner’in modernleşme tezi ve Benedict Anderson’ın “hayali cemaatler” yaklaşımı çerçevesinde, Ligin vergi toplaması, yargı yetkisi kurması ve milis örgütlenmesini düzenlemesi onu proto-devlet niteliğine taşımıştır. İki kademeli yapı, Prizren’deki Genel Meclis’i Kosova, İşkodra, Manastır ve Yanya’daki vilayet meclislerine bağlamış, Ymer Prizreni’nin başkanlığındaki yürütme komitesi eğitim, adalet, maliye ve kamu düzenini üstlenmiştir. Askeri açıdan Abdullah Paşa Dreni ve Ali Paşa Gusi, Plav-Gusinje’nin devrine karşı koymuş, İşkodra’yı savunmuştur. Başlangıçta Osmanlı çıkarlarıyla paralel hareket eden Lig, merkezin özerklikleri sınırlamasıyla 1881’de Derviş Paşa tarafından bastırılmış, meclisleri feshedilmiş ve milisleri dağıtılmıştır. Çalışma, bu kurumsal zemini Rilindja Kombëtare (Ulusal Uyanış) hareketiyle ilişkilendirir. Basın, eğitim ve dil reformları, 1908 Manastır Kongresi ile zirveye ulaşmış, Arnavut kimliği dini ayrımları aşmıştır. Ligin dört vilayeti kapsayan vizyonu, 1899 İpek Ligi, 1912 bağımsızlığı, savaş dönemi “Büyük Arnavutluk” ve 2008 sonrası Kosova tartışmalarına ilham vermiştir. Kısa ömürlü olsa da Lig, Balkan ulus-inşasına kalıcı kurumsal ve düşünsel katkılar sağlamıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Arnavut Milliyetçiliği
• Prizren Ligi
• Ulus İnşası
• Hayali Cemaatler ve Modernleşme
• Balkan Tarihi.

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