Diplomatic Disputes regarding the Trans-Balkan Railway Projects in the 1900–1912 Period in the Context of the Albanian Question

Članak donosi pogled iz diplomatskoga ugla na suparništvo i nesuglasice velikih sila i novih balkanskih država u vezi s projektima transbalkanskih željeznica. Temelji se uglavnom na arhivskoj građi diplomatske provenijencije. Od 1900. do 1912. razvio se diplomatski diskurs o balkanskim željeznicama, prije svega između Austro-Ugarske i Srbije (1906. – 1912.). Međutim, ti će projekti ostati samo na papiru zbog političkih prevrata na Balkanu od 1908. do 1912., a osobito zbog diplomatske krize koja je 1912. zavladala između Austro-Ugarske i Srbije zbog izlaska Srbije na Jadran preko albanskoga primorja.This article offers a view from a diplomatic standpoint on the rivalry and disputes between the great powers and the newly-established Balkan states regarding the trans-Balkan railway projects in the 1900–1912 period. It is based mostly on archival material of a diplomatic provenance. Economic and geostrategic issues have always been closely linked. In the context of the Balkans, these issues became more important in the early 20th century, when a clash of economic, political, and strategic interests took place between the great powers and the new Balkan states. The ideas and projects of building trans-Balkan railways were created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mostly within the frame of Austria-Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece, but the Ottoman Empire and other European powers also became involved in the matter. Although these states cited economic interests, the Sublime Porte, which was responsible for issuing building concessions, was convinced that political and strategic goals stood behind these railway projects, and therefore hesitated for several years. A diplomatic discourse on the Balkan railways developed in the 1906–1912 period, primarily between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. However, these projects remained only on paper due to sudden political upheavals in the Balkans in the 1908–1912 period, and particularly due to the diplomatic crisis that took place between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, related to Serbia’s attempts to secure access to the Adriatic via the Albanian littoral