On the Political Economy of Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising

The article applies basic ideas and theoretical concepts to analyze the course and consequences of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903. A careful historical reconstruction of the main moments related to the preparation, conduct and consequences of the uprising is made. It shows that the leaders of the Bulgarian liberation movement in Macedonia and the Edirne region underwent through a significant evolution, which can be clearly understood through the prism of fundamental postulates of political economy. It consists of the gradual rejection of a self-sacrificing short and bloody uprising and the adoption of the idea of a long armed struggle that would force the great powers and the Ottoman Empire toward reform, and autonomy. The leaders of the internal organization make a conscious choice to direct the limited resources at their disposal to activities with the greatest chance of success. They strive to achieve the best possible results, in relation to their goals, with the least possible expenditure of limited resources. The proposed conceptual framework is also suitable for studying other forms of the national liberation movement, and can be applied in other cases as well.