Defend the Nation, Crush the People: Desertion and Civil War in Greek Macedonia, 1916–17

The creation of compact nation-states out of multi-ethnic empires in the Balkans was accompanied by bouts of ethnic cleansing. Critical histories of the emergence of the modern Balkan states have consequently tended to focus on ethnic violence. However, state violence often targeted the ‘dominant’ ethnic group as well, as its centralizing and modernizing agenda put it at loggerheads with traditional sources power and autonomy. Conscription was perhaps the most important dimension of state-building, as it sought to buttress the state’s military machine, all while demanding significant coercive power to register, draft, and discipline young men. Conscription thus came up against intense popular resistance, especially in the decade of total war of the 1910s. In Greece, this spiralled into episodes of virtual civil war. This article focuses on resistance to the draft during the first recruitment drive of the National Defence Government in Greek Macedonia, with special emphasis on the Chalkidiki revolt of 1916–17. It uses this case study to explore broader trends about the formation of the modern Balkan nation-states.