Аннотация:Abstract The Albanian national movement was still quite young and heterogeneous when international conflicts lead to the foundation of the Albanian state in 1912/13. Located by the strategically important Strait of Otranto, it came into existence as a compromise and under the protection of the Great Powers in a time when the Osman Empire was collapsing and the South-eastern European States were practising an aggressive policy of expansion. Only a few months later World War I broke out and affected the region severely. Consequently, it took another ten years for the Albanian state to take permanent shape within the changed order of postwar Europe. At this point, however, the political self-concept of Albania had altered pertinently due to constant foreign intervention and occupation by opposing war parties. Some of these influences continue to affect Albania to the present day.
