UNB News
News and stories from one of Canada’s top universities

UNB professor shares expertise on Albanian independence

Author: UNB Newsroom

Posted on Feb 15, 2019

Category: UNB Fredericton

On the anniversary of Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in November 1912, the Albanian newspaper Dielli interviewed Dr. Sarah-Jane Corke, associate professor in history at UNB Fredericton and the author of US Covert Operations and Cold War Strategy: Truman, The CIA and Secret Warfare.

The Dielli article reflects on the influence of important personalities in Albanian history such as Mithat Frasheri, a renowned activist and one of the 83 leaders to sign the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912.

Considered by many to be one of the fathers of Albanian nationalism, Mr. Frasheri was instrumental in Albania gaining its independence and maintaining its freedom from Greece and Serbian occupation. When Albania fell to communist rule in 1945 during the Second World War, Mr. Frasheri worked towards creating a coalition of anti-communist opposition forces in Britain and the United States.

The Pan-Albanian Federation Vatra, an association created in 1912 to protect the rights of Albanian Americans, refers to Dr. Corke’s work to provide new information and commemorate Mr. Frasheri’s efforts in Albanian.

In her interview, Dr. Corke, the vice-president of the North American Society of Intelligence History (NASIH), offers insight on the U.S. strategic foreign policy failures and the breakdown of covert operations within the Truman administration during the Cold War.

Media contact: Paisley Sibbald