The book examines the process of building the Balkan states, products of nationalism as well as "nourishers" of it. Essentially, it studies the unique path of modernization that each of the Balkan states will follow during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, and the distinct way each state will address the challenges of development.

The countries examined are Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece, which are contrasted with a completely distinct model, that of Romania. The examination of this case aims to shed light on the common responses given to shared problems of modernization in the other countries.

For the Balkans of the 19th century, the main conflict is between a new national center that attempts to establish itself and unite the entire territory and the periphery, which seeks to maintain its autonomy and role in the decision-making process. By examining the social structures and individual strategies of the protagonists within the frameworks of the countries' regional positions in the global system, an attempt is made to record the key trends that characterize political organization in these countries, which persist to this day.

The theme of the book is the unique way in which modern-imported elements are synthesized with the tradition of each country to create something completely new, a special, unique type of modernization. Thus, the modernization effort is not presented as a complete break with the past, but rather as a continuation in relation to the pre-modern, traditional order.