|
|
|
AUTHOR(S): Genti Guxho, Eralda Xhafka
|
|
TITLE |
 PDF |
|
ABSTRACT This paper compares Albania’s foreign trade in two historical periods, 1925–1938 under the Zogist regime and 1950–1961 under the Communist regime, to assess the relationship between trade structures, economic development, and political dependency. Each period's Albanian regimes incorporated industrialization into their modernization plans. Beyond any doubt, they were eager to transform Albania into a modern, industrialized nation. Although both regimes sought rapid modernization and industrialization, their dependence on “patron” states, Fascist Italy in the interwar period and the Soviet Union in the postwar period, produced similar economic vulnerabilities despite divergent ideologies. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) Did Albania’s trade patterns reveal stronger client-state characteristics in the 1950s than in the 1930s? (2) To what extent did foreign trade contribute to industrialization and structural transformation? (3) How did political crises affect trade balances with the patron state? We hypothesize that Albania’s dependence on the USSR in the 1950s was deeper and more structurally transformative than its earlier dependence on Italy, leading to a more pronounced client-state position. Using trade statistics, historical records, and comparative analysis, the paper finds that while industrial goods exports increased during the 1950s, Albania’s persistent trade deficits and reliance on external loans reinforced dependency. Political crises in both periods directly shaped trade outcomes, but the Soviet Albanian rupture of 1961 proved more economically destabilizing than the Italian Albanian conflicts of the 1930s. These findings contribute to debates on dependency, modernization, and center–periphery relations in the economic development of small states. |
|
KEYWORDS foreign trade, loans, Albania, USSR, Italy, industrialization, political domination |
|
|
|
Cite this paper Genti Guxho, Eralda Xhafka. (2025) Comparison of Albania's foreign trade in two time periods 1950-1961 and 1925-1938, as an indicator of differences in the economic development.. International Journal of Cultural Heritage, 10, 55-70 |
|
|
