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« Activities « TransCorr International Conferences « International Roundtable, Istanbul, October 2026

International Roundtable

Historicizing “Corruption” in Central-South-East Europe: Phanariot and Post-Phanariot Networks and Regional Power Reconfigurations (1750s-1900s)

ANAMED, the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations
Istanbul, 26-27 October 2026

PARTICIPANTS: Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, Constantin ARDELEANU, Gențiana AVRIGEANU, Augusta DIMOU, Lucien FRARY, Silvia MARTON, Mária PAKUCS, Oana SORESCU-IUDEAN, Constanța VINTILĂ, Michał WASIUCIONEK

This research is conducted within “Transnational histories of ‘corruption’ in Central-South-East Europe (1750-1850) (TransCorr)”, funded by the European Union (ERC-2022-ADG no. 101098095) and hosted by the New Europe College, Bucharest.
Co-organized and hosted by ANAMED, with our sincere appreciation for their generous hospitality and support.

Monday, 26 October 2026

17h00–19h00

Keynote lecture by Constanța VINTILĂ, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest / New Europe College

Women and the Making of Phanariot Power: Networks, Material Culture, and Influence,
followed by discussions

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Conference presentations held by TransCorr team

10h00–10h15

Opening Remarks

Namık Günay ERKAL, curator of the exhibition „All Phanar Is Here: Household, Neighborhood, Court, and the City”

Silvia MARTON, University of Bucharest / New Europe College

SESSION 1

The Phanariots and Their Legacies: Imperial Entanglements and State Formation

10h15–11h35

Chair: Oana SORESCU-IUDEAN, Centre for Population Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca / New Europe College

Mária PAKUCS, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest / New Europe College

The consular agents in Bucharest and their views on the Phanariot princes at the turn of the 19th century

Lucien FRARY, Rider University / New Europe College

The Traveling Balkan Orthodox Middlemen: Russian Impressions of the Phanariots (1701–1821)

Michał WASIUCIONEK, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest / New Europe College

Between Phanariot Legacy and Serbian State Formation: The Political and Ecclesiastic Dynamic at the Margin of the Phanariot World

Q&A – discussions

11h35–11h50 Coffee break

SESSION 2

Phanariot Past and Post-Phanariot Present: Corruption, Political Polemics, and Nation-Building

11h50–13h10

Chair: Silvia MARTON, University of Bucharest / New Europe College

Constantin ARDELEANU, New Europe College / Institute for South-East European Studies, Bucharest

A Neo-Phanariot Fixer in Ottoman Istanbul: Kapıkahya Nicholas Aristarchi and the Wallachian princes

Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, Institute for Historical Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences / New Europe College

The ‘Phanariotism’ in the Bulgarian public discourse after the Crimean War: texts, contexts, and concepts

Augusta DIMOU, Institute of Cultural Studies, Chair of Comparative European History, University of Leipzig / New Europe College

Competing Allegiances: Identities, Politics and Positionalities in the Autonomy Movements of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Transition from Ottoman to Habsburg Rule

Q&A – discussions

« Activities « TransCorr International Conferences

International Roundtable
Historicizing “Corruption” in Central-South-East Europe: Phanariot and Post-Phanariot Networks and Regional Power Reconfigurations (1750s-1900s)

26-27 October 2026
ANAMED, the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations
İstiklal Caddesi 181, Istanbul (www.anamed.ku.edu.tr)

PARTICIPANTS: Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, Constantin ARDELEANU, Gențiana AVRIGEANU, Augusta DIMOU, Lucien FRARY, Silvia MARTON, Mária PAKUCS, Oana SORESCU-IUDEAN, Constanța VINTILĂ, Michał WASIUCIONEK

This research is conducted within “Transnational histories of ‘corruption’ in Central-South-East Europe (1750-1850) (TransCorr)”, funded by the European Union (ERC-2022-ADG no. 101098095) and hosted by the New Europe College, Bucharest. Co-organized and hosted by ANAMED, with our sincere appreciation for their generous hospitality and support.

• Program
• Poster
• Event page on the ANAMED website

« Activities « Research Seminars

23 February 2026, 16.00-18.00 (Bucharest time)
Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, TransCorr team member;
Assistant Professor at the Institute for Historical Studies of the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia; Postdoctoral Researcher

The modernization of Southeast Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is widely studied by contemporary researchers. Topics as diverse as political and institutional development, social and cultural transformations, economic changes, and technological innovations address important features of this process. The emergence of new concepts and ideas about governance and public order was an integral part of this transformation. Thus, the present talk will explore the Bulgarian (and Ottoman) transition to modernity during the nineteenth century by focusing on the contemporaries’ perceptions of corruption and associated practices related to advancing modern technological projects and capital investments. It will discuss the emergence of the topic in the public sphere, as well as the role of some Bulgarian sites within the Ottoman capital as places of publicity. The interrelationship between modernization and corruption in the framework of the top-down/bottom-up interference between the Ottoman state and its Bulgarian subjects will be adressed. Thus, the focus of the talk will be placed on some members of the Bulgarian community in Istanbul as intermediary actors in the center-periphery dynamics related to corruption, its spread, and its denunciation.

*

This event is part of an ongoing series of public seminars organized under the ERC research project “Transnational histories of ‘corruption’ in Central-South-East Europe (1750-1850)” – TransCorr, hosted by New Europe College.

« Activities « Research Seminars

2 July 2026, 16.00-18.00 (Bucharest time)
Silvia MARTON and Constantin ARDELEANU (eds.)

« Activities « TransCorr Research Dissemination by Team Members

May 18, 2026

Boriana Antonova-Goleva, assistant professor at the Institute for Historical Studies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and New Europe College researcher within TransCorr project, has initiated, consulted on, and took part in an episode dedicated to 19th-century Bulgarians (from the so-called National Revival period) and corruption on the Istoria.bg show, the most popular history TV show in Bulgaria. It was broadcast on Bulgarian National Television (BNT) on 18 May 2026, in the primetime. The other participants were her colleagues Ivelina Masheva and Hristian Atanasov, who both deal with topics related to the main theme. The episode is available here. The host of the show made two references to the TransCorr project – in the opening and closing of the episode – and Boriana’s affiliation to NEC was also indicated in the subtitles (screenshot below).

« Activities « TransCorr International Conferences « The Phanariot Past and its Multiple Afterlives, June 2026

International Conference

The Phanariot Past and its Afterlives: Historicizing “Corruption” in Central-South-East Europe (1750s–1920s)

New Europe College – Institute for Advanced Study
Bucharest, 15–16 June 2026

PARTICIPANTS: Raluca ALEXANDRESCU, Mihai-Cristian AMĂRIUȚEI, Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, Constantin ARDELEANU, Elif BAYRAKTAR TELLAN, Osman Safa BURSALI, Raymond DETREZ, Augusta DIMOU, Lucien FRARY, Simion-Alexandru GAVRIȘ, Aristides N. HATZIS, Paul KARRAS, Dimitrios M. KONTOGEORGIS, Kalliope LEIVADAROU, Myrto LAMPROU, Silvia MARTON, Nicolas NICOLAIDES, Ovidiu OLAR, Mária PAKUCS, Silvana RACHIERU, Leonidas RADOS, Andrei-Dan SORESCU, Alex R. TIPEI, Michał WASIUCIONEK

This conference is organized within the framework of “Transnational histories of ‘corruption’ in Central-South-East Europe (1750-1850).” Funded by the European Union (ERC, TransCorr, ERC-2022-ADG no. 101098095) and hosted by the New Europe College.

Monday, June 15, 2026

09h30–10h00

Welcome remarks: Valentina SANDU-DEDIU, Rector, New Europe College

Opening remarks & introduction: Silvia MARTON, Principal investigator, New Europe College

SESSION 1

The Phanariots and Their Era: Political and Social Networks

10h00–11h45

Chair and discussant: Constantin ARDELEANU, New Europe College / Institute for South-East European Studies, Bucharest

Mihai-Cristian AMĂRIUȚEI, ‘A.D. Xenopol’ Institute of History, Iași; Elif BAYRAKTAR TELLAN, History Department, Istanbul Medeniyet University; and Ovidiu OLAR, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest

Short-Circuiting the Ottoman State: A Mid-Eighteenth-Century Phanariot Cartel

Paul KARRAS, Institut d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, Paris

“A disgraced hospodar can be bought, along with his entire family, for a modest sum”. Phanariots and the Trans-Imperial Political Economy of Brokerage in the Long Eighteenth Century

Nicolas NICOLAIDES, Centre for Asia Minor Studies, Athens

Faction, Reform, and “Corruption”: The Rise and Early Decline of the Patriarchal Academy of Kuruçeşme (1804–1821)

11h45–12h15 Coffee break

SESSION 2

The Phanariots and Their Era: Imperial Entanglements

12h15–13h30

Chair and discussant: Andrei-Dan SORESCU, New Europe College / Maynooth University

Mária PAKUCS, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest / New Europe College

The K. K. Consular Agency in Phanariot Bucharest: Imperial Entanglements and Local “Intrigues” in the Late Eighteenth Century

Lucien FRARY, Rider University / New Europe College

The Traveling Balkan Orthodox Middlemen: Russian Impressions of the Phanariots (1711–1821)

13h30–14h30 Lunch at the NEC

SESSION 3

Institutional and Political Designs Before and After 1821

14h30–17h00

Chair and discussant: Alex R. TIPEI, Université de Montréal / New Europe College

Kalliope LEIVADAROU and Aristides N. HATZIS, University of Athens

Theodoros Negris between Empire and Revolution: Phanariot Legacies and Liberal Experiments

Osman Safa BURSALI, Marmara Law School, Istanbul

A Neo-Phanariot State? The Executive Branch of the Principality of Samos and its Transformation

Simion-Alexandru GAVRIȘ, ‘A.D. Xenopol’ Institute of History, Iași

Bureaucracy after Byzantium: “Phanariot” Public Servants in Moldavia at the Beginning of the Organic Statute Regime

18h30 Dinner

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

SESSION 4

Phanariot Past and Post-Phanariot Present: Early (Re)Interpretations of Phanariot Rule

10h00–11h45

Chair and discussant: Augusta DIMOU, University of Leipzig / New Europe College

Dimitrios M. KONTOGEORGIS, University of Cyprus

“Enlightened” or “Despotic”? The Image of the Phanariot Princes in Greek and Romanian Historiography (c. 1770–1821)

Myrto LAMPROU, Hellenic Open University

Phanariotism, Corruption, and Political Identity: the Soutzos Brothers in Early Greek State Formation

Raluca ALEXANDRESCU, University of Bucharest

Inventing “Phanariotism”: Nationalistic Narratives, Political Polemics and the Populist Uses of a Corrupt “Ancien Régime” in Early Modern Romanian Discourse

11h45–12h15 Coffee break

12h15–13h30

From Istanbul to Bucharest: Court Music in the Early Nineteenth Century

Our heartfelt thanks to Nicolae GHEORGHIȚĂ and Cătălin CERNĂTESCU, National University of Music Bucharest and their guests, Dimitrie Cantemir Early Music Ensemble of the National University of Music Bucharest. Our special thanks to Damian DRĂGHICI, our esteemed guest.

13h30–14h30 Lunch at the NEC

SESSION 5

Corruption, Clerical Polemics, and Nation-Building

14h30–15h45

Chair and discussant: Andrei-Dan SORESCU, New Europe College / Maynooth University

Michał WASIUCIONEK, ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest / New Europe College

Corrupting Hierarchies: The “Phanariot Rule” in the Former Patriarchate of Peć and the Discourse of Corruption in the First Decades of the Nineteenth Century

Raymond DETREZ, University of Ghent

How – and Why – Was Corruption in the Orthodox Church Fought in the Ottoman Empire?

15h45–16h00 Coffee break

SESSION 6

(Corrupt) Phanariots Afterlives: National(ist) Narratives, Political Polemics

16h00–17h45

Chair and discussant: Silvia MARTON, New Europe College / University of Bucharest

Boriana ANTONOVA-GOLEVA, Institute for Historical Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

The ‘Phanariotism’ in the Bulgarian Public Discourse after the Crimean War: Texts, Contexts, and Concepts

Leonidas RADOS, ‘A.D. Xenopol’ Institute of History, Iași

Casting the Perfect Villain: Phanariot Regime, Stereotypes, and Mid-Nineteenth-Century Romanian Nation-Building

Silvana RACHIERU, University of Bucharest

Post-Phanariot Relationship of Ottoman Rums and Romanians at the End of the Nineteenth Century: Cultural Interactions and Regional Networks

Concluding Remarks and Key Points

17h45–18h15

Silvia MARTON, Andrei-Dan SORESCU, Alex R. TIPEI

19h00 Dinner

« Activities « TransCorr Research Dissemination by Team Members

4–6 June 2026

Participation of Constantin Ardeleanu, TransCorr team member, at the Annual Conference of the “A.D. Xenopol” History Institute in Iași with a paper that examines the rule of Gheorghe Bibescu in Wallachia, specifically analyzing the allegations of “corruption” leveled against him in both contemporary and historiographical contexts, alongside the subsequent efforts by his descendants to contest these narratives.

Gheorghe Bibescu, opoziția parlamentară și discursuri asupra „corupției” în spațiul românesc

Constantin ARDELEANU
Colegiul Noua Europă / Institutul de Studii Sud-Est Europene, București

În martie 1843, antreprenorul rus Alexander Trandafilov a solicitat guvernului Valahiei permisiunea de a explora Munții Carpați, în vederea exploitării resurselor subsolului. Proiectul s-a bucurat de sprijinul domnitorului Gheorghe Bibescu și al Sfatului Administrativ Extraordinar, dispuși să acorde o concesiune pe 12 ani. Obșteasca Adunare s-a opus vehement, invocând prevederile Regulamentului Organic care garantau dreptul proprietarilor de a-și exploata minele personal sau de a le arenda după propria voință. Dincolo de argumentele juridice, dezbaterea a fost alimentată de teama unei „năvăliri muscălești”, concesiunea fiind percepută ca un paravan pentru interesele politice rusești.

Simultan, Bibescu a inițiat modificarea Codului Caragea, susținând că legislația înv echită era „lipsită de rânduială” și dăunătoare economiei. Vizată era, în special, „chestiunea dotală”: practica unor boieri de a-și proteja averile de creditori prin trecerea lor fictivă sub formă de zestre a soțiilor. Proiectul propunea înregistrarea riguroasă a actelor dotale pentru a permite urmărirea bunurilor zălogite. Reforma părea în să să ascundă și un interes personal: Bibescu a inclus principii care i-ar fi facilitat accesul la averea soției sale, de care intenționa să divorțeze. Opoziția parlamentară a atacat dur proiectul, denunțând modul în care domnitorul instrumentaliza legea în folos propriu.

„Chestiunea minelor” și „chestiunea dotală” au devenit astfel pilonii unui conflict politic major. Ambele tabere au făcut acuzații grave de „corupție” sau de trădare a „interesului național”. Utilizând surse inedite din arhive interne și internaționale, studiul meu analizează dinamica acestor dispute și modul în care discursurile asupra „corupției” au fost politizate strategic atât de domnitor, cât și de opoziție.

Ecourile acestor evenimente au persistat mult timp în istoriografia românească. În a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea, istorici precum George Tocilescu au interpretat episoadele din 1843–1844 ca dovezi ale „abuzului de putere” și ale încercării lui Bibescu de a „vinde” țara influenței rusești. Aceste perspective au fost combătute de prințul George Bibescu, fiul domnitorului, ceea ce permite o reevaluare a narațiunilor despre „corupție” în contextul politic de la finele secolului al XIX-lea. Lucrarea de față examinează și aceste polemici, urmărind evoluția conceptuală a noțiunii de „corupție” în spațiul românesc.

« Activities « Conference Papers

5-6 March 2026

Silvia Marton, PI, participated in the international conference “The Royal Coffers. European Monarchies and their Financial Behavior between 1650 and 1950”, organized at the Technical University from Darmstadt (Institut für Geschichte) on 5-6 March 2026. She presented the paper titled ““In the Hands of a Camarilla”: Accusations of Corruption and Despotism against Rulers in Romania“.

She discussed the interlocking accusations made against Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1820-1873, r. 1859-1866) and his successor, the Prussian-born Carol Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1839-1914, r. 1866-1914). Contemporary critics accused both of them of despotic rule, of promoting questionable national and international financial networks, of being patrons of corruption and the corrupt, and of governing with and for their “camarilla.” Such allegations were particularly strong in the 1860s and 1870s when both rulers embarked on sustained railway construction. Railway construction worked as a magnifying glass for the allegations that targeted these two monarchs.

The paper zoomed in on the transition from Cuza’s rule to Carol’s and on the close reading of the debates on the 70 km long Bucharest-Danube (Giurgiu) railway concession, the first railway built in the country, initiated in 1865 by Cuza and inaugurated in 1869 by Carol. The main argument was that corruption had a decisive role in the regime change. Financial and political corruption was a major incentive to strengthen parliamentarism and to boost parliamentary control of the monarchy and the executive. Additionally, corruption allowed to describe more explicitly the good regime and its radical opposite, despotism or corrupt xenocracy.

« Activities « TransCorr International Conferences « International Workshop – April 5-6, 2027

Call for Papers

International Workshop
The Cultural Legacies of Corruption in Europe, 1500-today
New Europe College – Institute for Advanced Study
Bucharest
April 5-6, 2027

Keywords: Corruption, Material Culture, Artistic culture, Cultural legacies, Infrastructure, Early Modern Europe, Modern Europe.

The workshop addresses the material, literary and visual cultures associated with ‘corruption’ (broadly conceived) and their legacies based on three main themes:

1. The materiality of corruption. Priority will be given to studies that reflect on monuments, gardens, and buildings—both public and private—, small objects (jewellery, art) and billy-clubs used for electoral influence or fraud that have resulted from illicit enrichment (gifts, misappropriation of funds, bribery).

2. Infrastructure and corruption. Here, the focus will be more specifically on the relationship between corruption and state-building, examining how public concessions (railways, maritime routes, road networks, or airports) were awarded, as well as the close entanglement between public officials and financial groups, speculators, and lobbying interests. Accordingly, approaches that highlight the conduct of these actors will be particularly valued.

3. The visual and literary representations of corruption. In this section, the aim is to highlight the cultural dimension of corruption from a twofold perspective. First, the value of caricatures, visual satire, and artistic and literary works and representations as sources for the historicization of corruption. Second, the various representations of figures such as the speculator, the nouveau riche, the plutocrat, or the corrupt politician.

Relatively little attention has been paid to these dimensions of corrupt practices. Nor has there been much debate about how to explain such cultural legacies to modern audiences. We hope that papers will address and reflect on some of the following questions:

• An interdisciplinary dialogue among historians, literary scholars, art historians, and social scientists on corruption.
• Whether a distinct material culture of corruption existed, including objects, sites, and spaces linked to illicit practices.
• How such markers of corruption evolved over time and how “corrupt” assets were concealed or legitimized.
• The role of gifts, bribes, and their display, as well as the material legacy of corrupt wealth in buildings and landscapes.
• The connections between corruption and infrastructure, including public concessions, scandals, and shifting notions of public vs. private.
• How corruption was denounced, narrated, and compared across contexts, including language, emotions, and perceptions of failure.
• Cultural representations of corruption in art and literature, their transnational circulation, and their impact on public opinion and reform movements.

If necessary, the organizers will reimburse travel expenses and provide accommodation. In such cases, please contact Gențiana Avrigeanu ([email protected]) in order to follow the required procedures.

We welcome proposals of ca. 500 words (for 20-minute presentations) concerning these topics, to be submitted, along with a short CV, by 1 September 2026. The submissions should be sent to [email protected].

The organisers intend to collect selected papers into an edited volume to be published with an international publisher.