This study treats the role of Austro-Hungary in the establishment of the Albanian state. Austro-Hungarian was the only power from all the Great Powers that was interested in the creation of Albanian state, in case the Ottoman Empire declined. Based on the International Public Right of that time, the Albanians had not opportunity to create a state without the approval of the Great Powers. For the time we are talking about regarding international relations, the change of the legal status of a territory was settled only with the approval of the six Great Powers of the European Concert. This has been the case with the creation of other Balkan states such as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro. In the case of Albania, only Austro-Hungary wanted the creation of an Albanian state, and it also had the support of Italy that wanted such a state in order to easily cross to the other side of the shore better from an independent Albania, rather than an Ottoman Empire.
The historical facts show that Austro-Hungary prepared Albania's independence for thirty years by collaboration with the Great Powers with which it signed several agreements on this issue, as well as with the local factor in Albania aiming to increase national consciousness by the Albanian schools, Albanology and education of Albanians in its universities. With it consular network, it worked hard to prepare Albanians for the future state which was to be created after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Austria sought to maintain Ottoman status quo as long as possible in order to avoid Albania's separation between the Balkan Powers and time show it after that it was right for its policy.
Austro-Hungary’s insistence on Albania had put into play the whole world peace in many instances. At that time, the international political situation was very tense because of the pressure between the two blocks of the Entente and Triple Alliance. The situation went on the brink of a world war a few times, as was the case of the Serbian port in the Adriatic where Austria mobilized the army and put it at the borders with Serbia and Russia. It was this threat that prevented Serbia’s exit to the sea from Albania. Likewise, during the discussions at the Ambassadorial Conference, Austria maintained its army mobilized as a mean of pressure and refused to demobilize it until all the issues pertaining to Albania came to an end. In the case of Scutari, Austro-Hungary had to announce mobilization for war against Montenegro, which forced the latter to abandon Scutari. Coming to October 1913, where Austro-Hungary sent an eight-day ultimatum to Serbia which was an open pretext for the world war since the second ultimatum in a few months after became a pretext for such war.
So, we see that the Albanian issue was an international matter that preoccupied the Chancelleries of the Great Powers for months, where Austro-Hungary was the only pro-Albanian power. If it had not been in favour of this matter, than Albania would never have been discussed in the tables of European diplomacy, but would have been a war plunder of the Balkan Powers and no one would have been interested in the tragic fate that would occur to the entire Albanian population. So, there are these historical issues and many others that are dealt with in this book and which aim to shed some light on the truth of the creation of the modern Albanian state.
