Penal Modernization in the Western Balkans: Continuities and Changes since the Nineteenth Century

Review Article Nationalism,HistoryandIdentityin theBalkans: An Overviewof Recent Historiesof Europe's South-East DEJAN DJOKIC Benson, Leslie. rugoslavia. A Concise History.Palgrave,Basingstokeand London, 2001. XXX + 20 I pp. Maps. Glossary. Chronology. Notes. Bibliography.Index. 1i6.99. Biondich, Mark. Stjepan Radic,theCroat Peasant Party,andthePoliticsof Mass Mobilization, I904-1928. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo, NY, and London, 2000. xi+ 344 pp. Notes. Bibliography.Index. [40.00;[i6.oo. Crampton, R. J. 7The BalkansSincetheSecondWorldWar.Longman/ Pearson, London and New York, 2002. xxxiv + 374 pp. Maps. Tables. Notes. Bibliography.Index. [i 6.99 (paperback). Mazower, Mark. TheBalkans. From theEndofByzantium tothePresent Day. Phoenix Press,London, 2002 (thirdimpression;firstpublishedby Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000). XVi+ 176 pp. Maps. Chronology. Guide to furtherreading.Notes. Index. [6.99 (paperback). Pavlowitch, Stevan K. A History oftheBalkans, i804-1945. Longman/ Pearson, London and New York, I Viii? 375 pp. Maps. Glossary. Guide to further reading. Notes. Index. [i6.99 (paperback). Pavlowitch, Stevan K. Serbia:TheHistory Behind theName.Hurst & Co., London, 2002. Xii + 252 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. CI4.95 (paperback). IF Europe's nineteenth century was marked by the formation of modern nations, the twentieth century could be describedas an era of theirattempteddestruction.Greatachievementsin the fieldsof human and minority rights and an unprecedented revolution in science, medicine and computer technology cannot be separated, when one looks back at the last century, from conflicts which aimed to kill or expel those belonging to a 'wrong'nation and/or ideology. Millions of innocent civilians died and an equally horrifying number of people were forced to migrate, forever changing the ethnic map of the Dejan Djokic is Lecturerin ContemporaryHistory at BirkbeckCollege, Universityof London. His edited book Yugoslavism: Historiesof a FailedIdea, I9I8-I992 is published by Hurst & Co. (London) and University of Wisconsin Press (Madison, WI), 2003. 512 RECENT HISTORIES OF EUROPE S SOUTH-EAST continent. Wars, revolutionsand ideological conflictswere part of the history of most of Europe at one point or another during the short twentieth century, whose 'legacy' has enriched modern vocabularies with terms such as 'genocide', 'holocaust', 'population transfers',and 'ethnic cleansing'. Yet, there is a popular tendency in the West to associateEurope's'darkside'almostexclusivelywith its South-East. In the political and popular discourse in both the West and the region itself, the term 'Balkans',increasinglyhidden behind its more acceptable pseudonym 'South-Eastern Europe', usually implies the place of recurrentcivilwars,political assassinations,'ethnic cleansing', 'ancient ethnic and/or religious hatreds'. 'To Balkanize' means, according to all major dictionaries and thesauri, to divide into a number of small, mutually hostile units. No wonder then that the Balkanpeoples themselvesdo not wish to be in the Balkans,preferring instead to escape to 'South-Eastern'or 'Central' Europe, if 'Europe' itselfremainsan aspiration. Like 'CentralEurope', the Balkansis much more of a political than a geographical construct. Unlike 'Central Europe', however, no one wants to be associatedwith it. It is temptingto suggestthat the Balkans actuallydoes not exist,because it isusuallyclaimedthatit is somewhere else; even its most central regions tend to protest against being describedas Balkan Bulgarianairlinesnotwithstanding.'As Stevan Pavlowitch writes in the concluding chapter of his excellent, and inexplicablyoverlookedby reviewers,historyof the Balkans: Somepartsof thepeninsulaaresaidto be Mediterranean (ifnot actually north Atlantic), or Latin (hence virtually western European), or central European (and woe to anyone who dares hint at the Balkans there), or Alpine (if not actually Austrian) [. .] That leaves only the dregs who are stuck 'in the Balkans' because they are no longer 'in Europe' [ . .] The toponym easilybecomes an insult,meaning non-Europe or the darkside of Europe.2 Several years ago a festival of'Central European culture', held in London and organized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, included works of Bosnian artists (presumably because Bosnia-Herzegovina was part of the Habsburg Empire between I878 and I9 I8), while in November 2002 the Central European Initiative held its summit in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia (CEI, which started as Quadrilateral Co-operation, founded in I989 by Austria, Hungary, Italy and Yugoslavia, now includes, among other countries, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and even Belarus). A recent trend in Serbia has been to use the term 'western Balkans', with an emphasis on 'western'. Greeks often speak of 'Greece and the Balkans', while many Romanians prefer to see...

Розкрито основні виклики й загрози європейській безпеці та стабільності в Західних Балканах. В центрі уваги – висвітлення геостратегічних інтересів на Балканах основних міжнародних гравців Заходу та Сходу: ЄС, США, Росії, Туреччини, Китаю, країн Перської затоки. Досліджено стан політико-економічної взаємодії основних акторів світової політики з країнами Західних Балкан, вплив цих процесів на регіональну безпеку, політичні процеси та темпи євроатлантичної інтеграції. Робиться висновок, що центральна ось геополітичного протистояння на Балканах пролягає сьогодні між ЄС та НАТО, з одного боку, та Росією – з іншого. Стверджується, що на стан безпеки в регіоні в подальшому будуть впливати також глобальні чинники, серед яких: конфронтація Росії та Заходу, перегляд відносин між Америкою та Європою, посилення конкуренції між США та Китаєм, загострення міграційної кризи та ін.

This chapter examines the phenomenon of backsliding in the post-accession process of Europeanisation in Slovenia as one of the Central and Eastern European member states of the EU. It seeks to explain the rise of compliance problems with the EU's values (i.e., de-Europeanisation) in Slovenia, which turned a former EU star pupil into a troublesome member state. The chapter analyses sources of economic and democratic backsliding in times of polycrises in the EU that stem from the state's domestic environment and confirms the determining role of decision-makers over the political system. Given the importance and widely shared image of Slovenia as a role model for the candidate states in the Western Balkans, the chapter also addresses the potential impact of Slovenia's de-Europeanisation turn for its role as a bridge between the EU and the Western Balkans region.

This paper analyzes the key moments and challenges that has passed the Western Balkans through the process of European integration. The main criteria for EU integration and the main problems and challenges of our region, are described in the paper. The problems and incoherence of EU countries regarding the attitude towards the Western Balkans, the various options of integration speeds of Balkan countries, there have been exposed also. The purpose of this study consists not just in deepening in yesterday’s developments in this region but in all the inspections of the possibilities, opportunities and standards for the final approach also, aiming a full recognition of Western Balkans in the prolonged transition of society’s transformation towards a new social and political system. Seen in historical perspective, in many barriers of mentality formation of these people, in peculiarities that history of the region offers ranging from nationalism to the complete communist isolation, the wars waged in their name, this study also provides the opportunity of reflection on the necessity of the development of the region as a whole, where development speeds are not far from each other. Comparative methods, surveys and official reports of the European institutions are used for the realization of this study. The study is based also on the identification of similarities and differences of these countries through using a vast historical and contemporary literature. We try to answer questions related to the future of this region and two sided challenges that this integration involves. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n3p516

Improving Transport Planning Policy in Developing Countries of Balkan Region Using Inclusive Integration Methodology: Exploration and Comparative Development

At the end of the twentieth century, the transition from non-democratic regimes has been the most important political event in the Western Balkans. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 paved the way to the sudden collapse and breakdown of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and in the Western Balkans, albeit some of them did already show a growing decline. Despite the variation in terms of institutional framework and electoral systems, the Western Balkan countries do present difference in some aspects of the political system but not for all the variables considered. The different scenarios that involved the Western Balkan countries during the armed conflicts have generated often negative outcomes in terms of democratic performances, or better have exacerbated persistent resistances to the democratic strengthening from the political actors. The factors beyond these different patterns can be indicated in three main areas: (1) the type of democratic transition and the role of the different actors in the process, (2) the influence of the political parties and their genetic features and (3) finally, considering the context, the impact of the war in the country

The study examines transformation of political and legal system of Western Balkan countries. The transformation of Western Balkan was indeed unique. This has been a violent transformation, with war, exodus, genocide and severe violations of human rights. But at the same time, as far as the legal, economic and the political changes are concerned, the transformation of the Western Balkan was amazingly rapid. From that perspective it is an exceptional success story. However, from the perspective of the social life, the result is very disappointing and discouraging. This deep transformation is experienced by a considerable portion of the population. In this paper we will try to make a comparative analysis of numerous social problems provoking countries of the western Balkan. The notion Western Balkan is a political concept rather than a geographical one, which actually is more or less imprecise. The new western Balkan countries emerged after the collapse of the communist system in the 1990s, and the dissolution of the Yugoslavian Federation. An exception to this is the Republic of Albania, which had a very rigid form of a communist dictatorship and was self isolated. After dissolution of the Yugoslavian Federation new states over a period of several years were in a series of conflicts among themselves. Thus wars destroyed economic infrastructure and almost all state institutions, the privatization process was realized unfairly, and the NATO and EU integration were very slow, so we can conclude that the whole process of transformation has been a dramatic phenomenon.

Introduction

The political environment plays a crucial role in steering societies to address the challenges posed by global warming and contributing to global initiatives toward a resilient and environmentally sustainable future. Political regimes in different places in the democracy-authoritarianism spectrum show varying degrees of effort to reduce their nation's respective carbon emissions. This paper aims to determine the role of political regimes along with governance dimensions in climate change mitigation. The analysis uses the V-Dem database and the World Governance Indicators (WGI) to conceptualise and measure each country's political system and its institutional quality of governance, respectively. The empirical model uses a panel database of the variables of interest for the years 1998-2022 regarding the Western Balkan (WB) economies. The target group of countries sparks our interest due to their significant challenges, such as widespread pollution, political regime changes, and severe governance problems. Furthermore, integrating the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, which suggests a complex relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability, the analysis provides evidence that the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita follows a quadratic trend, suggesting that as GDP per capita increases, the associated CO2 emissions may not change linearly but instead follow a parabolic pattern. WB countries also share the ambition of EU accession and hold the EU candidate status. To the extent these states manage to overcome their institutional issues, they will be in the position to implement the EU environmental acquis efficiently, which will amount to a critical step in the region's environmental health. Policymakers and scholars of the field will benefit from this paper since it determines the impact of political systems precisely matched with empirical results to derive conclusive answers regarding the political systems and climate change debate.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: ‘I mak Bould to Wrigt’: First-person Narratives in the History of Poverty in England, c. 1750-1900

The politico-economic relationship between Germany and the Balkan states was, from the end of the nineteenth century, one of unequal interdependence. The strategic value of the Balkan states for an export-dependent and resource-dependent industrial state like Germany was manifest in the Berlin–Bagdhad railway project, two world wars and the close relationship with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The region's value to Germany's economic and political elites has been manifest more recently in the wake of Yugoslavia's disintegration and the subsequent transition towards the politico-economic "norms" of the European Union. This paper examines the degree to which it is possible to employ the concept of hegemony in relation to German involvement in the region. While a neo-realist understanding of hegemony is inapplicable, neo-Gramscian conceptions of a hegemonic historic bloc, informed by the interests of Germany's political and economic elites but embedded in the institutions and norms of the EU, are shown to be a valuable tool for explaining the development of the successor states in the western Balkans. The strong presence of German corporations and their affiliates in Balkan trade, in foreign direct investment and transnational infrastructural projects in the region, like the Caspian pipelines, as well as the adoption of German models of political and corporate governance, would seem to confirm the unequal interdependence characteristic of hegemonic relationships.

Research background: In a rapidly changing economic environment companies deepen their cooperation, which occurs in all sectors of the economy. The progressive increase in market concentration, especially in the banking sector, is caused by various reasons.Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to compare the tendencies within market structures in few countries which origin from similar political systems and which have got experience in transformation of banking sectors.Methods: The research concerns the Baltic and the Western Balkan States. Concentration of the banking sectors, as measured by both HHI and CR5 indices changed during the quoted period, as a result of the consolidation of the sector. The study revealed a distinct change in the growth rate of market concentration and the number of banks, and is based on data provided by the local central banks and the European Central Bank.Findings and Value added: The situation in banking sectors in the Western Balkans differed significantly, which could be explained by strong economic ties, particularly with Germany and Austria. In this region, the raising concentration of the banking markets is related to the decreasing number of banks, while in the Sea Baltic States the increasing number of institutions is accomplished by the falling concentration ratio. The paper concerns the developments of the banking sectors which are not yet well described and do not belong to the mainstream of research in the Polish literature, meaning the region of the Western Balkans.

This study analyses Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs policies during the Kosovo crisis (1998), instability in Macedonia (2001), and Croatia’s accession to the EU (2013). The human security concept enhances Japanese government’s indirect approach through international organisations and expands its non-military capabilities of involvement in humanitarian crises and conflict prevention. During the ethnic conflict in Kosovo, non-belligerent promotion of human security expressed Japan’s neutrality.The Kosovo crisis provided a new opportunity for Japan to advance political relations with the EU through the trilateral US-Japan-EU framework. Japan’s contributions through human security and aid served as foundations for post-conflict reconstruction and development. International aid became the basis for transition towards a stable political system capable of building on its aspirations to become a member of the Western community of nations. By supporting EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, Japan fostered EU-Japan political relations, cross-regional cooperation, and peace in former Yugoslavia.

The analysis of the dynamics of the contemporary intra-state and international relations in the Western Balkans leads to conclusion that more than two decades after the end of the wars in the territory of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) disintegration and revisionist tendencies can still be seen in the Western Balkans (WB6). This, together with the specificity of the political systems, institutional weaknesses and socio-economic problems of the Balkan states challenge the stability of the WB6 region. As a consequence, there is still a need for a multi-dimensional involvement of the international community, aimed at the stabilization and development of the Balkan region, which – metaphorically speaking – remains suspended between “unfinished history,” “permanent temporariness,” “stable instability” and the invariably receding “European perspective”.

The EU should play a major role in political and economic convergence of the Montenegro and the region, showing strong global leadership, contributing to the survival and development of the fragile socio-economic and political systems in the region. It’s chance for Europe to restart its convergence engine, and clearly and strongly delivering the message that "Without the Western Balkans, the European project is unfinished".