South-Eastern European States Research Articles

Romania, Bulgaria and the Dobrujan Issue in the First Year of the Great War (1914-1915)

The problem of the Dobrujan land frontier between the Bulgarian and Romanian national states, which officially came up after the San Stefano and Berlin (1878) peace treaties and was aggravated by the Peace of Bucharest (1913), dominated the bilateral relations for a few decades. The hereby study focuses on the period August 1914 – September 1915, when both South-Eastern European states were neutral towards the Great War. This context led to various proposals, projects and scenarios concerning the Romanian-Bulgarian relations and implicitly related to the fate of Dobruja. Our effort deals with three levels: the positions of the Great Powers, their relations with Bucharest and Sofia, and the direct relations between the two South-Eastern European states. Chronologically, this period is divided into several stages, marked by the Ottoman Empire’s entry in the war (1 November 1914), the deadlock of the negotiations between Bulgaria and the Entente (March 1915), Italy’s option to renounce neutrality (23 May 1915) and the onset of the final talks concerning Bulgaria’s option to join the Central Powers (July 1915). Among the most relevant sources, we need to mention the Romanian Military Archives from Piteşti and the works of synthesis written by the Bulgarian historians Georgi Markov, Ivan Ilčev and Žeko Popov, dealing with the period 1913-1919.

The Impact of Institutions on Economic and Environmental Performance: Evidence From Europe

Abstract Within the Environmental Kuznets Curve framework, we investigate whether the effect of institutions on environmental quality differs among the Western Balkans, the other European post-socialist states, and Western Europe. We estimate both direct and indirect effects of institutions on air pollution for each respective sub-sample and for the whole European region (45 countries during 1996-2014). The negative direct effect is greater for non-post-socialist states, compared to post-socialist ones. Regarding the indirect effect, improving the quality of economic institutions induces an increase in the scale of economic activity, leading to an increase in CO2 emissions per capita. Estimated elasticities of CO2 emissions with respect to institutions, for all sub-groups, uncover a total positive effect, which is larger for Central-eastern and South-eastern European states. Improving the quality of institutions should go hand in hand with stricter formation and implementation of policies designed to decouple economic growth from CO2 emissions.

Pension systems in south-eastern Europe: what worked and what did not

AbstractMany south-east European states made the transition from socialist to market economies. All described here had to reform their pension systems to match the new context in which these operated. The experiences of 10 countries are reviewed – seven of which were once part of Yugoslavia. Some countries’ reforms were more radical than others. Five of them merely adapted the Bismarckian systems they had inherited; four others adopted the “three pillar” model that the World Bank had been propagating. One went further than that. The four who followed World Bank model were often forced to backtrack. Whatever the longer-term benefits, they generated their own shorter-term fiscal problems. Nonetheless, the most radical reformer gives some indications of possible ways forward. The south-eastern European states do not have financial markets that can support capitalised/funded pension systems. Nor do they have the resources to pay proportional pensions that, at the same time, keep retired people out of poverty. The article suggests that their governments should concentrate upon improving economic performance to satisfy longer term aspirations and on ensuring that pensioners are able to live properly if not luxuriously by using tax-financed transfer measures. Provision above this level can be secured through savings plans, but it must be accepted that the investments to secure those savings will have to be made abroad.

Filling the opinio iuris vacuum on sovereignty in cyberspace: A call for the South-Eastern European States to act

Filling the opinio iuris vacuum on sovereignty in cyberspace: A call for the South-Eastern European States to act

Robert C. Austin. Making and Remaking the Balkans: Nations and States since 1878.

Robert C. Austin. Making and Remaking the Balkans: Nations and States since 1878.

Repository of Drought Event Impacts Across the Danube Catchment Countries Between 1981 and 2016 Using Publicly Available Sources

Drought directly and indirectly affects human society in a number of ways. In many regions of the world climate change will exasperate the effects of droughts, affect national economies more intensely. The main aim of this article was to catalogue and analyze the drought impacts in the 11 Central and South Eastern European states located in the Danube river basin. The identification of dry episodes was based on information from publicly available sources, namely, newspaper and journal articles that reported drought impacts. Information on drought impact occurrences was classified into one of five defined categories in which the drought impact report was most clearly manifested (i.e., agriculture, forestry, soil systems, wildfires and hydrology). In terms of the spatial distribution of drought impacts, individual recorded events were analyzed at the level of EU NUTS regions (or their equivalent in non‑EU countries). The analysis highlights country‑specific vulnerability to drought. Furthermore, gradual increases in drought events and the number of reported impacts were identified, which was particularly evident in the agricultural sector.

Ministerial Politics in Southeastern Europe: Appointment and Portfolio Allocation to Female Ministers

AbstractIn light of the growing scholarship on women's representation in the executive, we examine whether extant theories on the determinants of female ministerial appointments apply to and explain the role of women in the executive in new democracies. We are further interested in better understanding the dynamics of portfolio allocation to female ministers. Given the different meanings that the political left and right carry in new compared with established democracies, we argue that ministerial appointments and portfolio allocations reflect this difference and therefore show diverse results. Presenting data on women ministers in five southeastern European states between 1990 and 2018, we analyze the descriptive representation of women at the highest echelons of political power. We establish that while the standard claim found in the literature that left political parties stage more women and with more progressive views, as shown primarily in scholarship on Western democracies, southeastern European women ministers who are given portfolios traditionally reserved for men are appointed primarily by parties of the right. Moreover, we find little support for the link between legislative and executive representation; rather, we see that the appointment of women ministers is related to the institutionalization level of the parties in power.

Assessing the rise of macro-regionalism in Europe: the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR)

This article investigates the rationale and activities of the European Union Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) established in 2014 with the objective of addressing macro-regional challenges—most importantly, the attempt to couple the protection of the Adriatic and Ionian seas with the area’s economic development—while progressively integrating Southeastern European states into the European Union through multi-level governance programmes. The results of this scheme, however, have been so far unsatisfactory. Through an examination of two highly salient issues pertaining to its development, oil and gas exploration in the Adriatic Sea and the building of a highway linking Greece to Italy, this article shows how the EUSAIR influences only marginally, if at all, states’ priorities and it does not yet contribute significantly to the building of cross-border cooperation and trust. Accordingly, the EUSAIR risks becoming irrelevant vis-a-vis the challenges that the macro-region is expected to confront.

Aspecte diplomatice privind recunoaşterea internaţională a independenţei depline a Romaniei / Diplomatic aspects concerning the recognition of the International Romanian State Independence

e proclamation of independence (May 9/21, 1877) represented a decisive moment in the evolution of modern Romania, a prerequisite for the Romanian state unity. While the international status of Romania had been established by the 1856 Treaty of Paris, its independence had to be recognized by the seven signatory state powers whose reactions have varied according to their position concerning the „Eastern Question”. e proclamation of Romanian State Independence wasn’t well received by Europe, being accomplished without its will and even contrary to its interests due to the fact that the emancipation of small European peoples tendency, carried out without the consent of the great powers, was not well-regarded. e Romanian separation from the Ottoman Empire was an act of great courage, especially that this was implying the transformation of the whole European Political map. Although in Berlin, both Romania, as well as the other South-Eastern European states, have managed to obtain only small parts of their solicitations, the recognition of the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and the signi"cant improvement of the situation of the Bulgarians, through the creation of the Autonomous Principality of Bulgaria, had great importance. e recognition of the Romanian State Independence brought a new international statute, thus becoming both subject of international a#airs, as well as a matter of international law. is meant that Romania received, at least theoretically, legal equality with the other sovereign states, no state having the right to interfere in the a#airs carried out by the Romanian state, both internally, as well as externally. e Romanian diplomacy, enlivened by a deep patriotism, defended with dignity the interests of the tiny state which was representing in front of the diplomats of the great powers of the time, exponents of an unfavorable or even hostile foreign policy towards the small and medium-sized countries.

Rule of Law and Institutional Legitimacy: Challenges of Transition, Challenges of Europe

Recent European events have revealed that some eu Member States, including some South Eastern European (see) States, still struggle with the rule of law. While certain rule of law challenges may be due to past legacies and insufficient (or insufficiently successful) transitions, others may be the result of the transition itself and of contemporary socio-economic problems that are experienced across Europe. This article will address the state of the rule of law in see, reflecting first on some pre-, mid-, and post-transition problems relevant for the rule of law in these countries. Next, it will address the legal and socio-psychological impact of the challenges posed by the mentioned problems, connecting the (mis)trust that can be observed on several levels (internally and externally) with the rule of law, thus demonstrating that mistrust as such has social as well as legal consequences. If trust (e.g. in the effectiveness of the rule of law safeguards or in those who are entrusted with safeguarding it) is lacking, this represents a problem not only for the Member State (e.g. for the functioning and perceived legitimacy of its judicial system) in question, but also for the eu (e.g. for the judicial cooperation in criminal matters). Lastly, the article will examine the eu’s perspective on rule of law, drawing on the recent eu Framework to Strengthen the Rule of Law, which aims to ensure an effective and coherent protection of the rule of law in all Member States, as well as on some other eu documents that may, in our view, help address the current challenges in European rule of law.

Compliance with EU biofuel targets in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe: Do interest groups matter?

The European Union requires its member states to establish national targets for the biofuel content of all diesel and petrol supplies for transport placed on the market. This study explores the adoption of this European Union policy across South-Eastern and Eastern Europe between 2003 and 2012. In theoretical terms, we are specifically interested in examining the role of interest groups for policy adoption. We argue that the oil industry in general and the producers of biofuels in particular will support the establishment of national biofuel targets because they expect economic gains. By contrast, we expect environmental groups with international and regional ties to oppose such targets because biofuels have come under attack for their potential environmental impact including deforestation, a loss in biodiversity, and food insecurity. Empirically, we concentrate on policy adoptions in 21 South-Eastern and Eastern European states with varied relations to the European Union and the Energy Community. Our analysis supports our main arguments in suggesting that a stronger presence of environmental groups decreases the chances of adopting national biofuel targets across our country sample while producer interests tend to increase adoptions. This finding holds true also when controlling for a country’s European Union membership and accession perspective, membership in the Energy Community, and additional domestic-level factors. These results add more generally to our understanding about compliance with European Union policies and environmental governance.

Labor Reforms in SEE Countries and Recovering from the Crisis

Abstract Since 2009, South Eastern European states are confronted with the most dramatic recession throughout Europe. As the 2008 global financial crisis turned to sovereign debt crisis in the EU, the vulnerable economies of the SEE periphery became recipients of IMF loans (granted to a total of sixteen European countries) to tackle the impact of the downturn. In the Balkan region, Greece – a member of the Eurozone - has been receiving financial support from the IMF/EC/ECB troika since May 2010; Serbia and Romania have also borrowed from the IMF; while Bulgaria, also as vulnerable but poorer than Romania, postponed such a deal due to its smaller budget deficit. The loans - either by the IMF or in collaboration with European institutions - were granted under conditional terms of austerity and structural adjustment policies, which imposed public expenditures cuts, anti-protectionism reforms, more labor market flexibilization and national assets’ privatization. Those conditional policies of restructuring towards liberalization ‘promised’ more FDI-favorable conditions, higher employability and thus, growth. However, the suppression of welfare and social security expenditures, the reduction of public and private sector wages, and the promoted labor market reforms have so far deepened recession, accentuated unemployment and decreased social and living standards in all loan-recipient countries. The anticipated recovery from the crisis appears to be uneven and underlines the fragility of the EU. In this context, there is growing concern for the effectiveness of the implemented structural reforms, especially in the vulnerable SEE periphery of Europe. We focus on the Balkan EU-member states of Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, to explore the effect of the memoranda-imposed labor market re/deregulation on their economies. We find that despite the different characteristics of the crisis in these countries, high unemployment is persisting, employment precariousness and risk of in-work poverty is increasing, and their capacity for economic recovery is deteriorating.

The expansion of international society after 30 years: Views from the European periphery

Since its publication three decades ago, Hedley Bull and Adam Watson’s The Expansion of International Society has served as the main point of departure for historically informed discussion of how today’s states system emerged and then went on to envelop the world. In a recent article, Iver Neumann criticized Bull and Watson’s conceptualization for being Euro-centric, in the sense that these scholars only ascribed agency to the European side of the relationship between an entrant and international society. For International Relations, it is particularly apposite that the new entrants to international society themselves came from suzerain systems, such as Habsburg-dominated or the Ottoman-dominated one. Neumann’s example was Russia, whose experiences with Mongol suzerainty and, before that, with being a part of a suzerain system centred on Byzantium, infused Muscovy with experiences and memories that formed the reference point for what to expect when getting in contact with international society. This forum broadens this debate by looking not only at one state, but at a set of Central and South-Eastern European states with experiences and memories from various suzerain systems. The articles discuss when and how Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Turkey began to aspire for membership in international society; experiences, memories and ideas such as translatio imperii that informed what they made of the entry; and how and in what degree the ensuing tensions remain today.

I profughi tedeschi nella Germania del secondo dopoguerra

At the end of World War Two, Central and Eastern Europe were subject to a huge process of ethnic homogenization. A forced exodus of millions of people redefined the national characteristics of the Central-European States in the post-war period. The German populations from the Eastern territories of pre-Nazi Germany and the German minorities from the Central and South-Eastern European states were the most affected by this tragic destiny, with 14 million expelled and almost 2 million dead. The integration of Eastern Germans into their new homeland was difficult and tortuous. Key words: German refugees, Post-war Germany (1945-1960), Public memory, Forced population transfers

Albanien als Krisen- und Kriegsgebiet 1908–1921

Abstract The Albanian national movement was still quite young and heterogeneous when international conflicts lead to the foundation of the Albanian state in 1912/13. Located by the strategically important Strait of Otranto, it came into existence as a compromise and under the protection of the Great Powers in a time when the Osman Empire was collapsing and the South-eastern European States were practising an aggressive policy of expansion. Only a few months later World War I broke out and affected the region severely. Consequently, it took another ten years for the Albanian state to take permanent shape within the changed order of postwar Europe. At this point, however, the political self-concept of Albania had altered pertinently due to constant foreign intervention and occupation by opposing war parties. Some of these influences continue to affect Albania to the present day.

Administrative Rationalization and Economic Performance in some South-Eastern European States

The field literature establishes an intrinsic connection between administrative rationalization and economic performance of a state. Dahl (1947) and Simon (1976) conclude that the rational model of administration influences both the governance and corporate bureaucracy. Rationality and performance become the bases of good governance. Recent studies of Evans and Rauche (1999) or Matei and Matei (2011) emphasise relevant statistical analyses that demonstrate the interdependency between bureaucracy and economic growth. In this context, the current paper aims to achieve and present a study on the quality of bureaucracy, emphasised by the features of rationality specific to Weberian bureaucracy and economic performance, expressed, for example through synthetic indicators, such as GDP per capita. The target group of states analysed comprises Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece. The research methodology includes the valorisation of results in the framework of other European projects and their statistic and economic interpretation in view to highlight the changes determined by the European Union enlargement.

Assessing the Anti-corruption Strategies: Theoretical and Empirical Models

The preoccupations about conceiving and promoting efficient anti-corruption strategies exist in most states, especially in the developing countries. The opportunity of such strategies derives from the direct link, demonstrated theoretically and empirically, between the effects of the anti-corruption strategies and government performance, translated both in the economic and social results and living standard, welfare etc. In the last decades, the transnational actors – UN, World Bank, OECD, EU etc. -  have affirmed as promoters of own anti-corruption strategies,  directing the states’ efforts, conferring adequate levels of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency or sustainability. The South-Eastern European states incorporate own anti-corruption strategies in the framework of general strategies, aiming the government reform in the context of the European integration process. Strengthening the public integrity, reducing corruption, developing a genuine climate of economic freedom become important objectives concerning the impact on government performance. The paper incorporates briefly the main characteristics of anti-corruption strategies, developed by transnational actors and it aims to shape theoretical and empirical frameworks for the assessment of anti-corruption strategies. The focus on some South-Eastern European states has a demonstrative character, as the presented analyses may be extended to various geo-political areas.

Comparative Studies on the Administrative Convergence Revealed by National Strategies of Administrative Reform in Some South-Eastern European States

The paper has as main topic the administrative convergence and its reflection in the national strategies of administrative reform in some states in South Eastern Europe. Having a complex content, sometimes even ambiguous, the administrative convergence will have as finality the integration in the European Administrative Space and the administrative reforms as support. From this prospect, the South-Eastern Europe has a certain specificity emphasised by: - Different positions of the states under discussion related to the dynamics of the European integration process. - Development and evolution of the national public administrations in in direct connection both with Central European states and with the Eastern European ones, dominated by the Slav administrative culture, as well as the South European countries under the Balkan and Middle East influences. - Geo-strategic position of most states, including Romania, position that provides them a role of catalyser in the process of construction of the European Administrative Space. The paper is structured in three parts referring to the theoretical aspects concerning the administrative convergence, relevant case studies regarding Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as conclusions based both on the theoretical elements and on the social perception of the domestic processes within the European Administrative Space. In the current version, the paper represents a research report drawn up within the framework of the Jean Monnet project “South-Eastern European developments on the administrative convergence and enlargement of the European Administrative Space in Balkan states.

The Quality of Bureaucracy and Public Sector Performance: A Comparative Study in South-Eastern Europe

The interaction between the degree of administrative rationalization, ratios of economic growth and public sector performance represents a research field yet insufficient approached, at least for the South-Eastern European states.It presupposes essentially to determine the economic impact of the quality of bureaucracy in national administrations, whose structures, through administrative convergence and dynamics become more or less similar to Weberian administrative structures.The field literature at the end of 20th century has developed comprehensive studies on that topic, analysing the situation in over 35 states all over the world. The South-Eastern European states were not comprised in the mentioned studies.In this context, the paper aims to carry out a comparative theoretical and empirical research for some South-Eastern European states, especially in the Balkans, in view to determine the correlation between the quality of bureaucracy, economic growth and governance performance.The investigation method consists in the “analysis of economic bureaucracy,” whose content is based on Weber’s principles of administrative rationalization, adapted to the research objectives of the paper and grouped in “competitive salaries, internal promotion and career stability, and meritocratic recruitment” (Rauch and Evans, 1999).The sociological investigation was developed in four South-Eastern European states: Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia on a sample of 125 stakeholders, determined on basis of rigorous representativeness criteria at central government level for each above-mentioned state.The empirical data are obtained in the framework of Jean Monnet project “South-Eastern European developments on the administrative convergence and enlargement of the European Administrative Space in Balkan states.“

Integrating Anti-Corruption Strategies within the Government Reforms in Some South-Eastern European States - An Empirical Study on the Impact of the Government Performance

The preoccupations about conceiving and promoting efficient anti-corruption strategies exist in most states, especially in the developing countries. The opportunity of such strategies derives from the direct link, demonstrated theoretically and empirically, between the effects of the anti-corruption strategies and government performance, translated both in the economic and social results and living standard, welfare etc. In the last decades, the transnational actors - UN, World Bank, OECD, EU etc. - have affirmed as promoters of own anti-corruption strategies, directing the states’ efforts, conferring adequate levels of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency or sustainability. The South-Eastern European states incorporate own anti-corruption strategies in the framework of general strategies, aiming the government reform in the context of the European integration process. Strengthening the public integrity, reducing corruption, developing a genuine climate of economic freedom become important objectives concerning the impact on government performance. The paper incorporates briefly the main characteristics of anti-corruption strategies, developed by transnational actors and it aims to shape theoretical and empirical frameworks for the impact of anti-corruption strategies. The focus on some South-Eastern European states has a demonstrative character, as the presented analyses may be extended to various geo-political areas.