Balkans

When

September 12, 2023
10:00 am – 11:00 am

Where

Zoom Webinar

Russia’s aggression in the Black Sea countries has targeted societal vulnerabilities and exploited ethnic tensions in the Black Sea region for decades. Russia’s full-scale war has further exploited these vulnerabilities. But slow and imperfect democratization processes, economic hardship and inequality have also had long-lasting effects on societal resilience and the formation of national identities that are inclusive and democratic.

Abstract: The Western Balkans region is both politically and economically significant for Europe. This article examines the security issues and further identifies development issues that threaten the stability of this region as it finds itself at a dangerous crossroads between the West and the East. As of 2022, the influence of the Russian Federation and the war in Ukraine have evoked some of the most important security questions not just in Europe but worldwide.

Abstract: Despite the war ending in former Yugoslavia, which resulted in newly proclaimed nations, the drums never ceased. There have been endless initiatives to stabilise the region, such as the Thessaloniki Summit and the Berlin Process, which can now be considered attempts in vain. One of the biggest issues remains the spread of terrorism in the wider area. Reports indicate that the Western Balkans proved themselves to be an excellent hideout and base of operations for many terrorists planning attacks worldwide. Most decision-makers lack an understanding of the region’s past, resulting in unnecessary delays to the European Integration of the Western Balkans.

Prime Minister Kurti was elected on the premise that he would attend to Kosovo’s socio-economic malaise, lift its people from the ashes of the war, give them hope, and restore their dignity. Sadly, more than two years later, Kurti has little to show for his promises.

I still recall the first time I saw a defendant accused of crimes against humanity admit guilt in court. It was 2008. I had been a journalist for a few years and had covered trials at the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague and at the Bosnian War Crimes Chamber. But this was different.

A dispute about engraving civilians’ names on a monument to deceased fighters in a small Kosovo town highlighted a wider problem: although most people killed in the 1998-99 war were civilians, most war memorials commemorate guerrillas.

Landslide victory of anti-Đukanović block

Early parliamentary elections in Montenegro were held on 11 June 2023. However, the official election results were publicized only on 14 July 2023.

The parties that won the largest number of votes from the voters for the Parliament of Montenegro, which has 81 representatives, include the Europe Now Movement /Pokret Evropa sad/ which won 25.53% of votes (24 representatives), the Together Coalition /Zajedno/ (DPS, SD, LP, DUA) 23.22% (21 representatives), the For the Future of Montenegro coalition /Za budućnost Crne Gore/ (NSD, DNP, RP) 14.74% (13 representatives), the Bravery Counts coalition /Hrabro se broji/ (Democrats and URA) 12.48% (11 representatives), Bosniak Party 7.08% (6 representatives), Albanian Forum 1.91% (2 representatives), the For You coalition /Za tebe/ (SNP and Demos) 3.13% (2 representatives), the Croat minority list On the Right Side of the World /Na pravoj strani svijeta –HGI/ 0.74% (1 representative) and the Albanian minority Albanian Alliance coalition /Albanska alijansa/ 1.49% (1 representative).

On June 14, a fishing vessel carrying hundreds of refugees, the Adriana, sank off the Greek port city of Pylos. Roughly 600 people, including children, drowned. An investigation by German regional broadcaster NDR, the Guardian, the research agency Forensis and the Greek organization Solomon has now come to the clear conclusion that the Adriana was towed by the Greek coast guard towards Italian waters and then, when this was unsuccessful, capsized.

World War I wasn’t just a conflict between nations—it was a war between empires. Western European empires like Great Britain and France had overseas colonies around the world, while eastern empires like Austria-Hungary and Russia ruled European and North Asian territories connected by land. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on July 28, 1914, was itself an anti-imperialist murder, planned by members of Young Bosnia angry over Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.