SEE-EU

Politische Kultur in (Südost)Europa

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:26:31 +0200

Die Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft und die Deutsche Welle veranstalten am 17. und 18. September 2009 in der Räumen der Deutschen Welle in Bonn eine internationale Konferenz zum Thema Politische Kultur in (Südost)Europa – Charakteristika, Vermittlung, Wandel. Das Programm und weitere Informationen gibt es hier.

Democratisation and reform in SEE

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:02:52 +0200

The latest newsletter of the "Development and Transition" platform (LSE + UNDP) focuses on democratisation in Central and (South) Eastern Europe - the pdf-version can be downloaded here. I found the interview with Thomas Carothers (who is very critical of Western democratisation efforts in (South) Eastern Europe) quite interesting - here some quotes:

Vortrag/Gespräch in Düsseldorf: Europa und der Balkan

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:50:29 +0200

Das Düsseldorfer Instituts für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik e.V. (DIAS) an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität lädt zum 3. Uni Talk über "Europa und der Balkan: Identitäten, Interessen, Perspektiven" mit Dr. Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, Botschafter a.D., Bonn.
WANN? Donnerstag, 7. Mai 2009, 12:30 Uhr - 14:00 Uhr
WO? Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Seminarraum 01.05 (Geb. 24.91, Altes Juridicum) (Wegbeschreibung hier) (Eintritt frei)

Bosnien-Herzegowina: Recherchereise für Medienschaffende

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:06:05 +0200

n-ost bietet zwölf deutschsprachigen Medienschaffenden (Print/Radio) eine Recherchereise nach Bosnien und Herzegowina zum Thema: "Bosnien und Herzegowina. Zerrissenes Land zwischen Kriegsfolgen und EU-Integration" an. Wann? 16. bis 23. Juni 2009, Bewerbungsschluss: 19. Mai 2009.

SEE Visions

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:06:49 +0100

A team of individuals from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Romania, who are taking part in a programme funded by the TRANSFUSE Association and the College of Europe, together with NGO HIŽA have launched the competition ‘Express Europe through your Eyes’ for young individuals of South East Europe. As explained on the website - where the young artists have posted their art works as blogs - "the main goal of the competition is to provide space for young people from the region to express their views on the EU through different art forms, but also to gain information and knowledge about the EU." (more...)

Understanding Bosnia...

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:41:20 +0100

... is the title of an article by Vildana Skocajic and Anes Alic (click here for episode one + two). After some delay due to negotiations with the US it seems that Austrian diplomat V. Inzko will be the next High Representative in BiH. Former High Representative Paddy Ashdown was criticised for using the "Bonn Powers", Schwarz-Schilling for his "ownership" policies. Miroslav Lajcak had a tougher stance in the crisis following the separatist threats of RS-PM Dodik, but also tried to be closer to the Bosnians, especially to young people (cf. the reci.ba website). (more...)

Wars of symbols

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:37:12 +0100

The Czech EU Presidency installation Entropa (pdf booklet) by the Czech artist David Černý triggered a lot of debate and criticism - so much that there is even a summary of the debate on Wikipedia. Bulgarian TV moderator Boyko Vassilev explains why:
"By creating a project where everyone feels offended, Cerny (perhaps unintentionally) shows how fragile Europe is in a world constantly driven by wars of symbols and representation. It shows also how this war could ignite along the fringes of or even within the union." (more...)

Kosovo - one year after...

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:42:25 +0100

Kosovars did not have to go to work for two days, the President of Kosovo pardoned or shortened the sentences of 62 people convicted of various crimes, and the Kosovar Prime Minister visited a baby girl born on 17 February 2008 and named Pavaresia (Independence)...
The accounts of Kosovo's celebration of "1 year of independence" are a good occasion to publish reports on every-day life in Kosovo (cf. an easy-reading article by the TAZ/in German or an (mp3) audio-report by D. Auer/Deutschlandfunk/also in German)... or to recall that most "promises" by the Kosovo government or the international community are still not realised:

Recherchestipendien

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:27:19 +0100

Zum zweiten Mal schreibt das Netzwerk für Osteuropa-Berichterstattung Recherchestipendien zum Thema „70 Jahre Kriegsbeginn – Erinnerungskulturen in Deutschland, Ostmittel- und Osteuropa“ aus. Gefördert werden die Stipendien von der Stiftung "Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft".

EU Should Keep Up Pressure on Belgrade

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:20:50 +0100

Despite "Serbia's newfound appetite for international justice", IWPR correspondant Simon Jennings argues that the "EU Should Keep Up Pressure on Belgrade". "Given the recent arrests (...), it is regrettable that European chiefs are looking to relax their strict conditions on movement towards integration just when they are starting to work", e.g. by initiating a trade agreement with Serbia.
Related stories: a recently published BIRN article on the fate of Sarajevo's Jews during the war and an IWPR article on Visegrad where people "do not know anything" about what happened during the war. A propos Visegrad and the war: if you are looking for an easy-to-read novel for the end of the Christmas/New Years holidays, I can recommend Sasa Stanisic': Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert/How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone (click here or here to read an extract in English).

Visa facilitation in the W-Balkans

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:33:14 +0100

The European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) and King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) organise a conference on 10 December 2008 in Brussels on: “Does it really matter? Visa facilitation in the Western Balkans: Monitoring of the new agreements”. More information on the conference and the conference programme can be found here.

EULEX between hopes and fears

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:22:43 +0100

The new EULEX mission should be operational in a few days. Its legal basis is a report by the Secretary General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo which was adopted by the UN Security Council last week:

"I expect EULEX to move forward with its deployment in the coming period and to assume responsibilities in the areas of policing, justice and customs, under the overall authority of the United Nations, under a United Nations umbrella headed by my Special Representative, and in accordance with resolution 1244 (1999). UNMIK has been working closely with EULEX on technical arrangements designed to facilitate its deployment under resolution 1244 (1999)." (Ban Ki Moon in the Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo from 24 November 2008) (click on "MORE" to read on)

"Alternative Nobel" for Monika Hauser

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:54:16 +0100

Monika Hauser, the founder of the NGO medica mondiale, has dedicated her life to supporting women who are victims of psychological, physical, and sexual violence in crisis regions. Medica mondiale has started its activities during the war in Bosnia and is still active in the Balkan region (as in many other crisis regions in the world). Monika Hauser will be awarded the "Alternative Nobel" prize next Monday (8 Dec). Here is an interview with her (in German).

Caucasus - Balkans ?

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:23:11 +0200

Drawing parallels and simplification helps us to understand the world. However, it can also lead to misunderstandings when parallels are drawn between very distinct situations and issues. The Caucasus crisis has often been compared to the Balkans and to the Cyprus issue. I do not have any problems with comparisons as long as they are balanced and take into account the differences. A lot of recent press comments lacked this balance and were based on simplistic equations such as Russia+Serbia vs. Kosovo+US+EU and Russia+South Ossetia+Abkhazia vs. Georgia+US+EU. Those same analysts were asking: "How come Russia is first against independence in the Kosovo-case and then pro-independence?" - acknowledging thereby the limits of their own system of analysis.

State-building and EU integration

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:21:18 +0200

Tonight I just want to share a quote with you from an ECFR article by U. Guérot on EU and state building (the article is from February, but still remains of interest):

(Minority) education in Kosovo

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:58:52 +0200

Education is one of the key words on Kosovo politician's lips, but the reality is far from the goals of the Ministry of Education which are summarised in the catch phrase "curriculum reform". Some progress has been achieved: recently, as a consequence of a new accreditation process, all private "universities" and colleges in Kosovo had to close their doors to new students - except the American University of Kosovo which is a branch of a US university. Nevertheless, the situation remains very difficult for youth belonging to a minority group (cf. this "NODE" report on minority rights in the Balkans (pdf), p. 66ff.). (more below)

The EU and the Western Balkans: The Objectives of the Slovenian EU Presidency

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:36:55 +0200

From 12 to 13 September 2008, an international conference will take place in Berlin on "The EU and the Western Balkans: The Objectives of the Slovenian EU Presidency", co-organised by the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft and the German Foreign Office (more info below):

Beqë Cufaj: Seine Taten, unsere Welt

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:48:28 +0200

Reflecting on the role of the ICTY, I remembered an article I had read by Beqe Cufaj on Karadzic's arrest, "an opportunity for justice" as B. Cufaj puts it: "As the victims are condemned to eternal silence, the perpetrators have to speak now" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24.07.08). But we should not believe the "rhetoric of criminals" which denies any responsiblity. Nor should we shift the whole responsibility onto the war criminals - we should rather ask us about our personal responsibility, argues B. Cufaj: We are responsible for shaping the future, while Karadzic can only tell us about the past. Below you will find a copy of the article (in German) which is not available on the FAZ website (any more):

The difficulty to prove what is known

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:27:29 +0200

“You are charged with genocide. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?” Mr. Karadzic, standing, replied: “I will not plead.” (source: NY Times, 29.8.08; more background info by AFP, the ICTY website and on M. Mardell's BBC blog). As M. Mardell remarks in his blog, the main difficulty in cases like Karadzic's is not to reconstruct what happened - because that is widely known - but to provide evidence of personal responsibility of the person indicted:

Karadzic - finally!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:17:51 +0200

"Karadzic - finally!" titles the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" - indeed, Radovan Karadzic could have been arrested earlier on several occasions (FAZ and ZEIT ), and it is no coincidence that the arrest happens now 2 weeks after the new Serbian pro-European government was sworn in. He could be transfered to the ICTY in the Hague as early as this week-end. Now only two accused are at large: R. Mladic and G. Hadzic. (... more...)