Publications

153 Publications
Western Balkans

Making Federalism Work - A Radical Proposal For Practical Reform

8 Jan 2004

Calls for constitutional reform have been a regular feature of Bosnian politics ever since the Dayton Agreement. There is widespread discontent with the present structures of government. This paper outlines a step-by-step process of strengthening federalism in Bosnia by abolishing the Federation and creating a simplified federal structure, based around the current 12 units making up the state.

European Raj

After the Bonn powers - Open letter to Lord Ashdown

16 Jul 2003

The Bonn powers are incompatible with international efforts to build democracy and the rule of law. The protectorate role of the High Representative reinforces the worst tendencies of the old Yugoslav political culture: the fondness for the čvrsta ruka, the "strong hand" that acts as a deus ex machina outside the political process. This highly personalised style of politics, where ultimate power rests in the hands of one charismatic individual, is exactly what democratisation efforts are supposed to overcome.

European Raj

Travails of the European Raj

3 Jul 2003

What, then, is the true justification for the extraordinary powers that the international mission enjoys? The conditions that obtained in 1996 and the conditions that obtain today are separated by a gulf too wide to be bridged by the assertion that both represent a state of emergency that only a decisive and unquestioned authority can handle.

Western Balkans

Trepča, 1965-2000

11 Jun 2003

This report examines Trepca's history, from its early British management to its development into a leading Yugoslav company, with a focus on its 90s' leadership under Novak Bjelic. It aims to clarify potential claims from Trepca's foreign investor involvement and contribute to a realistic valuation, encouraging depoliticization of debates on its future.

Western Balkans

The Road To Thessaloniki: Cohesion And The Western Balkans

12 Mar 2003

As the political and economic map of Europe is redrawn in 2004, there is a growing fear among the countries of the Western Balkans that they will be left on the margins of the new and integrated Europe. There is a risk that, instead of catching up with the rest of the continent, the countries of the Western Balkans will fall further behind, and the goal of integration – and the promise of regional stabilisation this brings – will become even more distant.

Western Balkans

Assistance, Cohesion And The New Boundaries Of Europe - A Call for Policy Reform

3 Nov 2002

As the period of reconstruction and stabilisation draws to a close, the Western Balkans is facing a looming crisis of social and economic dislocation which puts at risk some of the European Union's most important interests in this strategic region. It should therefore send a strong signal to the countries of the Western Balkans that the promise of Europeanisation is not an illusion.

Western Balkans

Ahmeti's Village - The Political Economy Of Interethnic Relations In Macedonia

1 Oct 2002

Entering the Kicevo region from the north, the traveller first reaches the village of Zajas, home to the guerrilla leader turned party politician, Ali Ahmeti. The uprising led by Ahmeti brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2001 and his new party, the Democratic Union for Integration, has since emerged as the Albanian community's pre-eminent political force.

Western Balkans

The Ottoman Dilemma

8 Aug 2002

The United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has made itself responsible as trustee and administrator for a vast amount of state and socially owned property across Kosovo, including some 370 socially owned enterprises (SOEs). However, over the past three years, it has lacked the institutional resources to establish an effective property regime. As a result, control over some of Kosovo's most valuable economic assets is being determined outside the legal system, in countless individual power struggles across Kosovo.

Western Balkans

Imposing Constitutional Reform? The Case For Ownership

20 Mar 2002

As an agreement on the Constitutional Court's decision on constituent peoples looks unlikely, the High Representative and the PIC Steering Board must decide whether to enforce amendments to the Entity constitutions. Bosnian politicians and Sarajevo press see this as the departing High Representative's last chance to leave a multi-ethnic system. They challenge him to implement significant changes, especially in Republika Srpska.

Western Balkans

De-industrialisation And Its Consequences - A Kosovo Story

1 Mar 2002

In pre-socialist times, Peja, or Peć in Serbian, was a bustling regional center with about 16,000 residents. Home to merchants, craftsmen, hotels, restaurants, and a few larger businesses like a flour mill, timber mills, and a brick factory. The town was linked to the railway and electricity in 1929, with a small hydroelectric station on the White Drini River.

Western Balkans

The Other Macedonian Conflict

20 Feb 2002

International intervention has so far managed to contain the violent conflict that erupted in Macedonia in 2001. Under EU and NATO, a framework was created to limit the conflict which has had fewer than 250 casualties. However, despite the 2001 Ohrid "Framework Agreement", the situation in Macedonia is notably worse than at the conflict's onset a year earlier.

Western Balkans

Governance And Development - A Real Life Story Of Private Sector Growth In Bosnia And Herzegovina

13 Feb 2002

For some time, international agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have spoken of the need for a change of paradigm: from reconstruction to development. What distinguishes effective development strategies from pure reconstruction is that they focus on developing local institutions and capacities. This requires knowledge of the institutional and political realities prevailing in the field, especially at local level.

Western Balkans

Serbian-Montenegrin Trade Relations

1 Dec 2001

According to the federal constitution, the FRY is a single economic economic space with free movement of goods, people and capital (article 13). In line with this, the responsibility for import and export regulations, customs and the registration of imports and exports lies with federal institutions. After Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic broke with the Milosevic regime in 1997, political and economic relations between Serbia and Montenegro deteriorated.

Western Balkans

Politics, interests and the future of Yugoslavia - An agenda for dialogue

11 Nov 2001

This paper examines the current constitutional debate on the future of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and finds it to be frustratingly short on content. It considers the motivations of the major political players and explores the interests of various groups of citizens. It finds that there may be a real opportunity for ambitious forward-looking politicians in both Serbia and Montenegro who are willing to address the concrete concerns of those citizens most directly affected by the constitutional debate, even prior to a referendum in Montenegro.

Western Balkans

In Search Of Politics: The Evolving International Role In Bosnia And Herzegovina

1 Nov 2001

There is a tendency to see politics in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina as a problem – an obstructive and corrupting influence to be minimised as far as possible. One can find this attitude among citizens disillusioned with the quality of representation offered by the narrow circle of political elites. One hears it among international officials frustrated with the slow pace of Bosnia's political process, and constantly tempted to bypass domestic institutions.

Western Balkans

Serbian-Montenegrin Relations And The Question Of Citizenship Of FRY Citizens

1 Nov 2001

After the break-up of socialist Yugoslavia at the beginning of the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of citizens had difficulties in obtaining citizenship of the successor state in which they wished to live. Many were left without any citizenship at all. While in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) all citizens held the citizenship of one of the member republics in addition to Yugoslav citizenship, this was of no practical relevance as long as the joint state existed.

Western Balkans

Serbian-Montenegrin Relations And The Question Of Property Issues

1 Oct 2001

During and after the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) many former Yugoslav citizens have been deprived of their property. This paper examines the current state of affairs in the area of property and ownership questions in Montenegro against the background of deteriorating relations between Serbia and Montenegro, points out potential problems in the event of the dissolution of the Federation and proposes solutions as to how these can be avoided.

Western Balkans

Rhetoric and Reform - A case study of institution building in Montenegro 1998

28 Jun 2001

The demise of Slobodan Milosevic's and the change of administration in Belgrade in autumn 2000 marked a pivotal moment in Montenegrin history. With Yugoslavia rejoining international institutions and political changes in Belgrade, Montenegro's strategic significance to the West has lessened. Therefore, donor priorities are shifting, and Montenegro can't expect the high level of external subsidies it received in the past.

Stability Pact

Democracy, Security And The Future Of The Stability Pact For South Eastern Europe

4 Apr 2001

The Stability Pact reflected an extraordinary consensus among the wider international community and the states of the region that something had to be done to address the problems of instability in South Eastern Europe at their source, breaking once and for all the cycle of conflict. Following a decade of reactive crisis management, the Pact was to be a "turning point" after "too many false dawns, too many shattered hopes and lives, too many tensions left unresolved".

Western Balkans

Reshaping International Priorities In Bosnia And Herzegovina - Part III The End Of The Nationalist Regimes And The Future Of The Bosnian State

22 Mar 2001

Over the last two years, Bosnia has changed dramatically. The ethnic power structures left over from the war have begun to crumble. Political changes in Croatia and Serbia have cut external revenues, forcing the political elites in Bosnia to reorient themselves towards the international community and participate in the Bosnian state. With the right focus of international efforts, the core Dayton agenda can be completed within the next 2-3 years.