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Domestication of the Market? Householding and Post-Peasant Society in Romania

Domestication of the Market? Householding and Post-Peasant Society in Romania

Author(s): Vintilă Mihăilescu / Language(s): English

Recent accession to the European Union means a speedy and dramatic shift in economic culture and practices toward a common market economy and behavior. How will Romania, with about half of its population leaving in villages and about one third of its active population involved in agriculture f t into this emerging post-peasant society? What will be the main tensions and the short term adjustments of this emerging social context? Without aiming to advocate for one scenario or another, the present essay intends to explore the role households and household centered economy actually play and will play in this context.

The Economics of Blurs and Shadows – The Hidden Economy in Macedonia

Економија на маглини и сенки – скриената економија во Maкедонија

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English,Macedonian

KEY POINTS * According to the research being done on the issue of hidden economy, its share in Macedonia, depending on the measurement method used, ranges from 24% to 47% of GDP with a tendency to decrease. * The decreasing, but still large unemployment rate (28.4% as of Q2 2014), as one of the most important factors that give rise to hidden economic activities and practices, indicates a crossover from the informal to the formal sector. * The indicators of non-observed economy (NOE) and observed informal employment by the SSO indicate a tendency of decreasing hidden economy and increasing formalization of labor. * Attracting FDIs through improving the business environment, increasing the capacity of the self-employment program of the Employment Agency, and reforming the inspectorates will remain some of the most crucial factors in encouraging the formalization process of labor and businesses and thus decreasing hidden economic activities.

Trade Policy in The Context of Bulgaria’s Accession to the European Union, August 1995

Trade Policy in The Context of Bulgaria’s Accession to the European Union, August 1995

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In the economic area the EU integration process evolved from the Treaty of Rome (1957) establishing a common market and a progressive approximation of the economic policies of Member States, through the Single European Act (1986) providing for the establishment of the internal market, comprising an area without internal frontiers, to the Treaty on the European Union (1992) committing EU members to another significant deepening of integration namely the establishment of economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single currency.

HELSINŠKE SVESKE №09: In the Triangle of the State Power - Army, Police, Paramilitary Units

HELSINŠKE SVESKE №09: In the Triangle of the State Power - Army, Police, Paramilitary Units

Author(s): Stipe Sikavica,Budimir Babović,Miloš Vasić,Filip Švarm / Language(s): English

Keywords: Yugoslavia; army; Serbia; regime; Slobodan Milošević; war-time; peace-time; "serbization"; nationalities; transformation; police forces; international dimension; paramilitary groups;

Even if one were to maintain that some psychological, political and professional features of Yugoslav Army resembled those of the armies of some European states undergoing transition, then one must also admit that the Yugoslav Army does not have its counterpart anywhere in the world when it comes to the YA origins, background, war experience and the current political engagement. One could say without any exaggeration that it is a phenomenon among the armies of the world, as much as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a phenomenon among other countries in the world. At least this assertion applies to the state and its army during the rule of Slobodan Milošević. It was created not through transformation, as the versions of the domestic (both active and retired) military professionals imply (see, for example, Veljko Kadijević, My perception of the war, Beograd 1993 page 113) but by simple downsizing and (mere renaming) of the former Yugoslav People's Army to the Serbian-Montenegrin combat and high officers cadres. That process evolved in a frightening wanton war destruction and wandering “of the armed force of all our peoples and nationalities” from Karavanka mountains in Slovenia to Danube and Drina. The Army of Yugoslavia after ten years of its existence is still searching for its own identity.

Stereotype-Free: Choose Your Career Freely. Activities for Elementary School Projects

Stereotype-Free: Choose Your Career Freely. Activities for Elementary School Projects

Author(s): Jitka Kolářová,Anna Babanová,Jitka Hausenblasová,Tereza Krobová,Irena Smetáčková / Language(s): English

Keywords: Elementary schools; school projects; methodology; cookbook; career; career counselling projects; equal opportunities; boys; girls; traditional division of jobs; educational programmes;

Dear readers, we are presenting you with a methodology “cookbook“ which you can use to organize career counselling projects which promote equal opportunities for girls and boys. The goal of this publication is to broaden the range of jobs and education programmes girls and boys consider as their potential career options. We hope to liberate the imagination of young people from the constraints of the traditional division of jobs into jobs for men and jobs for women. The idea that everybody deserves opportunities to put their unique talents to use and to dream freely and without regard to stereotypes about men’s and women’s social roles is fundamental to this book. Studies on decision-making among Czech students show that rather than evaluating their skills and abilities, girls and boys tend to use gender stereotypes to help them choose their future careers (see Jarkovská et al. 2010, Smetáčková 2006, 2007). To reverse this trend, a two-pronged strategy is needed; we have to strengthen career guidance as well as build awareness about the power of gender stereotypes. Better career choices will not only improve the opportunities of girls and boys for self-realization; well considered career choices will also bring employers truly competent workers. With this publication we hope to promote critical thinking and to help people understand how gender stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes can play a positive role in the society – they organize the world for easier orientation. However, we should use them consciously so that we can actually decide whether we want to act according to their dictate or not. We see education as a process of broadening our horizons and learning about the important questions we face in today’s world (such as the issue of the position of men and women in today’s Europe). At the same time, education should always provide space for students to discover their own ways. To meet this goal, our book includes activities to help students reflect on gender stereotypes and to defend their own perspectives. In other words, we seek to facilitate equality between women and men. Our book corresponds with current government strategies and ministerial policy documents (Government Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equality between Women and Men, Ministry of Education Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equal Opportunities for Men and Women). The materials in this book are aimed at elementary school teachers although they can also be used at secondary schools, children’s clubs and other educational institutions for children and youth. Activity descriptions are supplemented by arguments clarifying the fundamental connections between work, career and gender stereotypes. Most of the activities have been field-tested in seminars with real students and have been adjusted for teachers with different backgrounds so that they could use the activities regardless of knowledge of gender studies. We hope that our ideas will help to make your school projects more encouraging for students to see their careers free of gender stereotypes, useful and inspiring. We are interested in hearing from you!

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS AND FIGHTING FOR THEM. A Guide for Romani Activists (English Version)

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS AND FIGHTING FOR THEM. A Guide for Romani Activists (English Version)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Prison System in Serbia in 2011

Prison System in Serbia in 2011

Author(s): Ivan Kuzminović,Ljiljana Palibrk / Language(s): English

Keywords: criminal sanctions; minors; educational–correctional institution; Kruševac; Valjevo Reformatory; penitentiary-reformatory for women; Požarevac; prison system in Serbia; 2011;

Over the past ten years, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS) has conducted dozens of visits to prisons in Serbia, with the aim of making an assessment of the human rights conditions for imprisoned and detained citizens. Since 2001, the HCHRS has visited all 28 institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions, many of which several times. In a vast number of reports, the HCHRS has conducted analyses and noted non-compliance with solutions prescribed by national legislature and international law on the one hand, and with common practices in the system of execution of criminal sanctions on the other. During the first visits to prisons in 2001, it was determined that human rights conditions were extremely poor. At that time, there were around 6,500 convicted and imprisoned persons in Serbia. Ten years later, resulting from vast efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (OSCE, UN, CoE), but that of the state as well, the human rights conditions in prisons have been significantly improved, primarily when the decreasing practice of torture and introduction of new (contemporary) legal solutions in the field of criminal sanctions are concerned. The implementation of the institute of alternative execution of criminal sanctions has finally begun in 2011. It includes the possibility of serving a sentence in home confinement (with or without electronic monitoring) for persons serving prison sentences of up to one year, or the conversion of the prison sentence to community work. However, the number of sentenced and detained persons in prison has nearly doubled over the same period of time.

Development of global value chains

Development of global value chains

Author(s): Oľga Nosáľová / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: vertical division of labor; fragmentation of production; commodity chains; global value chains; networks; added value in exports;

The main objective of the chapter is to present the basis and development of global value chain and the reflection of this issue in publications in the literature from the time when commodity chains began to change the nature of relations between suppliers and buyers from different countries till present. It explains how and why the fragmentation of production has contributed to the strong interconnectedness of the countries and how different authors and institutions responded to this development. Their approaches and characteristics are summed up according to stages and commodity chain (CC), global commodity chain (GCC) and global value chain (GVC) theories.

Prisons in Serbia (April 2003 – April 2004)

Prisons in Serbia (April 2003 – April 2004)

Author(s): Marija Jelić,Igor Kuzmanović,Nataša Novaković,Marijana Obradović / Language(s): English

Keywords: Prisons; Serbian prisons; torture; violence; rehabilitation; inhuman treatment; punishment; detention facilities;

This publication is the output of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia’s activity over the first year of the project “Prevention of Torture: Support to the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture” that is being implemented thanks to the assistance of the European Commission – European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. Apart from the Serbian Helsinki Committee, this three-year project involves Bulgarian, Hungarian, Macedonian, Polish and Russian Helsinki committees, as well as the International Helsinki Federation. At regional level, the project aims at preventing torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in detention facilities (police stations, prisons, psychiatric institutions, etc.), encouraging nongovernmental organizations to visit these institutions and exerting pressure on national governments to enable such monitoring by non-governmental organizations. [...]

THE OTTOMAN DILEMMA. Power and Property Relations under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo

THE OTTOMAN DILEMMA. Power and Property Relations under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: UNMIK; transformation in Kosovo;

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. The results have been harmful both to economic development, social and political stability and the establishment of the rule of law. This report analyses different strategies employed by UNMIK to fulfil its responsibility as trustee of social property, including direct administration of SOEs, the restoration of Yugoslav workplace democracy (‘self-management’) under the 1988 Law on Enterprises, and granting concessions over SOEs to private investors (‘commercialisation’). It concludes that these efforts have done little to curb the confusion over commercial property or to promote an environment more conducive for private sector growth.

THE LAUSANNE PRINCIPLE. Multiethnicity, Territory and the Future of Kosovo’s Serbs

THE LAUSANNE PRINCIPLE. Multiethnicity, Territory and the Future of Kosovo’s Serbs

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Kosovo administration; Kosovo constitution;

Five years into the international administration of Kosovo, two violent days in March 2004 have sorely tested the international commitment to a multiethnic Kosovo. Directed against Kosovo’s minorities and against the international mission itself, the violence has left many wondering whether UNMIK has the capacity to achieve its objectives in the face of open resistance.This is a dangerous moment for international policy in the region. The urgent priority for the Kosovo mission and the incoming SRSG is to reaffirm the international commitment to multiethnic society, at both the diplomatic and the practical level.This paper argues that the policies needed in response to the March riots must be based on the practical needs of Serbs living in Kosovo today. The paper finds that the current reality of Kosovo Serbs differs from the common perception in important ways. There are still nearly 130,000 Serbs living in Kosovo today, representing two-thirds of the pre-war Serb population. Of these, two-thirds (75,000) are living south of the River Ibar in Albanian-majority areas. Almost all of the urban Serbs have left, with North Mitrovica now the last remaining urban outpost. However, most of the rural Serbs have never left their homes. The reality of Kosovo Serbs today is small communities of subsistence farmers scattered widely across Kosovo.

GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Post-Industrial Society and the Authoritarian Temptation

GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Post-Industrial Society and the Authoritarian Temptation

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Governance in Bosnia and Hercegovina; Bosnian constitution; Bosnian Democracy;

In the summer of 2002, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) approached the European Stability Initiative to conduct a Governance Assessment of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Governance Assessment was designed to study the evolution of government in Bosnia, and to “assess more fully the constraints on positive decision-making” across all levels of government in Bosnia. Its goal was to promote an open debate within Bosnian society on what constitutes good governance, in order to build up democratic pressures in favour of change.During the second half of 2002, using a team of Bosnian researchers, ESI carried out investigations across Bosnia and Herzegovina on the social and economic challenges facing the country, and how Bosnian governments are responding to them. The empirical research was concluded in October 2003, and the conclusions presented to a range of different audiences during 2003 and the first half of 2004, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and outside. This paper now presents this analytical work to a wider audience. Additional background material on the governance assessment is also available on the ESI website (www.esiweb.org). The views expressed in this report are those of ESI, and do not express the opinion of either DFID or the government of the United Kingdom.

THE OTTOMAN DILEMMA. Power and Property Relations under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo

THE OTTOMAN DILEMMA. Power and Property Relations under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: UNMIK; privatization in Kosovo;

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. The results have been harmful both to economic development, social and political stability and the establishment of the rule of law. || This report analyses different strategies employed by UNMIK to fulfil its responsibility as trustee of social property, including direct administration of SOEs, the restoration of Yugoslav workplace democracy (‘self-management’) under the 1988 Law on Enterprises, and granting concessions over SOEs to private investors (‘commercialisation’). It concludes that these efforts have done little to curb the confusion over commercial property or to promote an environment more conducive for private sector growth.

THE HYPNOTIST. Aleksandar Vucic, John Bolton and the return of the past

THE HYPNOTIST. Aleksandar Vucic, John Bolton and the return of the past

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbian Democracy; Serbian transformnation; Aleksandar Vucic; Greater Serbia; territory exchange;

It is remarkable how little change there has been in the key personnel in Serbian politics since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. It is not surprising, therefore, that the old nationalist idea of redrawing borders on the basis of ethnicity has continued to be so prominent. What is surprising is the recent success that Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic has had in repackaging this old idea as progressive, non-conventional, out-of-the-box thinking. Why not, the siren song goes (again), adjust some borders along ethnic lines, as long as the process is negotiated peacefully and leads to reconciliation? || In addition, to remain credible in Pristina, European countries should take two long overdue steps: to lift the visa requirement for Kosovo citizens, as the European Commission and the European Parliament have recommended; and to support Kosovo in applying and joining the Council of Europe, with protection of minorities in Kosovo a key requirement of post-accession monitoring. || The EU also needs to send a strong signal to countries and leaders who reach out to their neighbours and minorities and resolve difficult issues in a true spirit of reconciliation. The strongest signal would be to begin accession talks with North Macedonia without delay in summer 2019.

2020 State of the Country - REPUBLIC of MOLDOWA

2020 State of the Country - REPUBLIC of MOLDOWA

Author(s): Adrian Lupuşor,Alexandru Fală,Denis Cenuşă,Iurie Morcotîlo,Stas Madan / Language(s): English

Ethnic Communities in Kosovo in 2007 and 2008

Komunitetet Etnike në Kosovë në 2007 dhe 2008

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Albanian,English,Serbian

Content: Security Issues, Employment, and Application of Law on the Use of Languages and Anti-discrimination Law in Kosovo; Return of Displaced Persons to Kosovo in 2007 and 2008; Kosovo Institutions Applying the Law on the Use of Languages; Application of Anti-discrimination Law and Law on the Use of Languages in Kosovo Public Companies; Implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages in the Kosovo Education Process.

National Security & Defence, № 136+137 (2012 - 07+08)

National Security & Defence, № 136+137 (2012 - 07+08)

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

PARLIAMENT AND THE 2012 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE: POLITICAL SITUATION, PUBLIC SPIRITS AND EXPECTATIONS // 1. PARLIAMENTARISM IN UKRAINE: INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT, STATE AND TRENDS // 2. UKRAINE’S 2012 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS: LEGISLATION, ELECTORAL SUBJECTS AND THEIR POWERS // 3. SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY BEFORE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS // 4. PUBLIC SPIRITS DURING THE ELECTION CAMPAIGNAND EXPECTATIONS FROM THE NEW PARLIAMENT // 5. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS // EXPERTS ON PARLIAMENT AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE //UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARISM: ISSUES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS // UKRAINE ON THE EVE OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS: WILL THE EXPECTATIONS OF CITIZENS COME TRUE? // ELECTION PROGRAMS OF MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES, THEIR SLOGANS, PRIORITIES, APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING //LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK SUPPORTING THE ACTIVITY OF MPs

National Security & Defence, № 141+142 (2013 - 04+05)

National Security & Defence, № 141+142 (2013 - 04+05)

Author(s): James Sherr,Steven Pifer,Pavlo Haydutskiy,Oleksandr SHNYRKOV,Rilka Dragneva-Lewers,Kataryna Wolczuk / Language(s): English

UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: INTERNAL FACTORS AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCES // CHAPTER 1. EU AND UKRAINE BEFORE SIGNING OF THE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT: SOME POLICY ASPECTS // CHAPTER 2. INTERNAL ISSUES ON THE EUROPEANI NTEGRATION AGENDA // CHAPTER 3. ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION // CHAPTER 4. UKRAINE’S ENERGY SECTOR IN INTEGRATION PROCESSES // CHAPTER 5. UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: SECURITY AND DEFENCE SECTOR // CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS // UKRAINE’S PATH TO EU: ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS // ON UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION // GENERAL PROBLEMS OF UKRAINE’S INTEGRATION EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION // UKRAINE AND EUROPE: FINAL DECISION? // ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF UKRAINE’S INTEGRATION //UKRAINE: INTEGRATION PROBLEMS //ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CONCLUDING THE EU-UKRAINE //ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT AND RUSSIA’S POSSIBLE REACTION // NEW REGIONAL INTEGRATION INITIATIVE – THE CUSTOMS UNION //RUSSIA, THE EURASIAN CUSTOMS UNION AND THE EU: COOPERATION, STAGNATION OR RIVALRY? // HOW CITIZENS SEE UKRAINE’S INTEGRATION IN THE EU OR THE CUSTOMS UNION: FOCUS GROUP RESULTS // CUSTOMS UNION OR EUROPE? THE PUBLIC OPINION

Roma/Gypsies and Education in a Multiethnic Community in Romania

Roma/Gypsies and Education in a Multiethnic Community in Romania

Author(s): Stefania Toma / Language(s): English

Keywords: Ethnic minorities in Romania; Roma-Gypsies and education; inter-ethnic relations; Socio-economic research; job-market for minorities;

The present article aims at presenting shortly the results and preliminary conclusions of a research undertaken in an ethnically mixed locality in the North-Western region of Romania. The research questions were focused mainly on interethnic relations and on socio-economic topics. The economic activities of the Roma represent the extension of the principal activities of the majority. To see what exactly the activities of the Roma are, we will focus on the relation between Roma and other ethnic groups. We will try to understand what the main characteristics of these relationships are and what the rules of these relationships are, if there are any. Afterwards, we will try to describe and to analyse two of survival strategies of the Roma. At first sight the presence of the institution of godfatherness among the Roma and Gadjo seemed to be just an “innate” characteristics of the historically peaceful multiethnic community, but later this proved to be just the surface. The second strategy, called “the List”, is also a constitutive element of the survival strategies of the Roma, although in this case not the Roma are the initiators of it. Finally, we will focus our attention on the problem of trust which is the connecting element of all informal strategies and through which we will be able to understand better the characteristics of the relation between Roma and non-Roma. The question of education is a crucial one, as the low presence of the Roma population on the formal job-market is partly due to their low educational level. The last chapters discuss the problem of school-attending of the Roma children in the studied community.

National Security & Defence, № 059 (2004 - 11)

National Security & Defence, № 059 (2004 - 11)

Author(s): Volodymyr Saprykin,Oleksandr Lytvynenko,Mykola Sungurovsky,Vitaliy Liakh / Language(s): English

RESTRUCTURING UKRAINE’S COAL INDUSTRY: KEY PROBLEMS AND PRIORITY MEASURES // RESTRUCTURING UKRAINE’S COAL INDUSTRY: AN ACTION PLAN // IDEA OF STRENGTHENING REGIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN // PROBLEMS AND ATTITUDES OF THE RESIDENTS OF MINING REGIONS: THE CASE OF THE DONETSK REGION AND THE TOWNS OF SNIZHNE, TOREZ AND SHAKHTARSK // GLOBAL MINING. GLOBAL CHALLENGES. GLOBAL UNION ACTION