Keywords: gender; security; BiH;
This book brings together a collection of research essays mapping the intersection between gender and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina today. The idea for the book emerged through numerous discussions, both formal and less formal, that we as editors undertook over several years. These discussions addressed the extent to which security-type activities, related to gender, carried out by numerous organisations, have had an impact on and in communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We became concerned by a seemingly prevalent opinion in current literature on gender and security that gender still remains a poor relation in international security documents and policy. Thus, we wanted to create an opportunity for researchers and activists in Bosnia and Herzegovina to articulate ideas and concerns that would go beyond perceiving gender as a mere guideline, through focusing on the effects of gendered security as experienced in everyday life. Therefore, our guiding question in these discussions was and continues to be: what phenomena do researchers and activists feel to be relevant and pressing when it comes to the intersection between gender and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina today?
More...Keywords: future status of Kosovo; conference; politics; Serbia; Albania; North Macedonia; Croatia; democratic society; regional stability; minority; international standards; decentralization; security;
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia organized a two-day conference “The Future Status of Kosovo” on June 13-14, 2005 in Prishtina. The conference not only stood for the third in the series of Serb-Albanian dialogues the Committee has staged over the past eight years, but also for the final and most important segment of the US Institute for Peace-supported project “Belgrade - Prishtina: Steps to Build Confidence and Understanding.” The idea behind the conference was to provide – on the eve of the announced startup of negotiations on Kosovo’s status – a realistic insight into the complexity of this major regional issue. The book’s contents – authentic discussions of the conference participants – practically figures for a public debate on a reality and real problems. Regardless of many a different stand, the conference participants, Serbs and Albanians alike, attempted to conceptualize a policy that moves towards a lasting solution and regional stability. A policy as such implies a sober assessment of Kosovo’s reality, as well as of possibilities, problems and constraints. The two-day conference, echoing more in Prishtina and somewhat less in Belgrade, assembled a number of outstanding political and public figures from Prishtina – Albanians, Serbs and people from Kosovo’s other ethnic communities, all of them concerned with their own future and ready to acknowledge major changes in the Kosovo society in the past six years. The same were the considerations of the participants from Belgrade, the people standing for Serbia’s alternative politics, and of Podgorica’s officials. Representatives of the international community and regional neighbors, Macedonia and Croatia, also partook in the conference and creatively contributed to the exchange of views. “Key international players were clear that that the startup of the talks about Kosovo’s future status is on the international agenda this year. And now it is on political leaders and institutions to demonstrate that they aim at building a stable, tolerant, multiethnic and democratic society in Kosovo, a society in which all communities will be living together in peace and in peace with their neighbors. It is time for all sides to let go short lived politics, join in a dialogue about real problems in good faith, with passion and constructiveness, and take all measures we know are necessary. This conference is a good start in the right direction. We need more such dialogues, said Soren Jessen Petersen, the UN Secretary General Special Representative, addressing the conference. The conference was organized in five panels: “Kosovo in the Context of Regional Stability,” “Minorities and International Standards in Kosovo,” “Decentralization and its Implications in Kosovo,” “Post-Conflict Rehabilitation” and “Status of Kosovo.” The first panel, “Kosovo in the Context of Regional Stability” chaired by Professor Enver Hasani, broached key security aspects, the role of Kosovo’s future army under civilian control, regional security challenges not only in the event of Kosovo’s independence, but also of Montenegro’s, the state of a ff airs in Kosovska Mitrovica as a major problem to be solved, etc. “Unconditional safety of minority communities is a key standard preconditioning stability and the pace of solving future status of Kosovo,” concluded, inter alia, the second panel “Minorities and International Standards in Kosovo,” chaired by lawyer Azem Vllasi. The discussion also highlighted that the return of all displaced persons and refugees was a priority task of all Kosovo institutions and factors. As for Kosovo Serbs, their integration into Kosovo society, as many put it, is their right, the same as their right to live safely in their homes is a fundamental human right without any alternative solution whatsoever. According to Vera Markovic, who chaired the third panel “Decentralization and its Implications in Kosovo,” the discussion that resembled a parliamentary debate indicated that political power was being gradually institutionalized. “It’s most encouraging that different positions on the decentralization plan do not divide the political sphere into Serbian and Albanian parts, but into groupings that include both Albanian and minority parties…I would say that the debate on decentralization testifies that Kosovo society obviously endeavors to let go the issues related to ‘outer freedom’ or freedom from domination and come to grips with the question of ‘inner freedom’ that cannot but benefit all minorities, ethnic and political alike,” said Vera Markovic. What marked the panel “Post-Con fl ict Rehabilitation,” but the entire conference as well, was the stance that position of minorities was a measure of any society’s democratic potential. In this context, as Dr. Olga Popovic-Obradovic put it, still rather high interethnic tensions make the situation in Kosovo extremely complex. Referring to preconditions of post-conflict rehabilitation, she singled out the issues brought forward by panelists, ranging from acknowledgment and condemnation of crimes and the policy that has given birth to it, lustration and individual accountability to culture as a lasting value linking people and nations. Summing up the “Status of Kosovo” panel, its chair, Sonja Biserko, said that the view that prevailed – at the panel and throughout the conference – was that some form of Kosovo’s independence was unquestionable. However, the panel itself, she added, was more focused on the sum and substance of Kosovo’s independence. It is impossible to ignore the past, the recent past in particular, as it brought about the situation under discussion. In other words, what should be recognized are not only developments in the recent past, but also the fact that the Greater Serbia project that generated ex-Yugoslavia’s disintegration persists as an illusion to come true once the international constellation changes. Therefore, Serbs should reconcile not only with Albanians, but also with all neighbors – Croats, Bosniaks and, in a manner of speaking, with some minorities in Serbia proper, according to Biserko. The conference ended by adopting a declaration welcoming the international community’s intention to tackle the future status of Kosovo as a priority issue of its agenda. Taking into account that the Contact Group has already defined the framework for negotiations that should ensure regional security and stability, and open the door to Western Balkans’ association with and ultimate membership of the European Union, “cognizant that such approach by the international community and favorable circumstance should not be allowed to pass by, and confident that this provides a unique momentum for all regional leaders to prove their political wisdom, constructiveness and genuine commitment to true interests of peoples and citizens,” participants in the conference, “call on Belgrade and Prishtina, as two directly involved parties, to engage in a substantial dialogue with maximum good will and to fully cooperate with representatives of the international community; request political actors on both sides to acknowledge Kosovo’s reality as the starting point for negotiations, while constantly bearing in mind legitimate interests of Serbs, Albanians and other communities in Kosovo, and to insist on the respect and full implementation of all international documents and standards dealing with human and minority rights,” quotes, inter alia, the unanimously adopted declaration.
More...Keywords: sovereign; debt crisis; euro area; development;
The current Euro Area crisis has revealed certain flaws of the Euro Area, such as its vulnerability toasymmetric shocks and its inability to act as assumed by the optimum currency area theory (Jagerand Hafner, 2013). It has highlighted the serious lack of confidence in the ability of the Euro Area toface challenges resulting from political and economic development in the Euro Area countries and inthe world economy (Goméz-Puig and Sosvilla-Rivero, 2012).
More...Keywords: accounting; dual approach; data; analysis;
Economic theory says that economic policy instruments are used in order to achieve sustainable economic growth in the long term. Forecast of the future economic development would be prepared much easier if economic growth was constant. The reality is, however, not theory. As we can see, theworldwide growth is far from constant. As stated Romer (2012, p.6), “growth has been rising over most of modern history and average growth rate in the industrialized countries were higher in the twentieth century than in the nineteenth”. An exception to this scheme of increasing growth is slowdown in productivity growth. The globalisation of the world brought strong links between the economies of suchtrade and financial markets. Such close connection brings the acceleration of positive developments in the economy in "good times", while the same acceleration has signed an acceleration of negative developments in the economy in "bad times".
More...Keywords: sovereign; debt yields; inflation; interest; rate
Recent macroeconomic development in the Euro Area, characterized by persisting deflationary pressures, induces fundamentally different background for the economic policy framework and related institutions experimenting with a convenient policy mix to provide growth incentives and improve growth perspectives in the Euro Area.
More...Keywords: government; business administration; business process;
The Republican State Enterprise ‘Kazakhstan Temir Zholy’ is a holding company with assets of more than $ 13.5 billion, which is based on ensuring the functional integrity and manageability of the railway industry in the transportation process. The company carries out such activities as performing the functions of the operator of the main railway network, transportation of passengers and goods by rail.
More...Keywords: innovation; business model; company; government;
Currently, JSC NC KTZ enters into a period of serious tests, which are caused by the completion of the life cycle of production assets formed before the beginning of the 90s. For example, by 2020, according to the terms of service should be charged more than 54% of freight cars of the existing fleet of the Company, 68% of main-line locomotives, 82% of shunting locomotives and passenger cars. At the same time, the public importance of unprofitable passenger transportation and transportation of certain low-profit and unprofitable cargo categories imposes significant restrictions on the implementation of commercial strategies of JSC NC KTZ.
More...Keywords: Enforcement;Reform of enforcement systems;Structure of enforcement;Court;Bailiff;Enforcement procedure;Control mechanism of enforcement procedure;
This article focuses on the currently most relevant topic in the field of civil protection of rights in the states of the region. After being marginalized for several decades, the issue of civil enforcement in the past years climbed to the top of the list of priorities in legal and political reforms of the judiciary in the countries of the region. This paper analyzes the reforms that were implemented or are being implemented in the states of the region, while at the same time focuses on the few issues that have sparked the biggest dilemmas and controversies in the scientific and expert community: which organizational structures should be entrusted with the enforcement, how to reform the process in terms of functionality and what kind of control mechanism to prescribe in the enforcement procedure? The questions are processed through the standards for enforcement formulated in the European context, as well as through comparative examples of good practice in this area. As for many other issues, the paper shows that the legal implants in this area are irrational and counterproductive. The success of one enforcement model achieved in one country does not necessarily guarantee its success in other countries, even in the case of countries that have decade long shared law policy and procedural tradition.
More...Keywords: imagology; alterity; comparative literature; social psychology;
More...Keywords: public life of the First Republic; political culture; political journalism; state; community of citizens
The authors present the political values functioning in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – primarily, but not only, in the community of politically active noble citizens. They try to recreate them on the basis of a thorough analysis of various sources – treaties and political journalism, public speeches at the Sejm and regional councils, but also unofficial statements, private exchange of views between participants in political life. The subject of the analysis is, inter alia, the ideal of the state as a community of citizens present in the political discourse, as well as the contemporary vision of a man-citizen, a member of the political community, and his obligations towards it. The authors also present and interpret the then understanding of the concepts of homeland or patriotism, and devote a lot of attention to the fundamental values of the political life of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, such as law and freedom. They show the analyzed issues not only in a broader European context, but also in different epochs, which allows to follow the evolution in the understanding and evaluation of political concepts and ideals. The 12-volume series of monographs „Kultura Pierwszej Rzeczpospolitej w dialogu z Europą. Hermeneutyka wartości” presents the cultural heritage of the 15th and 18th centuries as an integral but original part of European culture. The research goal is to identify the ways and forms of the mutual transmission of aesthetic, political and religious values and to present in a broad, multilateral comparative context the axiological structure of Polish culture of the past epochs. Cultural texts are examined from an internal perspective as records of acts aimed at understanding values, and from an external perspective as statements that join European literary-aesthetic, political and religious discussions. In an intense dialogue, the culture of the Republic of Poland shows not only a receptivity to new ideas, but also creativity and dynamics of action in Europe.
More...Keywords: Romania; Romanian geographers; Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920);
More...Keywords: economic crisis;COVID-19 crisis; new paradigm of development;
The relative development of Croatia in relation to the EU27 was 85.1% in 1986, and 59.5%in 2020, while the same ratio for Serbia is 66.0% (1986) and 37.5% (2020), and for allCEEC17 countries accounted for 62.0% (1986) and 70.4% (2020), respectively. So, simplified,it is a failure of convergence.Gross national income (GNI) is also unfavorable, so the GNI/GDP ratio CEEC17 was 85.0%in 2008 and 97.5% in 2019.Several CEEC17 countries essentially failed to resolve the crisis (2008), and then the whole world was hit by a pandemic, which can be classified as a natural disaster. Although almost all countries in the world are trying to solve the COVID-19 crisis by the common economic and financial measures, problems and doubts arise at the same time.There are some estimates of economic growth in the period 2021-2030, for example for Croatia2.0% on average per year, according to which individual development would still be significantly below the 1986 level. Thus, the question arises as to whether significantly higher growth and development can be achieved in the period 2021-2030, or what measures should be taken to achieve this.The new system is based on several postulates: (i) abandonment of existing economic models as well as economic theories that are no longer valid, (ii) creation of a development paradigm based on new social and economic relations brought by COVID-19, (iii) greater use of knowledge, technologies for the benefit of labor and society as a whole and (iv) a new relationship between economics and philosophy as the driving force of development.COVID-19 brings tremendous changes, and the existing Western civilization cannot provide answers to insoluble contradictions, which means that a new world and a new system is just emerging.A podcast to the new system is a possible contribution of regional connectivity to the new development paradigm.
More...Keywords: festival;catalogue;film;
More...Keywords: festival;catalogue;film;
More...Keywords: festival;catalogue;film;
More...Keywords: festival;catalogue;film;
More...Keywords: CPY; National Liberation Movement; federative Yugoslavia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Antifascist Councils; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sandžak; national question; Partisan autonomy;
The Partisan War Autonomy of Sandzak, as a multinational province inhabited by Serbs, Montenegrins and Muslims, functioned between the First and Second Sessions of the National Anti-Fascist Council of Sandzak (ZAVNOS), that is, from 20 November 1943 to March 29, 1945. It made a significant contribution to the faster development of the anti-fascist National Liberation Movement (NOP) in this area. It has contributed to the suppression of inter-ethnic conflicts, the popularization of the anti-fascist movement, the establishment and functioning of organs of the public authorities, the mobilization of people in the partisan units, etc. It was created as part of the realization of the party conception of the Yugoslav war federalism, which resulted in the establishment of five national states (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia) and the sixth Bosnia and Herzegovina as multinational states (Serbs, Muslims and Croats), and in the status of federal units the new Yugoslavia. The reasons for the liquidation of Sandzak’s war autonomy at the end of the war have not been adequately investigated historiographically. What is the reason for this is indicated in the official positions of the NOP institutions, called political, economic and ethnic reasons, the need to prevent the “fragmentation” of Serbia and Montenegro, and that Muslims can exercise their national rights freely within them ZAVNOS has never asked for the special position of Sandzak, etc., apparently they were not, nor should they have been, arguments in favor of the abolition of autonomy and the division of Sandzak. These are publicly silent invisible reasons. It is about changing the attitude towards the ethnicity of Muslims in the leadership of the NOP, which they did not consider as a nation, but an ethnic group (a nation in formation), which as such can not be a constituent element of the federation. It turned out that at the time of the establishment of the ZAVNOS and ZAVNOBiH, in which the Muslims were one of the three nations, only the declarative acceptance of the ethnicity of the Muslims was present. The essential consequence of changing this relationship is not only the abolition of the autonomy of Sandzak, but also its division by the border line from 1913 between Montenegro and Serbia. The fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina retained the status of a federal unit, despite denying the nationality of Muslims as one of its three peoples, is conditioned by numerous other irrefutable arguments. It was thought that Muslims would assimilate into Serbs, Croats and Montenegrins, and thus disappear as a nation, and these efforts are recognizable in years, even decades after the war, which, however, did not happen. By acknowledging the ethnicity of the Muslims twenty years later, the KPJ practically acknowledged all its misconceptions and inconsistencies on the proper solution of the national question. However, the collapsed war autonomy of Sandzak and the repatriation of Muslims to the national minority level had long and varied negative consequences, not only for Muslims, but also for Sandzak and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as for socialist Yugoslavia as a whole.
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