BARBARIANS, CIVILIZED PEOPLE AND BULGARIANS. Definition of Identity in Textbooks and the Press (1830–1878)

Author(s): Dessislava Lilova / Language(s): English

Are Bulgarians barbarians or civilized? Answering this question consumed a considerable part of the intellectual energy of the Bulgarian elite in the 19th century. The dilemma was first put up for discussion at the beginning of the century and ever since then, each new generation has been joining a fresh round of the debate. Interest in the topic has been sufficiently lively to lend legitimacy to the "barbarism-civilization" taxonomy as the main framework within which the nation builds its identity. This research aims to explore the origins of this process. The analysis covers the period from the 1830s to the rise of the independent Bulgarian state in 1878. This is the chronological framework in which the intellectual elite imported and promoted the ideological grammar of modernity and the taxonomies of progress. The objective is to shed light on the history, mechanisms and results of their transfer.

AI-DPC BiH SECURITY ANALYSIS POLICY NOTE 01: Inflammatory political rhetoric and hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina: political elites and the media

Author(s): Bodo Weber / Language(s): English

Since the international retreat to an “ownership” and EU enlargement-based policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) a decade ago, political rhetoric in the public space, propagated through the media, has become more polarizing and inflammatory. The pronounced nationalist themes articulated by politicians and their adjuncts, revolving around the future of the state and alleged threats posed to ethnic collectives by adversaries both domestic and foreign (and their supposed local allies), have radicalized the public discourse and contributed to an ambient of fear and homogenization. The topic of “war” has returned to popular discussion. This phenomenon has been observable in media coverage of the 2012 municipal elections, 2014 general elections, issues and events relating to Srebrenica, acts of Islamist terrorism, and popular protests of February 2014. In each instance, political leaders, dubious “experts,” and commentators have all fed a dynamic which could have dire consequences in BiH’s current rules-free environment – effectively generating volatility which could ignite by design or by accident. And while all those with unfulfilled agendas are pursuing them without restraint to form perceptions and opinions in the media arena, the most consistent and radical messaging is emanating from the Republika Srpska Government, and President Milorad Dodik in particular. While BiH politicians define the agenda, the politically captured media provides the means to inflame, intimidate, provoke anger, and stoke fear. This information dominance is a vital element of the BiH political elites’ life support system.

AI-DPC BiH SECURITY ANALYSIS POLICY NOTE 03: EUFOR: The West’s Potemkin Deterrent in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Kurt Bassuener / Language(s): English

The EU’s military deterrent force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), EUFOR/Operation Althea, is nearing the end of its 11th year of operation. It came into being in 2004 with great fanfare at a time of EU self-confidence and ambition, succeeding NATO in its role of maintaining a “safe and secure environment,” as prescribed by the Dayton Peace Accords. It appeared then to be a mission of guaranteed success. At its current 600 troops, it is now less than one-tenth of its original mandated strength of over 7,000, which itself was about one-sixth of the strength of NATO’s Implementation Force (IFOR) of 54,000 troops. The force has atrophied as the political will to maintain executive instruments has evaporated among most EU member states. Perversely, its decimation in strength correlates with an incremental regression in BiH’s political atmosphere over the last 8 years; citizens feel less secure today than they did in 2006, according to EUFOR’s own polling data. The country is now completely polarized by an upcoming referendum in the Republika Srpska on the legitimacy of the state-level judicial institutions which Western diplomats and numerous local political actors have declared a “fundamental violation” of the Dayton Peace Accords Western military professionals assess EUFOR’s deterrent and reaction capability as effectively nonexistent. Essentially, it is just a placeholder force to provide a foundation for external reinforcement. Were a crisis, such as organized interethnic violence, to erupt, it would require outside forces to respond, let alone contain. Many interviewees for this report dispute EUFOR’s capacity to secure even Sarajevo International Airport. The legal platform for EUFOR, a UN Security Council resolution, is up for annual renewal in early November. Last year, the Republika Srpska called for the mission to end, followed by a Russian diplomatic attack on the mission in the Security Council and an unprecedented abstention. Russia’s veto in July of this year of the UK-sponsored Srebrenica commemoration resolution, in tandem with the overall tension between Russia and the West, most recently reflected in Russia’s deployment to Syria, make a veto of the renewal a strong possibility. The West, with the EU in a leading role, is responsible for the deterrence failure which has led to a dangerously degrading trajectory in BiH. The growing sense of insecurity has not only made durable progress impossible, but is leading to the increasing likelihood – and gravity – of political miscalculation by the BiH political leaders it has empowered. Renewed interethnic violence remains a real possibility. A credible Western deterrent force, be it under the EU or NATO umbrella, is not only essential to prevent disaster in BiH; it is a prerequisite to enabling a popular consensus in the country so that ultimately it no longer requires external guardians to ensure the peace. Now is the time for the West to take action to bolster its deterrent capability in BiH before, not after, events have spiraled out of control. Unless leading Western powers now forge a consensus on planning and action to fulfil the moral and legal obligations they undertook to maintain the peace in BiH, they will likely suffer the consequences of their failure.

DPC POLICY NOTE 13: Census taking in the Western Balkans: a challenging and often controversial task on the way to EU membership.

Author(s): Anna-Lena Hoh / Language(s): English

On the road towards EU enlargement, potential member states need to comply with the EU acquis communautaire. Chapter 18 of the acquis foresees the conduct of a population census by enlargement countries. This has proven to be more challenging in the post-war environment of the former Yugoslavia than in other countries. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the attributes of ethnicity and territory increased in importance as they were used to set or consolidate new borders and distribute rights and power according to population numbers and concentration. The sensitive aspects of ethnicity, language and religion, and the simple definition of the census category of ‘place of usual residence’ complicate the collection of census data in the region. This complication is rooted in the potential for an increase or decrease of ‘ethnic’ population numbers that can lead to the loss of rights or political influence. The significance of these aspects has been underestimated by the EU, which approaches the collection of population data as a rather technical exercise. This policy note reviews the recent census experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to identify similarities in problems, process and politics, and to offer lessons learned for the future.

DPC POLICY NOTE 10: Countering the Cultivation of Extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Case for Comprehensive Education Reform.

Author(s): Valery Perry / Language(s): English

This policy note argues that while educational policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) do not explicitly encourage radical or extremist thinking, they do decidedly facilitate the emergence of narrow-minded, ethnically exclusive groups of young citizens unequipped to operate in a heterogeneous, complex world. Insufficient measures exist to promote critical thinking, media literacy, multiperspectivity and inclusive civic-mindedness. At best, the present educational approach bodes poorly for the socio-economic prospects of BiH’s youth in an increasingly competitive global market; at worst, few preventive measures exist that would dissuade vulnerable individuals from gravitating towards extremist worldviews. BiH’s ethnically fragmented and exclusivist approaches to education are anathema to the development of critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to open young minds, reduce intolerance and question the ethnic status quo narrative. While global fears of Islamist extremism dominate discussions on radicalism and terrorism, other forms of extremism (radical nationalist; white supremacy; neo-Nazi; anti-immigrant; etc.) benefit from young minds unable to effectively digest and question messages of hate and intolerance. Young people from the Balkans have gone not only to Syria and Iraq, but also to Ukraine, as part of a perceived ideological, cultural struggle.

DPC POLICY NOTE 12: Stuck in Transition? Croatia’s Policy Toward Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Author(s): Bodo Weber,Kurt Bassuener / Language(s): English

When a new Croatian government was formed at the end of 2011 under SDP leadership, Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Vesna Pusić, took office and shortly thereafter announced their intention to make good relations with neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) a top priority of their policy of strong regional engagement. This decision to re-engage in BiH came after years of inactivity due to official Zagreb’s all-consuming focus on its preparations for EU membership and at a time when the on-going structural political crisis in BiH had reached new heights. There were growing demands for action on the crisis from individual EU member states despite the EU itself being not willing to seriously re-engage and take action. The new government’s BiH policy was to be a “principled policy” – one that would follow the state policy defined by former President Stipe Mesić in 2000 and accepted by all subsequent governments which was based on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and making it clear to BiH Croats that their capital is Sarajevo, not Zagreb. There was real hope in Zagreb that this was a new beginning. New opposition HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko had generated further hope in a stronger, constructive BiH policy, on account of his political biography. But it soon became evident that there was no developed thinking or cohesive plan behind the basic declarations. Three years on, and hopes for change have been dashed. Croatia’s policy toward BiH has had little or no positive impact on relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Milanović’s efforts got mired in the conflictual relations among the key political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Like former President Ivo Josipović’s earlier BiH policy initiative, it demonstrates that Croatia’s leverage in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly over BiH Croat politics, has substantially diminished since the 1990s. Foreign and European Affairs Minister Pusić attempted to make an impact working within the framework of the EU after Croatia became its 28th member, but her BiH plan received little support among member states, despite the fact that its main elements were almost identical to those of the later German-British initiative – now the EU’s new and much-touted BiH policy. Pusić could do little more than insist that she thought of it first. The Pusić plan had presented a dramatic policy U-turn that left the BiH experts within her ministry largely marginalized. Now, toward the end of Pusić’s term in office, those in her ministry in charge of BiH and the wider region appear to be skeptical of the prospects for the EU’s new BiH initiative to succeed. The BiH policy of all the top political players in today’s Croatia – the Prime Minister, the Foreign and European Affairs Minister, the President, the opposition leader – seems to be schizophrenic. They seem to possess closely-held views that are both moderate and reality-based. They reject the idea of a third entity, repudiate the HDZ BiH’s cooperation with the government in the Republika Srpska, and see the BiH Croat political leadership, along with the country’s entire political elite, as corrupt and part of the problem - not a part of the solution. Yet these views hardly ever translate into public performance or policy. Instead, the government, president, and opposition repeatedly allow themselves to get drawn into paying public tribute to Croatia’s 1990s policy legacy on BiH, which views the country solely through the lens of ethno-politics. While this conduct is considerably less invasive than it was under Croatian BiH policy in the 1990s, it nevertheless prevents Croatia from completely breaking with the past and setting aside the war legacy – which could now be done at a very low political price due to the current general disinterest of Croatian citizens regarding BiH. As a consequence, Croatia’s already limited potential impact as an honest broker on Bosnia and Herzegovina both in its direct relations with BiH and within the EU framework is further reduced. In Brussels, for example, Croatia’s MEPs are more vocal, but they are less respected than those of other new member states. Another policy remnant of the recent past is the constitutional right granted to BiH Croats with dual citizenship to vote in Croatian elections. The practice of this right undermines the sovereignty and democratic development of both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

DPC POLICY NOTE 08: Constitutional and Governance Reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Does Public Opinion Matter?

Author(s): Raluca Raduta / Language(s): English

The past two years in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) were punctuated by episodes of unprecedented popular activism. Major flooding in central and northern BiH demonstrated government lack of preparedness and incompetence at all levels. These events coincided with the failure of efforts to obtain one particular constitutional change: implementation of the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) ruling in the Sejdić-Finci case. The positions of BiH political leaders on structural questions have been clear – and entrenched. Yet little attention has been paid, both by local political actors and the international community, to what citizens of the country actually think as to how outstanding structural impediments to accountability and functionality, manifest in BiH’s constitutional order, can be addressed. This paper analyzes results of seven recent polls, undertaken mostly in the past two years, to identify areas of popular agreement on discrete elements which should be addressed in BiH’s constitutional structure. This analysis allows for an overall view on trends over time and across themes. It also reduces the risk of selective data and manipulated answers being touted as expressions of citizens’ interests. The aggregate results demonstrate far more popular appetite for confronting outstanding problems through the constitutional structure than is evident at either the local or international political level – 88% in the aggregate in 2013, including nearly 80% of RS respondents, for example. Citizens understand that this would allow them to live as in a “normal country” with functioning governance, facilitate confidence-building and reconciliation, and be a prerequisite to integration into the EU. Numerous responses on sectoral priorities defy conventional wisdom – and current policies. Corruption consistently topped the list of identified popular concerns, with it being explicitly linked to the economic situation in most of the polls assessed. Justice is seen as among the most corrupted elements of governance, this corruption also being manifest in political influence. Nearly 8 in 10 citizens – including more than 6 in 10 Serbs – surveyed believe corruption needed to be investigated and adjudicated at the state-level. An overwhelming majority of BiH citizens of all stripes agree that agriculture should be among the elements of constitutional reform – with more than 60% (including a plurality of RS Serbs) believing this should be a state competence. Furthermore, nearly 80% of respondents stated that EU laws should trump domestic law, giving the EU potential leverage in its reform efforts, should it mobilize a popular constituency. The analysis of the surveys shows that the differences among respondent groups are narrow and are decreasing over time, as all citizens grow more dissatisfied with politics and politicians. There are few differences across entities and ethnicities when it comes to burning issues such as corruption, the economic crisis, political representation and justice.

DPC BOSNIA DAILY: Croatia’s Policy Toward Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stuck in Transition?

Author(s): Bodo Weber,Kurt Bassuener / Language(s): English

Bosnia Daily: November 5, 2015 – Croatia’s Policy Toward Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stuck in Transition?

DPC BOSNIA DAILY: To Count or Not to Count? That Is the Question

Author(s): Valery Perry / Language(s): English

Bosnia Daily: July 1, 2015 – To Count or Not to Count? That Is the Question

DPC BOSNIA DAILY: Croatian and Serbian Policy in Bosnia. Help or Hindrance?

Author(s): Kurt Bassuener,Bodo Weber / Language(s): English

Bosnia Daily: October 24, 2012 – Croatian and Serbian Policy in Bosnia. Help or Hindrance?

DPC BOSNIA DAILY: Catalyzing Democratic Change in Bosnia. The West Must Enforce Dayton to Make It History

Author(s): Kurt Bassuener / Language(s): English

Bosnia Daily: September 6, 2012 – Catalyzing Democratic Change in Bosnia. The West Must Enforce Dayton to Make It History

HELSINŠKE SVESKE №04: Universal and Collective Rights of Minorities

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

In view of the key importance of inter-ethnic relations and status of national minorities in Serbia for development of democracy, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Centre for Regionalism, the Vojvodina Club and Centre for Multiculturality have organised the round-table "National Minorities in Serbia" on 8 and 9 September 2000 in Novi Sad. Participants in this round-table were representatives of several dozen NGOs from Vojvodina and Serbia, representatives of political parties, prominent public personalities and experts for minority rights and ethnic relations. In a two-day debate participants in the round-table underscored that peace, tolerance and democratization of the society represent the basic prerequisite of the exercise of individual and collective rights and freedoms in the Republic of Serbia. Considering that a social community in the Republic of Serbia has a markedly heterogeneous cultural character and the fact that it is faced with pronounced ethnification of politics and intolerant nationalism, our discussion confirmed that the majority nation, that is, the ruling political establishment, were to be blamed for such a poor status of inter-ethnic relations. Hence the current political authorities cannot be relieved of responsibility from catastrophic consequences of internal conflicts and external and internal isolation. After analysing institutions and real social and political processes and actions of the most influential political protagonists, it was established that we all must insist on comprehensive implementation of ideas and legal-constitutional norms determining the Republic of Serbia as a state of equitable citizens, and the one guaranteeing corresponding standards in attainment and exercise of collective rights of national minorities in Serbia. Unfortunately during our discussion we identified through a host of examples a pronounced gulf between proclaimed norms and concrete reality in the sphere of protection of national minorities rights, notably in development and expression of their cultural identity. After the SFRY disintegration, the problem of "new minorities", notably Croats, Bosniaks, and Macedonians, emerged in Serbia. This problem entails official recognition of those minorities and concrete legal regulation of their status and rights. During preparations for the 2001 census scientific and cultural institutions and representative bodies should lay the groundwork for facilitating the free declaration of nationality by citizens. This particularly applies to Bosniaks, who have been deprived of that right to date. It is also expected that the democratic opposition of Serbia shall take a clear public stand on manner of resolution of minority problems, and incorporate pertinent proposals into their program of changes, offered as an alternative to the current regime. We brought into prominence the need to revive earlier initiatives for adoption of the Act on National Minorities in the Republic of Serbia, aimed at removing current shortcomings and imprecise points, and boosting harmonisation of domestic legal and political practice with the European standards on the Protection of Minorities. Our discussion indicated that the Republic Serbia in its relations with almost all neighbouring countries disregards the issue of minorities, and that this negligence is in turn reflected in the status of minorities and has a negative impact on relations between the majority and minorities. The role of ecological issues was discussed in the context of good-neighbourly relations, for they alike the minority issue clear the way for establishment of broad and efficient communications. Considering regional trends within the context of Europe those two issues can play an important role in the inclusion of Serbia in the project of European regions. Participants think that the Stability Pact is a conceptual framework for analysis of the most important problems and devising models of their resolution.

№ 25 THE SPECTRE OF A MULTIPOLAR EUROPE

Author(s): Ivan Yotov Krastev,Mark Leonard,Dimitar Bechev,Jana Kobzova,Andrew Wilson / Language(s): English

The EU’s ‘unipolar moment’ is over. In the 1990s, the EU’s grand hope was that American hard power would underpin the spread of European soft power and the integration of all Europe’s powers into a liberal order – embodied in NATO and the EU – in which the rule of law, pooled sovereignty and interdependence would gradually replace military conflict, the balance of power and spheres of influence. However, the prospects for this unipolar multilateral European order are fading. The dilemma facing the European Union in its own continent is somewhat similar to that faced by the US at a global level. The EU can do little to prevent Europe’s evolution from a unipolar to a multipolar order; but it can do a lot to shape the relations between its emerging poles. The new approach would take advantage of a political opening created by Moscow’s desire to modernise and Turkey’s search for a regional role, and recast the continent’s institutional order for a world in which Europe is increasingly peripheral and in which a weak neighbour can be as frightening as a strong one. It would be the first step towards creating a trilateral rather than a tripolar Europe: a new institutional order in the continent that (to paraphrase Lord Ismay) keeps the EU united, Russia post-imperial and Turkey European.

Interethnic Relations in the Balkans: New Generation, New Politics

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS // Preface // Note on Terminology // Introductory Remarks // Problems of Regional Identity: Images of the Balkans // Managing Ethnic Conflict // Regional Aspirations and Cooperation // Roles of the EU and the International Community // Conclusions // List of Participants

Political Leaders on Interethnic Relations and Regional Security in Central Europe: A Roundtable

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Introduction Recent Regional Developments The Consequences of The Madrid Summit Effects of the Problems in the Balkans A Romanian Model of Inclusion Reconstructing Bicultural and Multicultural Values Interethnic Relations in Slovakia The U.S. Role in the New Europe Ukraine and Moldova Conclusions List of Participants

Baltic-Russian Relations in the New Geopolitical Framework

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

Political Participation and the Roma in Hungary and Slovakia

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

Catastrophe in the Balkans: Serbia's Neighbors and the Kosovo Conflict

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

The meeting that is the subject of this report took place on May 22, 1999, in Rome, at the height of the expulsion of the Kosovar Albanians by Serb forces and the air war conducted by the NATO alliance. The atmosphere was one of suspense, alarm, and determination. Would the Yugoslav political and military leadership ultimately surrender to NATO’s bombing, or would the consensus among NATO members unravel—some had already proposed a bombing halt— because of Yugoslav resistance and Western revulsion over casualties among Serb civilians? Would the bombing stop or accelerate the expulsions in Kosovo? Was a land war inevitable? How much more damage would a continuation of the war do to relations between NATO members and Russia? What would be the fate of Yugoslavia’s neighbors? And of Serbia and Kosovo? What would be the state of interethnic relations in the region at war’s end?

The Year 2000 Elections in Romania: Interethnic Relations and European Integration

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

Despite the difficulties that have beset Romania in its transition from communism to democracy, it boasts a most important success in interethnic relations. Few would have predicted, after the disastrous violence between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians in Tirgu Mures in 1990, that only six years later the ethnic Hungarian party would be a respected member of Romania’s governing coalition.The Project on Ethnic Relations was an active participant in bringing about this result, initiating the first discussions and negotiations between leaders of the preceding government and the Hungarian minority, and replacing confrontation with a pattern of dialogue that persists to this day. The achievement, however, is untested by time. With the year 2000 elections underway in Romania, ethnic issues are already being raised in the campaign.

Vojvodina: The Politics of Interethnic Accomodation

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

This preface to the account of discussions between the Serbian democratic opposition and leaders of the Vojvodina ethnic communities about the future of Vojvodina is being written in June 2000. We do not know how much longer the Milosevic regime will remain in power, but sooner or later it will collapse. Its most deplorable legacy will be the deliberate and systematic destruction of the fragile interethnic accommodation that had once characterized the region. Much of the resulting suffering and damage is beyond repair any time in the near future: It is difficult even to conceive of normal relations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians before another lifetime goes by.Nevertheless, Serbia remains a multiethnic country. If the Serbian democratic opposition is to succeed, it needs to work with the minorities. It needs their support and their votes now, and it needs to come to power prepared with a fair and effective minorities policy. The minorities, in turn, need a democratic future.