We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

0.00 €

Data as Potential: Towards Open Data Policies in BiH

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

The state and its institutions are the biggest producers, collectors and users of various types of data. Besides personal data, contained in public registers and health records, data of importance to the wider public is also collected, such as data on the state of the environment, economic trends, meteorological and other data. In the past, data of importance to the public was mostly unavailable. In cases where it was available, it was extremely difficult to find and use. Thanks to technological development and the relatively easy and inexpensive opening up of data on the Internet, but also more pronounced public requests for more transparent, accountable and efficient governance, governments worldwide committed to policies of opening data held by public institutions. Examples include websites such as US government’s Data.gov and Usa.gov, or the UK government’s Data.gov.uk and the European Union’s Open Data Portal, all of which provide educational, health, transport, environmental and other data. All of this has led to the rapid growth in use of open public data, in the private and non-government sectors alike. Software applications enable access to data on the Internet or on mobile devices and data is used to improve public services, initiate new commercial projects or enhance transparency of government. Some examples of websites specialized in processing, publishing and further use of open data are OpenSpending.org, which currently holds more than 700 datasets on public spending in 66 countries, or OpenCongress.org which enables monitoring of the work of the US Congress. Although the publication of open public data is a pronounced world trend and the potential of open data has been recognized in the region, such practice has not truly taken hold in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite NGO initiatives to open up public data, public institutions, with a few exceptions, mostly do not allow access to data on the Internet or via mobile technology. In order to prevent BiH seriously falling back in the area of proactive disclosure of such data, which would negatively impact all sectors of society, it is necessary to start a wider public discussion on opening up data held by public institutions. This policy memo aims to contribute to such a discussion.

More...

0.00 €

Starting from Scratch: The Role of Media Assistance in the Establishment of Independent Media Institutions in Kosovo

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

Kosovo is a Western Balkans state bordering Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. It was the last administrative unit to emerge as an independent state out of the former Yugoslavia, where it had the status of an autonomous province within Serbia. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the tensions between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs escalated into a full-fledged conflict between Serbian forces, loyal to the regime of Slobodan Milošević, and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended after an extensive NATO military intervention that forced Serbia to withdraw from Kosovo in 1999 and led to the creation of the Kosovo protectorate under the supervision of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). UNMIK administered Kosovo until the country proclaimed independence on February 17, 2008. Following independence UNMIK began to downsize and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) was introduced. This development followed the conditions set forth in a UN endorsed plan for an internationally supervised independent Kosovo.

More...

0.00 €

Limited Assistance for Limited Impact: International Media Assistance in Albania

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

Albania has a population of just under three million, according to 2011 census. The country has undergone a profound economic transformation over the past two decades, from a centrally planned to a free-market economy. However, there is significant economic disparity between the capital, Tirana, and other nearby, developed cities, compared to more remote and isolated areas. The 2011 census revealed that Albanians make up 83% of the population, while Greeks, Roma, Aromanians, Macedonians, Egyptians or Montenegrins respectively make up less than 1% of the population. However, 14% of the population did not respond to the ethnicity question. Albania’s political system is that of a parliamentary multi-party democracy. The prime minister is designated by the parties that form a majority coalition. The president is elected by the parliament for a five-year term.

More...

0.00 €

Public Access to Local Budgets: Making Local Government Budget Documents Easily Available to Citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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

Easy access to and the availability of budget documents is considered to be a key indicator of transparent budgeting practices. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), important budget documents at the local government level are frequently not easily available to citizens. Some documents that would facilitate understanding of budgetary matters among citizens – such as citizens budgets – are not produced at all. Such practice can contribute to citizen distrust and lower political participation, reflected in a lower voter turnout. Moreover, a lack of transparency can weaken oversight of local government performance. Although local government budgeting in BiH certainly needs to undergo substantial reform in the long run to achieve greater transparency, there are a number of smaller-scale reforms that policymakers in BiH can focus on to yield more accessible, more transparent budgets as a first step towards such reform.

More...

0.00 €

Kako reformirati predsjedništvo BiH? Pregled trenutnih opcija i alternativna rješenja za izvršenje presude u predmetu Sejdić i Finci protiv BiH

Author(s): Nenad Stojanović,Edin Hodžić / Language(s): Bosnian

Debata o reformi Predsjedništva BiH u skladu s presudom u predmetu Sejdić i Finci protiv Bosne i Hercegovine (BiH), barem kada je riječ o ključnim akterima, bila je suštinski svedena na dva prijedloga: aktuelni model sa dvije izborne jedinice, ali bez etničkih odrednica u pogledu kandidata i članova Predsjedništva, te posredni izbor članova kolektivnog šefa države u Parlamentarnoj skupštini BiH. Iako ovi modeli donose određena poboljšanja i formalnu eliminaciju diskriminacije, oni ne omogućavaju pacifiziranje političkog života u Bosni i Hercegovini niti nude realne šanse za faktičko poboljšanje statusa „ostalih". Osim toga, previđaju se nezanemarivi negativni aspekti tih modela, poput slabljenja legitimiteta posredno izabranog Predsjedništva, te ozbiljnih problema koji mogu proizaći iz posrednog izbora njegovih članova uzme li se u obzir dokazana nesposobnost postizanja konsenzusa o formiranju izvršne vlasti u Bosni i Hercegovini. U takvoj situaciji iznimno ograničenog spektra ustavnih opcija u javnoj debati, nepravedno je zapostavljen potencijal alternativnih modela, kakvi su npr. različite varijante geometrijske sredine, da ostvare važne ciljeve ustavne reforme u ovom domenu.

More...

0.00 €

Władimir Putin objęty nakazem aresztowania przez Międzynarodowy Trybunał Karny

Author(s): Szymon Zaręba / Language(s): Polish

17 marca br. Międzynarodowy Trybunał Karny (MTK) wydał nakazy aresztowania prezydenta Rosji Władimira Putina i komisarz do spraw praw dzieci w jego biurze (odpowiednika polskiego rzecznika praw dziecka) – Marii Lwowej-Biełowej. Oboje są podejrzewani przez Prokuraturę MTK o popełnienie zbrodni wojennych. Podjęcie przez MTK działań wobec Putina to ważny gest, pokazujący, że trybunał nie uchyla się od ścigania nawet najwyższych funkcjonariuszy państwowych. Wyegzekwowanie nakazów będzie jednak trudne z uwagi na spodziewane unikanie przez te osoby podróży do państw, z których mogłyby zostać wydane trybunałowi.

More...

0.00 €

Predstavljanje LGBTI+ prava u parlamentima. Vodič za poslanike i poslanice

Author(s): Nikola Čvoro / Language(s): Bosnian

LGBTI+ osobe imaju pravo na poštovanje, dostojanstvo i jednakost pred zakonom. Međutim, mnoge LGBTI+ osobe se suočavaju s diskriminacijom, nasiljem i kršenjem ljudskih prava zbog svoje seksualne orijentacije, rodnog identiteta, rodnog izraza ili polnih karakteristika. LGBTI+ osobe nisu zakonski ravnopravne s heteroseksualnim cisrodnim osobama u BiH. Istopolni seksualni odnosi nisu krivično kažnjivi u Republici Srpskoj od 1998. godine, odnosno u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine od 1996. godine. Zakon o zabrani diskriminacije iz 2009. godine zabranjuje diskriminaciju na osnovu seksualne orijentacije i rodnog identiteta. Takođe, postoji zakonska obaveza da se uskladi zakonodavstvo i politike s evropskim standardima u oblasti ljudskih prava, uključujući i prava LGBTI+ osoba.Istopolna partnerstava nisu priznata na entitetskim nivoima, što znači da istopolni parovi nemaju pristup istim pravnim zaštitama i socijalnim pravima kao parovi različitog pola. Trenutni pravni propisi u Bosni i Hercegovini ne pružaju jasnu sliku o tome da li pravna promjena oznake pola zahtijeva „po tpuno" ili „djelim ično" (medicinsko) prilagođavanje pola. Zbog toga je neophodno da Bosna i Hercegovina, njeni entiteti i Brčko distrikt usvoje zakone i druge propise koji će na sistematski i sveobuhvatan način regulisati proceduru promjene oznake pola u ličnim dokumentima i jedinstvenog matičnog broja na osnovu vlastitog zahtjeva trans osobe i prava na sam oodređenje, bez zahtjeva za prethodnom bilo kakvom medicinskom intervencijom. To implicira potrebu da se jasno definiše zakonom ili podzakonskim aktom u entitetima i Distriktu šta jeste promjena pola koju je izvršila zdravstvena ustanova, šta čini medicinsku dokumentaciju kojom se dokazuje prilagođavanje pola, te koja nadležna zdravstvena ustanova vrši tum ačenje dokumentacije. Takođe, život u drugom rodnom identitetu treba prepoznati kao osnov za upravne postupke promjene pola.

More...

0.00 €

2023 Kosovo: Debacle of International Community in Kosovo

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

Crime in Kosovo has its roots in the period of Kosovo’s government-in-exile. The epicenter of crime includes the former commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK-OVK) and (para)intelligence services (ShIK), who acted in cooperation with political structures. Although the ShIK was officially dissolved in 2008 for the purposes of establishment of the official Kosovo Intelligence Agency, it still operates unofficially. There are strong connections between the current official and unofficial opposition political leaders and the enormous amounts of money, which has been collected through various funds. The Vendlindja thrret (Homeland Calling) fund was used to collect money in Europe and is controlled by the leaders of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). The Kosovo People’s Movement Levizja Popullore e Kosoves was established in 1997-98 and it collected money from the diaspora. In 1999 the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) was established from it. In 1991, the 3% Fund was created under the control of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Dubious activities are affiliated with the closest family members of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi (PDK). In fact, a member of his family had a special role in the Kosovo Insurance Bureau (BKS) and controlled the overall financial system through the Central Bank of Kosovo (BQK). Kurti’s government abolished the popularly called “Thaci’s tax.”

More...

0.00 €

2023 Parliamentary Elections in Montenegro: Young Voters Will Decide the Elections

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

The early parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on 11 June 2023, will be the twelfth parliamentary elections since the introduction of a multi-party system and the sixth since Montenegro gained its independence. There are around 542 thousand eligible voters registered in the central electoral roll. Montenegro has a proportional electoral system in which the entire country constitutes one electoral unit. At the elections a total of 81 representatives will be elected to the Montenegro’s Parliament. The election threshold is 3%.

More...

0.00 €

2023 Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria: Between Brussels (Berlin) and Moscow

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

In the Republic of Bulgaria early parliamentary elections will be held on 2 April 2023. At the elections 240 representatives/deputies of the Bulgarian National Assembly will be elected according to the proportional closed-list system. There is a total of 31 electoral constituencies from which, depending on the size of the constituency from 4 to 16 representatives/deputies will be elected. The election threshold is 4%. These are the fifth elections in the past two years, as it was not possible to establish a government on the basis of the results of the previous elections.

More...

0.00 €

2023 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye: Will Türkiye Organize Early Presidential and Parliamentary Elections?

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

Turkish officials, headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, assure the public that there will be no early elections and that the elections will be organized as planned in June 2023. Furthermore, the Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ stated on 19 August 2022 that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held as envisaged by the Turkish Constitution, that is on 18 June 2023. In Türkiye, there are suspicions that Erdoğan could surprise the opposition and call early general and presidential elections.

More...

0.00 €

Europe of the West: Imperialism of Imagination, Geopolitics of Peter Pan

Author(s): Anis H. Bajrektarević / Language(s): English

Economic downturn; recession of plans and initiatives; systematically ignored calls for a fiscal and monetary justice for all; €-crisis; Brexit and irredentism in the UK, Spain, Belgium, France, Denmark and Italy; lasting instability in the Euro-Med theatre (debt crisis of the Europe’s south – countries scrutinized and ridiculed under the nickname PIGS, coupled with the failed states all over the MENA); terrorism; historic low with Moscow culminating in the unprecedented opened armed conflict of West with Russia on the territory of yet another Slavic useful idiot, ill-fated Ukraine, all this combined with a confrontational but in fact frightened and disoriented Washington administration; influx of predominantly Muslim refugees from Levant in numbers and configurations unprecedented since the WWII exoduses (with an institutionalized racism in the Western migration policy while giving to fleeing Ukrainians diametrically different treatment); consequential growth of far-right parties who – by peddling reductive messages and comparisons – are exploiting fears of otherness, that are now amplified with already urging health labour and social justice concerns; generational unemployment and sociocultural anxieties, in ricochet of sanctions; long-ago ‘prophesised’ than doctored health, post-C-19 and energy ‘crises’, oil anti-diplomacy, as well as the Sino-US trade wars, while rifting in dilemma to either letting Bolivarism or supporting Monroeism…

More...

0.00 €

2022 General Elections in BiH: Can the Voters Beat the Media, Religious Communities and Foreign Influence?

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

The ninth general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina will take place on 2 October 2022. At the elections, members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the Republika Srpska, two vice-presidents of Republika Srpska, representatives in the Republika Srpska National Assembly (NSRS), and representative in the assemblies of 10 cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be elected.

More...

0.00 €

2022 Serbia: Elections in the shadow of pressures, Ukraine crisis and Kosovo

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

In the Republic of Serbia, regular presidential, extraordinary parliamentarian and regular local elections for the capital of Belgrade and 12 municipalities are scheduled to take place on 3 April 2022. At the parliamentary elections, 250 representatives will be elected for the Republic of Serbia National Assembly using the system of proportional-representation. There are 6,501,689 registered voters who will be able to vote at 8,255 polling stations.

More...

0.00 €

2021 North Macedonia: Is EU heading towards its next historical mistake?

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

Since the fall of the VMRO-DPMNE regime and the Nikola Gruevski - Saso Mijalkov duo, the Republic of North Macedonia has made historical steps forward in its national and social-political development. Upon their arrival to power, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and the Social-Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) had to face the problems of inherited crime and corruption, which were present in all pores of life. Zoran Zaev pursued the policy of having “zero” problems with the neighboring countries. As a result, North Macedonia and Bulgaria signed the treaty of friendship, good-neighborliness and cooperation. Later, on 17 June 2018, North Macedonia signed an agreement with Greece (“Prespa Agreement”) on modification of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia. After that, the Republic of North Macedonia became a full-fledged member of NATO on 27 March 2020. The law on the use of languages, which promotes use of languages of other ethnic communities, was adopted. This provided for fulfillment of the all the key goals set by the new Macedonian government headed by Prime Minister Zaev- except one. Specifically, the opening of accession talks with the EU. In the meantime, North Macedonia achieved another major foreign-policy milestone-chairmanship of the OSCE in 2023.

More...

0.00 €

2021 Montenegro: Exporter of Crime to the Region

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

The parliamentary elections in Montenegro, which were held on 30 August 2020, marked the defeat of the 31-year long regime headed by Milo Đukanović and his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). The new government was established on 4 December 2020 and it comprised three coalitions: “For the Future of Montenegro”/Koalicija za budućnost Crne Gore/ 32.55% (133,267), “Peace is Our Nation”/Mir je naša nacija/ 12.53% (51,297) and “Black and White”/Crno na bijelo/ 5.53 (22,649).

More...

0.00 €

Taking for granted… be wary

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

The title of these comments is inspired by my personal experience in important areas of public policy both as a politician beginning in the 1970s and more recently as Secretary General of the OECD from 1996 until 2006. That was a very important decade as it ushered in the period which some day we thought would be known as the beginning of globalization on a grand scale. When I took up my responsibilities in Paris at the end of May 1996 it was a time brimming with optimism about the great future ahead for our children and generations to follow! We were about to say goodbye to one of the most brutal and bloody centuries in human history. Physical human suffering was compounded by poverty and misery of hundreds of millions, especially in the developing world.

More...

0.00 €

Perceiving corruption: Rethinking accountability, revolution and challenging the status quo in Lebanon

Author(s): Marie-Christine Ghreichi / Language(s): English

Political corruption in Lebanon traces its roots to the re-assembling in the post-civil war era, which entrenched a realm of politics dominated by war lords and militia-like mentalities operating through a sectarian discourse. The waste resulting from “confessional governance” costs Lebanon 9% of GDP each year. 1 In the early 1990s, “Lebanese political bosses either coopted or gutted institutions such as unions, professional associations and opposition parties. Public schools and hospitals were defunded.” Today, many Lebanese do not send their children to public schools or hospitals. Sukleen, the company contracted by the government to collect waste in Beirut and Mount Lebanon charges 4x more per ton of waste disposed in landfills compared to providers in the UK. 2 Nearly 40% of electricity is produced by private generators established during the civil war and partially owned by various politicians today, profiting close to $1 billion a year. Electricite du Liban, the public electricity company collects payments for only half of the power it produces.

More...

0.00 €

How to Spend it: An Austro-Franco-German Proposal for a European Covid-19 Recovery Programme

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

The conference named “75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System”, which took place on the 1st of July at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, brought together experts related to the reality of the Old Continent and its Union over the course of the past 75 years of its post-WWII anti-fascist existence. It was jointly organized by four different entities (the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies IFIMES, Media Platform Modern Diplomacy, International Scientific Journal European Perspectives, and Action Platform Culture for Peace) with the support of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, numerous academia supporting and media partners).

More...

0.00 €

2020 US-Serbia-Kosovo agreement: New era of Serbia-US political and economic relations

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

In Washington, on 4 September 2020, Serbia and Kosovo signed separate agreements with the United States on “economic normalization”. The agreements have no bearing on the existing dialogue that is underway between official Belgrade and Priština and mediated by the European Union. The Washington agreement is a new political reality not just for Kosovo and Serbia but also for the entire West Balkans region, and even the EU itself. It is a product of long and hard work, which included strong engagement of the US special envoy for the dialogue between official Belgrade and Priština, Ambassador Richard Grenell. The agreement envisages, inter alia, establishment of direct air and rail connections between Belgrade and Priština, construction of the Niš–Priština highway and a number of other economic and energy projects. The signatories to the agreement undertook to suspend for a year the campaign for recognition, that is withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo.

More...