Memory and the uses of wartime past in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina: the case of the Bosniak campaign for the October 2013 population census

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Lack of Engagement: Surveying the EU Member State Policies Towards Kosovo

On December 8, 2017, Forum 2015 organized the next discussion that aimed to explore ways in which EU Member States politically interact with Kosovo. Kosovo’s declaration of independence, in February 2008, resulted in a deep division within the European Union. While 23 members recognised Kosovo, five refused to accept its statehood. At the time, many observers expected the non-recognisers to fall into line eventually and accept Kosovo. However, in the decade since then, that has not happened. If anything, the picture has become more complex. Rather than two distinct camps, four broad groups now exist. First, there are the countries that have recognised Kosovo, and have forged meaningful relations with it. These include Britain and Germany and most of the other members of the EU. At the other end of the scale there are the states that still refuse to recognise Kosovo, and continue to have very little to do with it. Spain and Cyprus fall into this category. However, between those two poles lie two other factions. Although Greece, Romania and Slovakia have refused to recognise Kosovo, they have nevertheless forged relatively good relations with Pristina. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic and Poland, while recognising Kosovo, have in fact had relatively little diplomatic interaction with Kosovo authorities over the past ten years

Memory and the uses of wartime past in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina: The case of the Bosniak campaign for the October 2013 population census

This paper explores how the recent past and wartime memories have been used as a narrative component during the 2013 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was the country’s first official population count since the violent conflict and mass demographic changes of the early 1990s. It examines narratives employed in debates over the census within the Bosniak group and considers the relationship of these narratives with the Bosniak political position. The paper argues that the 2013 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a highly politicized process, imbued with heated debates and aggressive political campaigns surrounding identity questions on ethnonational and religious affiliation and mother tongue

The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans

European enlargement has often been viewed from an institutional perspective. The academic literature in the field has tended to focus primarily on how the Commission or the Council has addressed the issue of EU expansion. Relatively little attention has been paid to the role of individual member states. This article considers the way in which domestic political concerns and national politics affects the way in which EU members approach enlargement to the Western Balkans. It does this by examining studies conducted on seven countries: Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus. It shows that there are in fact a wide variety of factors that shape individual member state attitudes towards enlargement. These factors include economic and commercial goals, ties to the region and to individual accession states, concerns over immigration, general foreign policy priorities and national ideological approaches towards the future shape and orientation of the European Union

EU member states and enlargement towards the Balkans. EPC ISSUE PAPER No. 79, July 2015

From the Executive Summary. The European Union’s enlargement to the Balkans seems to be running on autopilot since Croatia’s accession in 2013 and amidst the on-going crisis. While the region still has a clear European perspective, progress on the dossier has been marred not just by outstanding challenges in individual Balkan countries but often also by hurdles which develop within the Union – more specifically in the member states. While the EU’s internal procedures for handling enlargement have always been intergovernmental in nature, the frequency of incursions and opportunities for the member states to interfere and derail the process has increased over the past years, suggesting a so-called ‘nationalisation’ of enlargement. In 17 case studies and two theoretical chapters, this Issue Paper investigates whether the dossier has shifted more under the control of the member states, and looks at the kind of considerations and potential ‘roadblocks’ that influence the positions of key national actors on enlargement

Transitional Justice in Practice: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Beyond

Este artículo revisa los debates más importantes sobre los mecanismos de justicia transicional en la antigua Yugoslavia. Resume las diversas posturas, mostrando el consenso existente y reconociendo las divergencias que aún permanecen. Dado el hecho de que el ICTY es el mecanismo dominante para impartir justicia transicional en la antigua Yugoslavia, el artículo pone especial énfasis en la literatura sobre el Tribunal y sitúa el ICTY en un campo mucho más amplio de justicia transicional y en cierta medida lo relaciona con el resto de instrumentos presentes en la región. En tal contexto, la discusión se centra en algunos de los asuntos, problemas, dilemas y efectos que la ejecución del ICTY conlleva