Search

The article aims to document that Western efforts to find a solution to the decades-long Serbia-Kosovo crisis are doomed to fail. This is because they address the symptoms without getting to the roots. The Kosovo issue has become the central instrument of Serbia’s political class to cement its own rule. A lasting solution for Kosovo would also threaten the socio-political situation in Serbia. If the West does not succeed in democratising and reforming the ruling system in Serbia, the Kosovo conflict cannot be resolved either. Above all, changes in the censored media landscape and the nationalistically instrumentalised school education are a conditio sine qua non. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even at a superficial glance, it is striking that there are numerous parallels between the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and the current Russian attack on Ukraine. It is debatable whether lessons can be drawn from history for the present and the future. But identifying patterns in politics and ideology can help us better understand the drivers of nationalism and the revisionism it fuels. Many concrete cases are used to demonstrate how political elites in Serbia and its neighbouring countries instrumentalise history to secure their power. The “correct” ideological-political orientation already begins in history class in schools. The end result for Serbia is an outcome characterised by close ties between the population and Russia and China, although in reality the EU is the all-important foreign policy partner. Still, reality and perception diverge dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the successor states of Yugoslavia, political elites continue to use the revision of history to justify their own system of rule more than 20 years after the wars. They revise history, claiming a historical victim status for their people and a perpetrator role for all other nations. The goal is to homogenize their own people and exclude any dissenting opinion. Possible aggression is thus whitewashed as self-defense. This instrument of securing power falls on fertile ground even among young people who have not themselves experienced the wars of the 1990s. History and politics lessons in schools as well as the media reinforce these narratives and lead to the stigmatization of allegedly hostile neighbors. Social media in particular support the spread of the most unhistorical and even freely invented interpretations of the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ex-Yugoslav states, the revision of their own history and populism are gaining newmomentum. At the same time, Russia has penetrated deeply into the Serbian media landscapewith its quasi-news agencies and state media. In many Serbian media Moscow is succeeding in defining the interpretation of domestic political and geopolitical developments. The EU must witness how more and more anti-European values and national disputes between neighboring countries in Southeast Europe are being fueled by Russia's influence. The spearhead of Russian propaganda activities is the state agency Sputnik with its offers in multiple languages. The article analyses the impact of Sputnik's influence on the domestic and foreign policy of Serbia and its neighbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than two decades since the end of war accompanying the disintegration of former Yugoslavia, the bloody chapter remains little scrutinized, neither legally nor scientifically. With the topic blacked out by most politicians in the region, hope fell on education in schools. The analysis of the most recent schoolbooks in Croatia and Serbia, however, exposes an extremely unrealistic attribution of culpability, an uncritical justification of one's own standpoint, a minimization of one's own mistakes and an inflation in the number of victims each side has suffered. Swirling conspiracy theories and reality distortion round off this distorted narrative. The planned relaunch of the regional truth commissions in all countries that emerged from the former multi-ethnic federation raises expectations of improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent Kosovo crisis is not moving toward compromise and resolution, but has for months been creeping toward a new escalation. Contributing to such volatility, opposition parties are blocking the Kosovo parliament with tear gas attacks, violence routinely accompanies street demonstrations, and progress remains elusive in talks the EU is brokering between Prishtina and Belgrade. Front lines run between the Kosovar government and the opposition, as well as between the Albanian majority and the Serb minority. Now a desperate search is on for a mediator to impose control over the explosive situation. Without a solution, the international community can only continue to appeal for respect of democratic standards. While the eyes of the United States and the European Union are glued to crises in Ukraine, Middle East and Africa, the frozen conflict in Kosovo may again turn hot. If all attempts for compromise fail, could some tabooed solutions come into consideration?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political parties in the successor states of former Yugoslavia are, almost without exception, based on an undemocratic organizational structure, tailor-suited for the strong leader. The party chiefs buy loyalty of the membership by offering spoils in the state administration and state enterprises. The system breeds corruption and blocks all reforms toward democratization and a market economy, as the elites profiting from it seek to maintain a status quo. With that the intent to achieve closer ties with the European Union remains just a mantra that is not based on real interests of the ruling elites. Hopes for a changed situation lie outside these countries, but with slim chances for quick turnarounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a long period of political uncertainty as well as economic and social decline, stable political relations returned to Serbia, the key country of the Western Balkans. The country's new strongman since the last elections in March 2014, Aleksandar Vucic, announced far-reaching reforms affecting the state and society. His government, equipped with a plush two-thirds majority in parliament, has every possibility to implement this promise. Though Vucic renewed his coalition with the old Socialist junior partners, he is not subject to pressure from them in the pursuit of his political goals. "There is no excuse now", was the overwhelming sentiment and conclusion in the local media on the inauguration ofVucic's cabinet. The only limits to the reformist potential concern the management expertise and a growing personality cult around Vucic. The damage that the Vucic cult did to state institutions was exposed almost immediately with his authoritarian stance during the record flooding that devastated Serbia in mid-May 2014. Then the Prime Minister delivered harsh lessons left and right to cabinet ministers and other officials, often during live broadcasts of emergency government meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]