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After the closure of the so-called 'Balkan Route', the western Balkan countries became buffer zones for thousands of unregistered migrants living 'in waiting' in precarious conditions. The overland route captures everyday configurations of multiple spatial, temporal and social interconnections, in their entanglement with the historicity of the cross-border areas. By analysing ethnographic accounts collected on the Italian-Austrian and Italian-Slovenian borders, the paper explores the street-level practices of public/institutional apparatus and the stories of would-be asylum seekers, with their experiences of mobility and 'involuntary immobility' shaped by power relations. Our aim is to discuss the complexity of this process which concerns patterns of (im)mobility (e.g., waithood), migration projects, rejection, violence, vulnerability and agency from the point of view of the migrants entering the European Union through this eastern passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a contribution to the understanding of migration beyond its spatial dimension to include the multiple temporalities that are entailed. We rely on empirical material collected among young Afghan men in Greece to explore how they conceptualize and make sense of waiting in their own terms by proposing an ethnographic depiction of card and online games. We argue that card and online games are a way for our interlocutors to express some level of agency. With their play, they create and reinforce social ties, respectively, creating and reinforcing a support network that persists over time and beyond geographical dispersion. Therefore, they transform waiting into an experience through which they may assert their personal autonomy and group belonging and reinvest meaning into their everyday life. They eventually develop some ability to manage the uncertainty that dominates their lives, present and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe consequences for the large-scale movement of populations within and across borders. Moreover, the crisis has had serious impacts on origin, transit and destination countries, as well as on migrant workers and their families. This paper aims to enhance the understanding of migration contexts in times of crises, as well as migrant-specific vulnerabilities, including the characteristics of stranded migrants in Serbia. Two phenomena have interacted to influence the shape and intensity of mobility in the country during the pandemic: that of citizens returning from abroad in the wake of the economic downturn and changing labour markets, and that of irregular migrants and asylum seekers stranded in transit along the Western Balkan Migration Route. An emphasis is placed on the challenges faced by migrants, as well as those faced by the country itself in terms of migration governance and management in times of crisis, questioning the existence of barriers to access to support. Despite the fact that these different groups of migrants will experience crises differently, it is important to explore the capacity of the country to assist them, both while in their country of origin and while in transit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of 2017, Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced a significant increase in the number of migrants transiting through the country. Based on an ethnographic reading of nineteen recollections of 'personal migration experiences' of Bosnians during 1992–1995 war, which form the basis for popular perception of migrants in the country, this paper explores how the concept of solidarity is imagined and lived in the context of this significant increase. We argue that Bosnians interpret these recent arrivals as a 'test of humanity', having been in a similar situation in the early 1990s. In this regard, the concept of solidarity opens a window onto the interactions with and between migrants and non-migrants, recognizing a shared set of concerns and orientations, rather than exceptionalizing migrants through the lens of 'crisis'. That said, the concept of solidarity is less popular among those who do not share a so-called 'migrant's faith', resulting in negative perceptions of migrants. In these perceptions, migrants' presence in the country is criminalized, resulting in various calls for more aggressive, even violent, 'popular' handling of migrants transiting or settling in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the official closure of the passage to the EU (March 2016), the Western Balkans have become an area of transit for migratory flows overland from the East and the South. This introductory editorial sets the stage of the special issue and presents the contents of the articles which aim at going beyond an understanding of the 'refugee crisis' as a generic external threat to the EU discussing its constructive, changing dimension and exploring the fluid nature of migration trajectories which are shaped by intersecting forms of mobilities and immobilities. Through the adoption of an ethnographic and diachronic perspective, the papers further aim to understand their entanglement with the 1990s memories of migration and therefore with the temporalities of mobility, while also considering the re-emergent securitization of border areas, especially after COVID-19 pandemic, and the ambivalent pushback and hospitality policies that also occur in the Balkan countries along the route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that exercising unlimited economic freedom, as promoted by neoliberal advocates, is in negative correlation with valuable human ends, such as greater wellbeing, healthy environment, and poverty elimination. The absence of barriers for business operations often threatens the right to safe food and drinking water, and other human rights. This is particularly true in small economies, such as in the Balkan transition countries. The market in these countries is 'free' and 'open' for big players predominantly, creating economic non-opportunities and non-freedom for the majority. This paper calls for a change to the neoliberal concept of economic freedom and deregulation. The research methods include a case study and the interpretative comparative analysis of the trends in the relevant fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the virtual social networks as new forms of sociability, with a special focus on Facebook and its impact on the everyday life of citizens in Serbia. The focus of the paper is on identifying social changes that result from the massive use of virtual social networks, as well as at the participants themselves, through which these changes are implemented, but also at those who are not, but who feel the indirect impact of social networks. The research was carried out on a sample of 1109 respondents. The sample consisted of experimental and control groups. The experimental sample, consisting of people who use Facebook, included 954 respondents. The control sample, consisting of people who do not use Facebook, included 155 respondents. The paper presents the results we obtained on the basis of the research on the impact of Facebook on the everyday life of citizens in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his famous poem, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Lord Byron represents Albania as an exotic and Oriental place, and as a suitable 'stage' for the 'performance' of adventurous travel. In this paper, I explore the various ways in which literary tourists following 'in the footsteps of Lord Byron' in Albania reproduce and/or challenge and change 'imagined geographies' of that country. This is carried out through discourse analysis of their written accounts of their travels. The texts analysed include published travelogues, newspaper travel articles and travel blogs written by those who have travelled through southern Albania 'in the footsteps of Byron'. I argue that these tourists do not, in general, simply reproduce Byron influenced 'imagined geographies' of Albania in their travel writings but rather represent Albania as they find it, often highlighting the big differences between the Albania of Byron's day and the Albania of today. And I also argue that, while some tourists find that the encroachment of modernity into the lands described by Byron disrupts their ability to perform 'Byronic travel', others find it quite possible to maintain a 'Byronic' spirit of travel in the Albania of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In competitive authoritarian regimes, forming a pre-electoral coalition (PEC) provides a mean for opposition parties to defeat the incumbent party. In Turkey, the ruling Justice and Development Party initiated a PEC by forming the People's Alliance with two other parties. Like the opposition in other competitive authoritarian regimes, Turkey's opposition parties also formed a PEC, namely the Nation Alliance. Looking at the political affinity of these parties by using their election manifestos and Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) data, the paper argues that while the People's Alliance was formed by ideologically close parties, the Nation Alliance was composed of ideologically distant parties, whose main aim, under a competitive authoritarian regime, was to prevent the incumbent from gaining a parliamentary majority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining the 'post' financial crisis scenario in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) the paper assesses the role of Western banks in the region and how their penetration and 'resilience' is influenced by their parent and subsidiary structure. While taking stock of the variegated post-socialist transformation in CEE, it employs a genealogical method to explore how the universal bank model and its current 'bifurcation' into parent and subsidiary bank provides a lens through which to investigate a new form of dependency within the uneven geography of Europe. In the light of Rudolf Hilferding's theory of the universal bank and the theorization of financial capital, it illustrates how the present form of bank capitalization overlaps with previous forms of imperial expansion. If on one hand subsidiaries sit at the intersection between the core (home country) and the periphery (host country)— reproducing some of the old spatial hierarchy of capitalism; on the other they also enable new patterns of value extraction that go beyond these relations of dependency. Their autonomy in raising capital and in responding to local host jurisdiction in their "second home market" opens a new financial dimension of extractions that escape the oversight of national and regional regulatory regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2016 Timisoara was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture (EcoC) 2021. This paper is a critically interpretative narrative which examines preparations for ECoC 2021 award focusing on the importance of place making and participatory governance as an interface between our institutions and public policies meant to support touristic activities. With a mix of qualitative methods such as participant observation, interviews, and critical evaluation of public documents, this research assesses the actions that need to be taken to support tourist infrastructure. The conclusions drawn by the paper show that the touristic networks, the actors and policies fail to meet the expectations of the award so far. The failure is caused by the absence of dedicated urban policies and practices and coherence between public and private sphere of interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Turkey and Israel, this paper aims to analyse the changing alliance patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean in the post-Cold War period. It concentrates on the ‘alliance politics’ in the region that the overwhelming power and presence of the United States (US) has been challenged by the recovering Russia, the emerging China and the EU penetration. The transformation of the relations between these two key American allies in the region in response to geopolitical changes that the Arab Spring brought is of particular significance. The paper deals with this in the three interrelated contexts: their reactions to the break-up of states in Iraq and Syria; their policies towards energy discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean; the impact of their relations on the overall stability and peace in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In comparison with Russia's substantial role in Balkan politics within the pre-World War I international system and extension of the Soviet sphere of influence to the Balkans in the bipolar era, the USSR's involvement in the affairs of South-Eastern Europe was modest in the interwar years. This was a consequence of the Soviet Union's dubious status in the Versailles order. The purpose of this paper is to examine how multi-variable trajectories of interaction between the Soviet Union and the Versailles order were projected at the level of Balkan politics. As the USSR lacked appropriate diplomatic, economic and military representations in the Balkans, it may be stated that the Comintern became an instrument for exercising Soviet influence in South-Eastern Europe. The paper shows both the difficulties faced and the perplexities of the policy of the Comintern. The paper finally underlines how the USSR moved from the initial world revolution endeavour to realpolitik. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For almost a decade, Afghanistan has been largely off the mainstream global discursive agenda. In this context, Joshua Partlow's recent tome A Kingdom of Their Own: The Family Karzai and the Afghan Disaster is an exception. However, Partlow, who served as the Washington Post's bureau chief in Kabul, offers a delineation grounded in what Edward Said describes as Orientalism. Offering a discourse analysis of Partlow's title as a case study, this paper argues that the Washing Post scribe has portrayed Afghanistan—in line with Orientalist approach—as an unchanging polity. Exoticizing the country at times, Partlow presents Afghanistan as a brutal and inhuman space where practices are grounded in tribal customs instead of rationality. Moreover, Partlow's representation of Afghanistan is aimed at audiences in the Occident. Judging Partlow's representation of Afghanistan against facts, this paper also demonstrates the inaccuracies in Partlow's narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how interfaith dialogue was interpreted by the Turkish state's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) over several administrations. Mirroring changes in attitude within the state, the Diyanet began promoting interfaith dialogue in mid-1990s. The Islamist-inspired AKP administration continued this stance after its election in 2002. However, as the AKP leadership adopted a more authoritarian and anti-western tone after 2011, they changed their policy on interfaith dialogue. Through a political analysis and a content analysis of Diyanet texts and Friday sermons, this paper will discuss policy on interfaith dialogue to show how Islam has been used for social engineering by the nominally secular Turkish state. This paper contributes to literature on secularism by examining how an aggressively secular state has instrumentalized religion to meet its political needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores what the Brussels Dialogue, a cornerstone of the current EU peacebuilding activities in Kosovo, means for the Serbs living in the north of Kosovo. Many argue that the EU-brokered dialogue is a 'success story' of EU peacebuilding. Yet such positive assessments usually overlook several consequences for the locals and how they perceive this 'success story'. By linking the theory on the EU as a normative power with academic literature on the local aspects of peacebuilding, this paper contends that, despite the apparent success, the EU's peacebuilding approach in Kosovo also brings several negative psychosocial implications for Serbs in the north of Kosovo and have further exacerbated intra-ethnic relations. The contours of intra-ethnic conflict in this territory reached a climax in January 2018 when the prominent Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic was assassinated. The increase in a general lack of security in the north of Kosovo, which the EU has also added to by ignoring or not properly addressing the challenges, questions the apparent success of the EU's efforts here while also negatively affecting the overall perception of the EU as a normative power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key characteristics of the world economy in the last few decades has been the rise of foreign direct investments (FDI), which represent the major and most desirable form of capital flows from developed to developing and transition countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate specificities of FDI inflow to six small open transition economies of the western Balkans over the 2004–2014 period. Formal econometric tests carried out in the paper imply that—contrary to widespread ideology—FDI inflows exhibit at best no impact whatsoever or indeed a statistically significant negative impact on both GDP and GNP (cumulative) growth rates in the western Balkans. After exploring stylized facts and contrasting them with theoretical predictions, the article goes on to debunk several misconceptions in regard to motives, modes of operation and economic effects of FDI confronted with inconsistent, partial or outright detrimental government policies. The authors therefore call for a considerably different attitude towards FDI and the growth-generating concept in the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the revival of the nuclear energy initiatives in Turkey and the associated 'economic growth' and 'competitiveness' discourse of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a function of the neoliberal transformation of the Turkish political economy since the 1980s. Based on an engagement between the neo-Gramscian approach and the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper shows how the nuclear project in Turkey is historically situated and discursively constructed. Analysing the Parliamentary Records and statements of state officials, the paper has highlighted how the AKP exercises power through hegemonic discourses in terms of the legitimization of the nuclear energy in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout 1990, an attempt at federal transition in Yugoslavia was intended to keep up with global and regional transformations based on the establishment of liberal democracies and the geographical expansion of US influence and neoliberalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Paradoxically, republican and interrepublican developments in Yugoslavia, which deepened the country's crisis and halted the transition process, were adapted in a more effective way to the new international order, marked by the US pretension of global unipolar hegemony. Drawing on Robert Cox's method of historical structures, this paper argues that the failure of Yugoslav transition was a consequence of decreasing consistency between federal reformist efforts and the emerging post-Cold War world order and discusses the pertinence of approaching Yugoslav dissolution through the neo-Gramscian approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, after two years of Öcalan's isolation and revelations of secretive Oslo meetings between the Turkish state and the PKK; the state agreed to open a new series of meetings with the Kurdish movement. Due to this relatively peaceful atmosphere, the Kurdish movement has started various activities to promote cultural nationalism and nation building. Yet, the Kurdish spring did not last long. Suddenly, the state has ended meetings with Öcalan. Thousands of the Peoples' Democratic Party, HDP members are detained under the allegedly KCK operations. Guerrilla warfare started again, this time in the cities even. Part of the cities were destroyed and about a million civilians were displaced. This paper seeks to make sense of this policy revanchism: why after acknowledging that the military approach to the Kurdish question would never work and moving relations towards peaceful resolution instead has the Turkish state returned to the failed policy models of the past? I try to elaborate why the Kurdish movement found it hard to resist the Turkish state's entreaty to join the so-called peace process. In addressing these questions, the paper sheds much-needed light on the complicated contemporary relations between the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the securitization of migration in Greece through the case of the Evros anti-immigrant fence. The fence was constructed in 2012 with the aim to limit the flow of irregular migration from Turkey to Greece. This paper explores the reasons why the Greek government decided to build the fence and its political implications by focusing on the securitization of migration in Greece both through practices and through securitizing rhetoric. The paper argues that the construction of the Evros fence is closely associated with changing perceptions of threat and the framing of migrants as risky and threatening both at the national and the EU levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory paper sets the scene for the special issue on migration in the Western Balkan region. First, we briefly outline the background to the research networking initiative in the Western Balkans—'WB-MIGNET'—which resulted in producing the set of papers presented here. Then we describe the context in which the analysis of migration, return and development in the Western Balkans takes place, highlighting the role of diasporas and return migration. The region exemplifies a wide range and interrelation of migratory forms, including temporary and permanent labour migration, forced migration of refugees, temporary displacement, high-skilled migration and transit migration. Quite apart from the scale and diversity of migratory phenomena in this region, the special relevance of the Western Balkans rests on mass emigration, predominantly of educated young people, and their possible return, including to post-conflict areas, and role in the development of their home countries. Such processes within the Western Balkans also offer useful lessons for designing future migration policies in Europe and worldwide. The final section of this introductory paper summarizes the papers that follow and highlights their originality and key findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1992-1995 war, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been going through a difficult process of transition, characterized by dependence on humanitarian aid and by major challenges regarding employment. Returnees and displaced persons have experienced many unfavourable circumstances and challenges. This paper draws from the findings gathered by the authors over several years of field research with more than 2000 returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly in areas with high return rates, including social housing beneficiaries. It offers a reflection of contextual factors in shaping the world of migrants and their potential to cope and adapt, and the role of donor agencies in imposing 'learned dependency'. Using the metaphor of a pumpkin that floats on the water, following its currents, but retaining own integrity, the paper emphasizes that it may actually be the impact of adversity that awakens certain qualities and skills in people. Processes analogous to post-traumatic growth may be in effect in increasing the potential of the individual to develop a silent and potential form of understanding the world around oneself, a sort of 'personal wisdom'. Hence, a positive psychology approach to studying the personal effects of forced migration wisdom is advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Balkan route is historically a smuggling corridor, and tobacco illegal trade flourished during transition and conflicts at the end of the 20th century. This paper contributes to the scarce attitudinal studies and limited knowledge about the tobacco grey market by surveying the opinion of citizens in seven Western Balkan countries. The typology of citizens in the region reveals that the most repressive attitudes and opinion that curbing grey tobacco market will reduce smoking come from non-smokers and from citizens of countries that have no comparative advantages in the tobacco trade. The public awareness on the negative aspects of tobacco grey market, including its link to organized crime, is high enough for governments to undertake stricter measures in combating illegal tobacco trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and institutional quality measures (control of corruption, political stability, and rule of law) in the Western Balkans. The empirical study is based on panel techniques (unit root tests and causality) in the period 2002–2017. The results indicate that control of corruption, political stability, and rule of law cause an inflow of FDI at the Western Balkans. The bidirectional relationship has been found between political stability and rule of low, control of corruption and rule of law, and control of corruption and inflow of FDI. Thus, the study recommended that stronger institutional measures cause a higher inflow of foreign direct investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The network of international investment agreements (IIAs) sees a rapid expansion in the last three decades. With it also the number of international investor-State disputes (ISDS), where foreign investors allege governments of breaches of IIAs, increases sharply also in Balkan, post-Soviet Union and Near and Middle East (BSNME) countries. These disputes are frequently seen to negatively interfere with the national sovereignty of host governments to enact regulation in the public interest, especially in times when regulatory interventions are necessary from a social welfare viewpoint. Against this background, in this paper we appraise the current state of ISDS in BSNME countries: Are BSNME countries prime targets of foreign investors' arbitral claims? Which economic sectors are targeted by investors? What is the outcome of the arbitral councils' deliberations? What can we infer from the experience of BSNME countries with ISDS about the future role of IIAs for these countries? We conclude that further improvements in governance are key factors in the attempt to optimize the trade-off between attraction of foreign investment via the ratification of IIAs and national sovereignty in policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a main input for economic growth and competitiveness, foreign direct investments (FDI) remain one of the most important sources in both emerging and developing countries. This study emphasizes the importance of FDI into Serbia's economy by analysing the forecasts between FDI, GDP, the unemployment rate and global competitive index (GCI). In this paper, authors focussed on a comparison of FDI inflows from China, Russia and the EU countries. According to the multiplicative and seasonal aspects of trend analysis considered, projections show a gradual increase in GDP, FDI, competitive ranks and a decrease in the unemployment rate for the following 5 years. These results shed light on the future potential directions under which investment and other public policies should be created. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the roles of gross domestic spending on research and development (R&D) and gross capital formation in the innovation process and detects their contribution to this improvement. The analysis is conducted for Turkey for the period 1990-2017 using annual time-series data. Our findings suggest a bidirectional causal link between all variables of interest and prove that R&D can be a significant driving force for the Turkish innovation process. Most of the research and development activities in Turkey have been performed by universities. Herein, it is of key importance for the Turkish government to increase public expenditure, especially on education, since human capital plays an important role in building innovation capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the effects of bank wholesale and retail funding swings triggered by the real economy and foreign financial flow shocks, as well as the effects of the corresponding policy interventions in three emerging countries (Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia) throughout the boom (2007–2008), bust (2009–2010), and recovery (2011–2013) periods of the Great Recession. We find evidence that supply-side factors were crucial for the huge procyclical credit swing, and that the cyclicality of credits to firms was amplified the most. The paper also documents that policy contribution was of a second-rate order compared to funding effects. The effectiveness of macroprudential and other policies (standard macro, structural) in supporting the stability of financial systems is discussed, and external flow, policy, and regulation effects on the credit activities of banks are disentangled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the fundamental reasons for the current global economic crisis in the Eurozone and PIIGS—Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. It evaluates the tight economic integration within the Eurozone, and scrutinizes the reasons that PIIGS were more intensely exposed to the economic crisis. It focuses on the structure of the real economy and the financial market, and outlines the levels of competitiveness and financialization across the Eurozone and PIIGS. The paper states that the reason for the economic crisis in PIIGS was not only (i) unregulated financialization or over-financialization, but also (ii) the economic and trade imbalance among the Eurozone members, (iii) the falling rates of profit in the real economy, and (iv) the failure of real profits to compensate financial profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues, with a focus on the final 10 years of the Mubarak regime, that the US policy of using economic interdependence to influence stability in Egypt failed. By assessing the formation of this US policy and the factors concerning US‒Egyptian ties, this paper also provides a better understanding of US policy towards Egypt in general. The argument is entrenched in the stability through economic interdependence literature and identifies how this case study disproves the positive correlation associated with these two variables. The paper achieves this aim by consulting primary source governmental and non-governmental material, media, analytical and scholarly work concerned with the topic. Consequently, the paper identifies how and why Egypt’s alignment to the ‘War on Terror’, suppression of political opposition and the run-up to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, led to the US policy failure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influence of interest rates and inflation on GDP growth has been the subject of long debates and many research studies: from purely theoretical analysis of the channels through which this is accomplished, to empirical studies on a broad panel of countries. Because of these shared arguments about the impact of interest rates and inflation on GDP growth, as an area of investigation in this paper we took FYROM, Bulgaria and Romania. The paper examines existing theory to create an analytical framework for the impact of interest rate and inflation on GDP, and to quantitatively evaluate the importance of these variables for economic growth. A cointegration analysis with three variables (interest rate, inflation and GDP growth) and a Granger causality analysis are implemented to examine the relations between these variables. Unit root tests are applied to examine the relationships among the respective data series. The target period is from 2000 until present time, offering a relatively positive first period until the advent of the debt crisis by the end of the 2000s. The basic aim is to investigate the links between monetary and fiscal measures, especially for developing countries that are striving for economic growth without a strong home currency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration triggers significant developments in gender norms and identities. Cultural and spatial dislocation influences the ways people renegotiate their gender schemas and shifts the performances of masculinity and/or femininity. Scholars have mainly focused on its impact on women, overlooking its importance in shaping men’s identity. This paper focuses on rural migrant men moving to the city. It explores the strategies they use to renegotiate traditional performances of masculinities in the context of their spatial dislocation and wider socioeconomic developments and urbanization in a suburb of Tirana, Albania. Using an ethnographic and auto-ethnographic narrative approach, this paper reveals that traditional performances of masculinities confronted with modernization are shifting and being reshaped in the new urban environment where generational differences and the emancipation of women are now apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores why Syrian civil servants decide to defect from the Syrian bureaucratic apparatus and how regime strength is perceived among these defectors. The paper contributes to existing studies on defection in which the main focus is often on military civil servants, by expanding the scope of the investigation to defections among civilian civil servants working in public administration. The analytical framework of ‘state infrastructural power’ guides the study. The results of the investigation indicate that defections take place, not as a result of perceived regime strength through military and territorial control, but rather as a result of perceived illegitimate rule by the regime. The material consists of semi-structured interviews with 13 high-level civilian civil servants that defected from the Syrian state apparatus between June 2011 and March 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the austerity measures that have been introduced in Greece since 2010 in the patterns of local governance, with a specific focus on the case of the Leader approach for rural development in the Greek region of Peloponnesus. It deploys mixed qualitative techniques in order to outline the changes in local governance capacity and autonomy that resulted from the implementation of the two Memorandums of Understanding and the mid-term Fiscal Strategy since 2010. The diminished local governance capacity and autonomy, and the significant trends towards recentralization are revealed. These are more profound in the case of the five Leader programmes implemented in the region of Peloponnesus. The conclusions drawn by the paper put into serious doubt the mainstream assumptions concerning the impact of austerity measures on the patterns of governance in Greece in general and on local governance in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on the domestic and international politics shaping the Cyprus Conflict between 1967 and 1974. Throughout the period investigated by this paper, Archbishop Makarios tried to preserve the Cypriot independence, integrity and sovereignty by withstanding the terrorist activities of Greek Cypriot paramilitary groups, local autonomy demands of Turkish Cypriot leadership and the interventions of Greece and Turkey. The anti-American Greek Cypriot Left sided with Makarios against the Greek Junta. Prior to the 1974 incidents, Henry Kissinger had been informed about the internal and external threats targeting Cyprus. During the 1974 crisis, he was provided sufficient information monitoring the unlikelihood of a Greco-Turkish war. Under these circumstances, the US government supported the federalization of Cyprus. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing its examples from the case of the former Yugoslavia, the paper explores the difficult intersections of justice, memory and forgiveness where the present bears the traces of a violent past of inter-communal conflict and mass crimes. It specifically delves into the limits of institutional attempts to respond in a redemptory and permanent manner to the claims for justice in a political community scarred by such a tormenting past. It examines three judicial or semi-judicial manifestations of memory based on how they relate to the past(s) of the former Yugoslavia: (a) the punishment of the perpetrators, (b) the recognition of the crimes committed, and (c) forgetfulness in the name of peace and progress. Promoting reconciliation, governments often qualify a plea for forgiving as the last recourse to the impasse of institutional justice. At this fragile moment, forgiveness presents itself as a remedy for the impossibilities of institutional justice, without however fully evading the dangers of political expedience or the Western metaphysics of a ‘universal’ (Christian) ethos. Discussing memory as a dimension of justice, the paper concludes that if this intricate bond remains unexamined, the possibility of forgiveness in the former Yugoslavia could hardly attain any political meaning or vigour. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The growing agency of non-state actors empowered grassroots diplomacy between Turks and Armenians until the centennial genocide commemorations in 2015. However, rising authoritarianism in Turkey resulted in the clampdown of non-governmental actors, thus, further restricting room for engagement in post 2015. Under the hostile environment for non-state actors an Armenian pop song, Mi Gna (Don't Leave) by Super Sako, gained mainstream access in the Turkish music market. This paper contextualizes that unintentional actions and music can be catalysers in complimenting the long-term policy goals by permeating into the public sphere, thus providing space for cross-cultural awareness in undemocratic regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, with the recent events inside EU and accession of new member states, it increases the need for a deeper integration of the member states. This paper looks at the important role of cultural cross-border cooperation, in the context of winning the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title by Timișoara and Novi Sad for 2021. The ECoC title offers a great opportunity for Timișoara and Novi Sad, two cities from neighbouring countries, Romania and Serbia, also close from geographical and historical point of view, to shape together a region of culture through cross-border cooperation. Moreover, the title is a catalyst for the development of urban tourism at a local level. This article makes a qualitative analysis of the opportunities and challenges for cross-border cooperation in the new context. Cultural cross-border cooperation changes borders from barriers to bridges of cooperation and creates stronger ties between communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music festivals are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, especially super-sized festivals, hosts of the biggest performers in international music charts, with thousands of fans, where the sound combined with spectacular visual effects and impressive settings create a unique sensorial experience. Untold Festival, the most promising event of this type in Eastern Europe, now at the 4th edition, was started in Cluj-Napoca, in 2015, as a project partially supported by the local authorities and it has been then developed through private financing and sponsorship. Untold promotes Transylvania's mythological heritage, Romanian culture and traditions driving tourism and economic development in the region. The present paper aims to show the contribution of the festival in the placemaking of Cluj-Napoca and its surrounding area. The festival has an important [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance and economic potential of cultural heritage tourism have been acknowledged worldwide, being at the forefront of the development strategies for many cities aiming at enhancing the tourists' experience. The paper presents a case study of recent heritage interpretation project in Craiova historical centre, one of the largest Romanian towns, followed by the results of an online survey, aimed to assess people's awareness, understanding and appreciation of the place and the past. The process of urban and cultural regeneration was initiated by the City Hall, in the early 2000, aiming at the creative capitalization of the cultural heritage to increase the attractiveness of the area and life quality for the local community, tourists and potential investors alike, by conveying a sense of place and appreciation of the town which is both historical and cultural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music festivals have always had a key role in the production and reproduction of urban identities, regardless of the various leading political systems. This paper focuses on the Golden Stag Pop Music Festival (Brasov, Romania) as a particular case study in-depth investigated. It emphasizes the festival's distinctive and complex issues: from a former communist era festival (a rather unusual form of heritage), it was rebranded as a completely new post-communist musical event. The festival plays an important role in the post-socialist place-making of Brasov. The study aims to unpack the issues of rebranding this festival as part of the cultural legacy of communism enhancing the local placemaking. The research uses a multi-method approach all-through the study with quantitative and qualitative analysis. In addition, ethnographic research and visual methodologies were used to examine this emblematic music festival. The findings are designed to inspire local urban agendas of all involved actors to rebrand the festival, thus refashioning the cultural legacy of communism and enhancing the local placemaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to survey, analyse and evaluate the rôle of Greece and Cyprus vis-à-vis the security and geo-economic dimension of the Eastern Mediterranean through the lens of integration and regional strategic interests in the region. Despite the enlargement of NATO and the European Union, which have striven to integrate new countries into the Western community, the regional balance of interests has proven to be more unstable than predicted by the proponents of a Westernized and peaceful Eastern Mediterranean. Influenced by the strengthening rôle of Russia and Turkey, as well as by internal structural problems in the social, political and economic spheres, the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus find themselves in a maelstrom of different and often conflicting regional interests, over which they have only minimal control. Developments are likely to have an impact on not only European integration, but on regional stability as a whole, since it can be argued that the old power structures of NATO and the EU are now having to contend with new regional factors. The article concludes with the observation that the situation in the region is confusing and volatile in diplomatic terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a geohistorical approach in explaining the interactions of the past between Greece, Cyprus and Russia/USSR, within the context of the Eastern Mediterranean, and demonstrates that basic human and political characteristics have barely altered when it comes to today; rather, new colours are being painted to reflect allegedly 'new' circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Turkey–Soviet Russia relations is one of the most controversial topics in Turkish historiography. The controversy was largely a product of the Cold War interpretations when the USSR and Turkey were in hostile camps. This article shows the Bolsheviks' reappraisal and readjustment of their policy towards Turkey during the transition of Turkey from a war of independence to the foundation of a New Turkey in conditions of peace. In doing so, the paper focuses specifically on Ambassador Surits' detailed reports on Turkey in 1923, including his policy recommendations. In this way the article attempts to contribute to our conception of the essence of Soviet–Turkey relations by taking into account Ambassador Surits' reports as the primary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains how the ideas that initiated the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 were embedded in the foreign policy of Yugoslavia after the end of World War II. From the very beginning (1945), the political actors of Yugoslavia had directed foreign policy towards bilateral cooperation, first of all with the Soviet Union, and with other democratic countries. All foreign policy issues were solved in the context of belonging to the socialist political camp, on the wings of the World War II victory and national liberation from the occupiers and the capitalist way of organizing society. Such a socialist foreign political course lasted only until the end of 1947. However, the article considers that there had been an October Revolution sentiment in Yugoslavia long before the adoption of the socialist organization of society after 1945. For this reason, apart from the international importance of the idea of the October Revolution, attention is directed towards analysis of the continuity of the idea of the revolution in Yugoslavia (1919–1945), and then towards the foreign policy practice of Yugoslavia observed through the analysis of primary political sources (1945–1947). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the Rojava model really deconstructing the model of a state or is it potentially a new state form? Does the 'democratic confederalism' model that the Kurdish movement claims to be implementing in Northern Syria draw on/reproduce different modes of identity/belonging than that of the nation and the state? This paper argues that the shift from a nationalist movement towards a project that offers a stateless solution seems to be incomplete and needs to be further questioned. The first section begins with a brief discussion of the notion of statelessness and the historical background and ideological transformation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its 'paradigm-shift'. The second section shows that despite positive aspects towards a post-national stateless model, the narratives of the representatives of the Kurdish political movement in Rojava display nationalist elements by prioritizing the Kurds and their cultural identity and a political power at the top of which Öcalan's personality cult stands; and engages with the concept of the multitude, proposed by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri whose work on radical democracy is theoretically relevant to the Rojava model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the alliance between Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the years 1970–1989. The relations between the two Arab powers were characterized by cooperation and support amid ideological and 'structural' differences. This was a stark contrast with the conflictual relations of the previous decade. The change was driven mainly by a reshaping in Syria's regional policy. The new 'realist' foreign policy imposed by Hafiz Al-Assad created an overlapping of interests between Syria and the KSA. Riyadh valued Syria's role in the region and used its support of Damascus vis-à-vis Israel as a tool to obtain domestic and regional legitimacy. On the other hand, Syria benefited from the KSA's generous economic and diplomatic help. This study will use an approach based on neoclassical realism to show how domestic and international factors led to these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the role of the 'Balkanist discourse', as a collection of negative prejudices on the Balkan people and cultures, in constructing the individual and collective identities of labour migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Particular emphasis is given to investigating to what extent the Balkanist discourse meta-narrative affects the integration of the labour migrants in host countries' societies and their reintegration into BiH upon their temporary or permanent return. Based on an analytical model that emphasizes the mutual conditionality of everyday and public discourses, i.e. the typology of Balkanist discourse variations, this study undertakes a discourse analysis of the life stories of 10 young labour migrants from BiH. The research results show that variations of the Balkanist discourse are a dominant referential framework for the migrants in interpreting their own experience and social phenomena in both host country and BiH, regardless of the migrants embracing these Balkanist discourse stereotypes as part of their personal identity or feeling resistance towards them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the Europeanization of Turkey's foreign policy by examining Turkey's mediating role in the Israel–Palestine dispute. The paper assesses whether, to what extent and how the EU shaped Turkey's mediating role in the conflict. It is concluded that Turkish political actors used the EU to justify certain policies and their relations with certain actors, which would otherwise be considered unacceptable. Given its indirect impact on Turkey's mediation, the EU's role in Turkish foreign policy should not be exaggerated. There seems to be no evidence in this case that Turkish foreign policy-makers internalized EU foreign-policy norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]