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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced food preparation and consumption habits, as well as food wastage. The pandemic also affected the lives of university students worldwide; their learning and living environments changed, influencing their eating habits. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' food-related activities in four countries in the Western Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. Methods: The research draws upon an online survey gathered through the SurveyMonkey platform in four Balkan countries—viz. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro—and used a structured questionnaire. The information was collected during the second wave of COVID-19 in October–November 2020. A total of 1658 valid responses were received. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze the survey findings. Results: The research results suggest that the pandemic influenced students' food purchase habits, diets, and food-related behaviors and practices such as food preparation, cooking, and food waste management at the household level. In particular, students have been eating healthier and shopping less frequently during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the pandemic improved their attitude toward food wastage. Conclusion: This study is the first to examine how students in the Balkan region perceive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their eating habits, laying the groundwork for future studies into the disease's consequences. This and other studies will assist in preparing students and education institutions for future calamities and pandemics. The findings will also help develop evidence-based postpandemic recovery options targeting youth and students in the Western Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chartography of physical and imaginary borders between different national communities has historically been a challenging political process, especially in the case of the Balkan Peninsula. As regards ethno-nationalism in the Western Balkans, religion is one of the rudimental and constitutive elements of a nation's identity. Yet, in theory this can only be true for a religiously homogenous nation-state, although this region is far from being home to religious homogeneity. A case in point is Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), where the lack of religious homogeneity can be illustrated through the three different religions that dominate the two political entities in the country. Albania, another country of Western Balkans, is similar to the case of BiH in relation to religious diversity among its population, but different from it in relation to religion not being an identity element upon which its nation is founded. In view of this diversity of mixed religious heritage embedded in the state formation, this article focuses on the nature of the ethno-religious nationalism in BiH and Albania. By employing a comparative case study approach, this article sets the analytical framework for the study of ethno-religious nationalism, while addressing the state approaches, policy orientations and challenges that characterize the governance of religious diversity in these countries in the post-communist era. The concept of religious nationalism - which is operationalized in ethnic terms – is used to shed light on the two states' nation-building efforts, which have incorporated a marked religious element. The paper concludes with a cross-country analysis on how the volatility of ethno-religious coexistence in BiH and Albania has shaped their present and shall impact their future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the relevant literature on higher education services, the objective of this study explores how the higher education perceived value outlines students' satisfaction with the service and their migration intentions. Data from1,150 university students in Macedonia was collected and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results showed that functional, emotional, conditional and image value perceived about the degree are significant incitements of overall satisfaction, while social influence by reference groups minimizes satisfaction. In turn, students' satisfaction decreases their intentions to leave the country. Moreover, the year of study acts as a moderator by delivering higher satisfaction, hence reducing brain drain intentions, for students in higher courses. The conclusions of this research emphasize the need for universities to increase appreciation of the higher education system's quality, efficiency, and reputation. Since the beginning of their studies, students should be able to recognize and experience their education as beneficial for their professional future in the country, reducing in this way one of the major concerns in Western Balkans, the brain drain intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reassesses Russia's policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans in terms of its pursuit of status. The region has been historically significant to Russia. It saw centuries of interaction between rulers in Moscow (or St. Petersburg) with the local Orthodox Slavs and other great powers of the day. Following the end of the Cold War, the Russian state emerged as a very different entity from imperial Russia or the Soviet Union. In the Western Balkans, it found a stage for not just rekindling centuries-long ties but also rebuilding its image as a great power in cooperation and, as this paper shows, increasing competition with primarily the West. However, as this research attests by referring to the Larson–Shevchenko framework of the Social Identity Theory (SIT), status must be conferred through a voluntary recognition by other great powers, which recognize status-aspirant's actions as non-threatening to their standing and as having a positive value. So far, Russia's Balkan policies have primarily been seen negatively as either promoting retrograde ideology or outright spoiler behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the European Commission's attitude vis-à-vis labour migration and brain drain in the Western Balkans. It uses Croatia's post–EU accession experience as a focal point. Grappling with elevated migration rates and a decline in natality, the Western Balkan countries are an interesting region in terms of demographic change. Examining how much attention the Commission pays to brain drain, the article notes an increase since 2019; yet this focus appears disproportionately limited considering the potential repercussions for economic growth and social welfare in the countries experiencing it. The Commission's predominantly negative view of brain drain emphasises that it is the nations affected that are responsible for avoiding it, thereby confirming that it is caused by a skills mismatch. The article recommends integrating brain-drain prevention measures into the enlargement process, and encourages the Commission to improve its focus on the matter in its annual candidate and potential candidate country progress reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of the twentieth century, the transition from non-democratic regimes has been the most important political event in the Western Balkans. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 paved the way to the sudden collapse and breakdown of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and in the Western Balkans, albeit some of them did already show a growing decline. Despite the variation in terms of institutional framework and electoral systems, the Western Balkan countries do present difference in some aspects of the political system but not for all the variables considered. The different scenarios that involved the Western Balkan countries during the armed conflicts have generated often negative outcomes in terms of democratic performances, or better have exacerbated persistent resistances to the democratic strengthening from the political actors. The factors beyond these different patterns can be indicated in three main areas: (1) the type of democratic transition and the role of the different actors in the process, (2) the influence of the political parties and their genetic features and (3) finally, considering the context, the impact of the war in the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Berlin Process offers the most significant and institutionalised roadmap for the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU. The direct involvement of EU institutions and member states, especially Germany and France, in the Process has transformed it into a trustworthy path to integration. The countries of the Western Balkans are still facing many difficulties and need to undertake serious reforms, especially in the fields of the fight against corruption and enforcing the rule of law. In this regard, the involvement of Croatia, Slovenia, Czechia, Poland and Austria in the Process should act as a catalyst for reform. The aforementioned states will become an important obstacle to increased Russian interference in the region as they have a clear mandate from the main driving forces of the EU, namely Germany, France and the Brussels-based EU institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Government Data (OGD) has become a widely employed tool by governments around the world to promote transparent and accountable policy-making. In the context of societal actors' ability to reuse such data, one of the most important features of ODG is its quality. Thus, through this research, we aim to address the level of data quality by introducing a new framework that constantly monitors and evaluates the OGD quality of Western Balkan (WB) National Open Data Portals. The advantage of the proposed framework is the integration on the portal level enabling information exposure about the quality dimension at any time. An additional value of the framework is the ability to provide recommendations with the intention of improving quality issues. The applicability and findings of the proposed framework are not limited to the WB and once contextualized that could be applied to other countries in the Eastern European that face similar data quality challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020s have got off to quite a rocky start globally, and especially for Europeans. The ongoing crises, beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic, and followed by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, rising inflation and the energy crisis, have created an atmosphere of continual instability and uncertainty for European citizens. The Western Balkans region, in the EU's immediate neighbourhood and geographically close to Ukraine, has also been affected by all these challenges. This article examines the current most pressing issues in the region and the possible outcomes of them. As the countries in the region (i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo,1 North Macedonia and Serbia) are all aspiring EU members, this piece seeks to explore the possibility of addressing the current challenges and the role of the EU as a catalyst in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost two decades after the European Council summit in Thessaloniki, the promise of EU membership remains unfulfilled in the Western Balkans. Although the process of EU accession is continuing, the current pace throws the Thessaloniki promise into doubt. Despite initial success, the current approach to enlargement has reached its limits, as it seems to be slowing down the integration process rather than accelerating it. At the same time, the transformative power of the EU is too weak to positively impact on democratic and economic setbacks in the region. That is why this article considers various strategies that the EU could employ to recalibrate the accession of the Western Balkans, notwithstanding the need for sincere reforms in the aspiring member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study elaborates on the European Union's (EU) Balkan policies evaluating the developments in the Western Balkans from the post-Cold War era until today. In addition, the study will tackle the EU policies and practices in the Western Balkans on the basis of the principles of the domino theory. In this context, the EU believes that destabilisation due to conflicts in former Yugoslavia after disintegration has also destabilised other countries in the region in domino effect. This situation means both the region and the EU will encounter security threat. In this regard, the study dwells upon EU policies in the region to provide financial aid in an attempt to ensure development and sustainability which will foster stability on the basis of the assumption that these countries in the region will be accepted to the EU as member countries after ensuring stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the effect of European Commission democracy assistance on democratization in the countries of the Western Balkans. The analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset of the financial assistance given by the European Commission to the region from 1994 to 2010. Since this dataset is disaggregated into different sectors, it allows for the distinction between direct and indirect approaches to democracy promotion. The regression results do not confirm the expected positive association between direct democracy promotion and democratization in the Western Balkans. We contextualize our findings by considering the specific post-conflict context in the region and the European Commission’s conflicting policy objectives in play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an in-depth analysis of public service broadcasters in seven countries of the Western Balkans from the perspective of capture by political and market forces. A lack of editorial independence, reflected in politically biased, pro-government news content, is the main problem of public service broadcasting in the region. Another factor is the commercialization of programs, reflected in the neglect of public interest content in favor of entertainment formats, and the introduction of sponsored content and product placement. Financial difficulties, small fragmented markets, minor languages, weak economies, market pressures from commercial broadcasters, inefficient license fee collection, pressure and interference from political elites, as well as characteristics of local political and journalistic culture are among the reasons that public service broadcasters in these post-communist countries currently display similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Western Balkans, as elsewhere around the world, governments took extraordinary measures to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19, measures that entailed serious restrictions to individual freedoms. They also introduced extra powers that upset the ordinary division and balance of governmental power. In this context, several analysts have expressed concern that the authoritarian trend observed in the region during the last decade will become further entrenched. The worst fear, that some of the Western Balkan leaderships may retain extraordinary powers indefinitely, has not been confirmed. However, constitutionally prescribed procedures were disregarded and the operation of formal and informal mechanisms of checks and balances ignored. The article argues that the ease with which the Western Balkan leaders removed any checks and controls over their rule raises the valid question of how they may deal with future circumstances which may endanger their power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the European Union's strategy towards the Western Balkans as a hegemonic project. The European Commission's strategy is neither total exclusion nor rapid integration. The Commission's aim is to restructure the Western Balkans in line with neoliberalism to prepare the region for the "preincorporation stage." The Commission's major initiatives show that this neoliberal restructuring need not end in full membership but remains an open-ended process. Two components of the Commission's formula, neoliberal economy and democracy, have not fed one another; rather, the opposite has occurred. Local crises have exacerbated and been exacerbated by the Commission's strategy, whereby existing social forces and structures have been dismantled, leading to the reproduction of authoritarianism. Despite the continuously shifting hegemonic discourses of ethnopolitical groups, their ultimate objective is integration with the EU. However, cycles of crises in the region have, in neo-Gramscian terms, undermined the formation of a historic bloc, and thus the EU's hegemonic project is rather daunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries the Western Balkans region has been a place of origin for migration into Europe as well as a transit route to Europe for migrants coming from other regions of the world. The 2015-16 migration crisis brought the region into the spotlight as large numbers of migrants used the Balkan migration route on their way to Western Europe. Individual countries and the EU institutions developed weak and often contradictory responses to the crisis. This has had a negative effect on the Balkan peoples' perception of the EU, which had previously been positive. On a symbolic level the migration crisis has revealed the fragile relationship between the EU and the Western Balkan states. In the future, EU policy should focus on developing an integrated strategy for managing its external borders and migration, one that prevents member states from pushing back migrants at their borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a significant period of violent conflict in the Western Balkans, countries in the region, specifically Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, and the United Nations (UN) protectorate of Kosovo, have embarked on a process of democratic reform. Part of the democratization effort involves reforming the police force. One important, yet not often studied, aspect of police reform is the appropriate use of force with firearms. This study explores the process of police reform in the Western Balkan region to assess the implementation of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Ultimately, this study offers a view of law enforcement activities in an attempt to assess how well these countries are incorporating international standards on the use of force with firearms into their national police practices. In so doing, this research enriches our understanding of weapons issues within the context of security sector, and specifically police reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how China's assistance to countries in the Western Balkans during the pandemic boosted their reputation in the region, through the case studies of Serbia, Macedonia, and Albania. The COVID-19 crisis has tested EU's reputation of solidarity and partnership to the Western Balkans, with Balkan political leaders accusing the bloc of selfishness due to its decision in 2020 to restrict exports of medical equipment to candidate states and the perceived neglect of the region during the vaccine distribution in early 2021. Simultaniously, China sent planes containing tonnes of medical supplies, respirators, medical personnel, and later vaccines, that would be received with great pomp and live media coverage, in a powerful public diplomacy and vaccine diplomacy offensive. This paper argues that this helped improve public opinion and reshape narratives on China in the Western Balkans. Still, attitudes vary between states, with Serbians having the most favourable views on China as a foreign partner. On the other hand, while public perceptions on China have seen a positive shift in Macedonia and Albania, this has not translated in a change in their pro-EU stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is one of the world’s most important policy promoters for gender equality. This article examines the benefits and limitations of EU gender equality policy making in two Western Balkan countries, Croatia and FYR Macedonia. Besides analyzing specific gender policy developments that can be attributed to the EU, particular focus is put on the women’s movement activists’ perceptions of the impact that accession may have on women and gender equality. The study demonstrates that while the Croatian and Macedonian EU accession processes have been beneficial to the introduction of new gender legislation and institutional mechanisms for the advancement of gender equality, the EU gender strategy has also shown serious limitations. Among these—and perhaps the most fundamental—is the strong contrast between stated goals and their actual implementation. I argue that unless profound institutional changes as well as changes in political culture take place in Croatia and Macedonia, the poor compliance with EU gender equality norms and policies will be hard to overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that efforts by international donors, in particular the EU, to build the capacity of environmental NGOs in Bosnia-Herzegovina has less to do with fostering democratic stability and civil society, and more to do with establishing a new epistemic community. Among critics, the technocratic, apolitical and rather benign term ‘capacity building’ has become code for the transformation and undermining of ‘local’ knowledge, the disregard for existing ‘capacities’, the construction of new networks of experts and the importation of rationalities based on West European discourses and constructions of ecological risk, sustainable development and policy responses. Not surprisingly, the weaker the post-socialist state – legacies of ethnic conflict, the severity of economic collapse – the greater the extent to which capacity-building assistance seeks to transform policy communities, actors and networks. From the perspective of environmental mobilisations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is argued that the limitations of environmental capacity-building assistance are due in large part to the failure of donors to distinguish between different ‘capacities’, and their insistence on prioritising the development of project grant expertise and organisational management know-how over and above other developmental needs. The article illustrates the extent to which environmental movement organisations either require very basic developmental assistance or need more bespoke support that will enable them to engage effectively in political and legal contestation with the state. The article concludes that while aspects of environmental capacity-building assistance are clearly having a positive impact, the rigidity of donor aid and the framework of project grants as the mechanism for delivering assistance are limiting the impact to a narrow elite of organisations, of which some are neither non-governmental nor linked to indigenous local environmental networks within civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of the developments of higher education laws and regulations in the Western Balkans for the period 1990–2015, with the aim of mapping the regulatory arrangements for the private higher education sector and to explore the relationship between public and private higher education in the region. Based on a conceptual framework highlighting the competitive and complementary regulatory design options available in current governance arrangements, the study finds much ambiguity in policy designs regarding how private and public higher education should co-exist in the Western Balkans. As such, it is argued that the study contributes to a better understanding of the unclear role private higher education is playing in the development of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In countries with a high prevalence of corruption, understanding attitudes towards corruption could help in designing effective measures to eliminate it as a barrier to doing business. Utilising original survey data from over 1800 business owners and managers in seven Western Balkans countries, this study explores businesspeople’s experiences and views on the ways that the business sector is dealing with corruption. A factor analysis produced three distinct factors: (1) understanding corruption as ‘greasing the wheels’; (2) individual action can contribute to curbing corruption; (3) corruption is a government-related issue. The results show that the country of origin strongly determines businesspeople’s attitudes towards corruption. Respondents with corruption experience tend to justify it as ‘greasing the wheels’ more than ‘clean’ respondents. Findings on the perceived role of private and government agents in curbing corruption enabled the study to suggest some specific policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enlargement is back on the EU agenda. Leaders have broken long-established foreign policy taboos by green-lighting accession talks with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and by awarding EU candidate country status to Georgia. This bold step has elevated the expectations of the existing candidate countries, instilling renewed optimism in the Western Balkans Six. At the same time, the EU has recognised the need to carry out its own reforms to be prepared to integrate potentially 10 new member states. However, given the complexities of EU institutional reform, coupled with the uncertain political context, expectations of EU enlargement may lead to disillusionment. This article argues that the EU should not tie its progress on institutional reform too closely to its enlargement policy and that it needs to take a grass-roots approach to enlargement. It should focus on strengthening horizontal cooperation, enhancing efficiency and increasing public involvement in the EU enlargement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative study examines the power relationship between journalists and political elites in South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the clientelistic ties under which these interactions take place. It is based on 60 in-depth interviews with journalists from Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. The results suggest that the journalist–politician relationship in these countries has gradually evolved into two-way communication marked by cooperation and conflict. On one hand, the clientelist ties at the inter-organizational level have subordinated journalists to the political elites in power who negotiate the news agenda with media owners. On the other hand, journalists often serve as tools to combat political and economic enemies, leading to the exposure of corruption and scandals. However, this is done selectively, based on the media owner’s agenda. Overall, the study implies the lack of a uniform relationship between journalists and political elites, challenging previous assumptions that media clientelism in Eastern Europe is a stable system that exerts predictable relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents a pioneering attempt to study corruption in sports within the Western Balkans countries. Even though it is not a new phenomenon, as such, it aims to contribute to the existing literature on corruptive practices associated with the sports by exploring its nature, reach and magnitude. A mixed-method approach is employed using two levels of analysis – document analysis followed by semi-structured interviews. From 2006, Montenegro's official political orientation was towards membership within the European Union (EU). That said, for a country currently undergoing the process of EU integration, the control of corruption represents an essential element of the legitimization of both parties, Montenegro and the EU. However, as found, the form of corruption enables continuity of the dominant position of the long-standing political structure in power – the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). The DPS utilizes a range of undemocratic practices, combining clientelism and corruption to spread its influence outside of politics, on the broader socio-economic realms. The significance of the empirical study is in offering new perspectives and insights from a specific country within the Western Balkans, confirming the existence of a strong clientelist network established in the sports movement in Montenegro. The presence of politically exposed persons within sports governing bodies influences decisions at all levels in favor of political interest, including allocation of resources, public funds and media protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines a study commissioned by the Martens Centre, conducted by IPSOS, focusing on European Union enlargement and deepening amidst ongoing European elections and the formation of a new European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen. It explores EU citizens' attitudes toward expansion, especially regarding Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans, revealing a divide in opinions based on geography and socio-demographics.

The majority of Kosovo's public social welfare provision is today spent on basic universal programmes, namely, old-age pensions, healthcare services and child benefits. These programmes are tax-financed, citizenship-based and unconditional with regard to other criteria. Such expansive basic universalism is unusual for the Western Balkans and the rest of post-socialist Southeastern Europe. The first two of these programmes emerged through a complex process of policy formation led by powerful international organisations (IOs). The third programme was more recently initiated by the first-ever left-wing majority that came to power after two decades of democratic elections, implementing a manifesto that endorses a progressive policy mix. This outcome is counterintuitive: the IOs would be naturally expected to lean towards means-tested, targeted programmes, and Kosovo to crystallise into a (neo)liberal welfare regime (path-dependency). The article examines the detailed causal mechanisms that intervened in producing the outcome. Basic universalism has already had a significant impact in Kosovo by contributing to poverty reduction, the size of overall social protection expenditure and citizenship-building, and by serving as a good policy standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2010, with Viktor Orbán's return to power, Hungary has progressively turned into an antidemocratic regime through a well-thought process of state and democracy capture. This slide has come along with chimeric narratives about national identity. Consecutive narratives about the nation and the country's sense of belonging have given the impression that Hungary is moving on the map, as the Orbán regime has been locating itself more and more explicitly against the West. During the migration crisis, 'Central Europe' was at the centre of Orbán's cultural map, as he extrapolated his ideology to the East-Central European macro-region, hoping to turn it into a region against the European establishment. Budapest's tactical moves in the Western Balkans have gained importance as Orbán is increasingly isolated in the EU community. On the global scale, the regime has mixed trade and diplomacy with tying political alliances in Central Asia and beyond. These narratives do not result in a system. However, there is a common denominator in Orbán's consecutive discourses on Hungary's geopolitical place and role: anti-Western and anti-EU convictions flow through the opportunistic contradictions of national propaganda. In a contradictory way, only an EU member state could proceed to state and democracy capture and become famous for it, giving the impression that the small, peripherical Eastern European state is more important than it is. It is an EU member that has fallen into Russia's arms to propagate pro-Kremlin narratives in and outside the EU. In this paper, I will examine the geopolitical narratives used by the Orbán regime and show how Budapest's very sense of scale has got lost in the process. Indeed, it is Hungary's precarious location on the map that the regime seems to have forgotten about and has reached this point at the time of renewed Russian aggression in Hungary's direct neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we deal with the problematics of the creation of new municipalities in Montenegro. We put the ongoing legal and political dynamics regarding local government organization in Montenegro in their historical and regional context before analyzing the political developments that led to movements for the formation of new municipalities. We explore specific cases in order to examine the ethnic/national background of such movements and to study the causes and consequences of such a way of creating local organizational units. As the central issue is the influence of ethnopolitics on the formation of local administration units in Montenegro, particular emphasis is placed on how the dynamics of Montenegrin party politics influence the country's legislative framework of local administration and its implementation. The article analyzes the role of the parties representing national minorities in the decentralization process, and the developments of minority–majority relations in regard to local ethnopolitics. It also investigates the effects of decentralization in Montenegro on ethnic tensions and strengthening of local ethnic identities over national identity. As there was no existing literature dealing with ethnic decentralization in Montenegro, this article attempts to fill a gap in this research area. Through our analysis of the case of Montenegro, we try to emphasize and compare wider tendencies in the post-Yugoslav Western Balkans, using a combination of legal, political, and historical sciences perspectives. Population censuses and legal sources are used, showing the volatility and diversity of the ethnonational map of Montenegro; besides, a number of legal documents are extensively analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology challenges social, economic and political borders. This article analyses the role smartphones and social media play in constructing social memory (and consciousness) of bordering practices, examining predominant accounts of migration, de-securitizing and re-humanizing mobility and attaining freedom of movement. Using the case study of the Western Balkans as one of the main transit routes in Europe and building on Stefania Milan's 'stealing the fire' theory, this article investigates transformation of borders from below, as migrants reclaim technology to enable safe passage and create counter-narratives of migration. They do so by contributing to the 'digital knowledge commons'—a collaborative body of knowledge that can shift restrictive migration policies. The article highlights the importance of studying the technology–mobility nexus, and greater theoretical engagement vis-à-vis the use of technology as a tool for social change, as migration continues to play a pivotal role in political and public debates across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses methodological considerations and cultural sensitivity issues in cross-cultural research. A multi-method approach was adopted—consisting of a seminar, an expert’s opinion, and a focus-group discussion with Western-Balkan professionals—to assess the content validity of the Best Interest of the Child Model (BIC Model) and Questionnaire (BIC-Q) in the cultural context of the Western Balkans. The cultural sensitivity of the assessment was evaluated during a field study with local interviewers, who assessed the quality of the child-rearing environment of returned migrant children (N = 66) in Kosovo and Albania. The findings indicate that specific cultural aspects influence the meaning and interpretation of child-rearing conditions, such as the importance of the extended family in child-rearing, authoritarian child-rearing practices, the within-society heterogeneity, and the stability of the state. Regarding assessment, factors affecting outcomes were identified as they related to the questionnaire as well as to the cultural perspectives of the interviewers and the regional population characteristics. The study resulted in an understanding of the child-rearing situation of returned migrant children from a local cultural perspective and avoided the imposition of Western-European standards on the assessment of “good-enough” child-rearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities of Serbia have undertaken a concerted effort to secure China's support in containing the coronavirus. This asymmetrical cooperation, apart from aspects concerning health security, has allowed both sides to obtain considerable political and economic benefits. This article examines how China and Serbia utilize pandemic cooperation to pursue and realize their wider foreign and internal policy goals through patron–client ties, as well as highlighting the pitfalls of this kind of relationship. Although the outbreak of the pandemic and the medical cooperation that followed do not constitute a turning point in the well-established relations between the two countries, the article argues that pandemic cooperation has considerably strengthened relations. In many ways, the pattern observed by the authors resembles China's pandemic exchanges with other countries, especially smaller states with authoritarian inclinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented in which the editor introduces a special issue on Communication and Power in Central and Eastern Europe, emphasizing the increasing impact of technological and social transformations on political processes and the rise of a digitized media ecology. It also mentions predictors of illiberalism in Romania during the Russian invasion in Ukraine, innovative strategies for countering foreign disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe.

This article examines some of the contested geographical imaginaries of the so-called "Balkan Route" as part of the wider Mediterranean migration complex. More specifically, we interrogate how such varied imaginaries of the Route contribute to shaping conflicting geographies of responsibility for migration in the region among a shifting set of international and state actors. We highlight how the attribution of responsibility for the governance of migration is shaped by numerous geographical and historical entanglements, including on-going processes of post-conflict state-making and the geopolitics of European Union accession, with migrants becoming pawns in the negotiation of preferential relations between the countries of the region and the European Union. Focusing in particular on the framing of migration policy responses along the Croatia–Bosnia and Italy–Slovenia sections of the Route, we examine the perspectives of both policy-makers and solidarity networks active in the area, noting how their divergent narratives contribute to the proliferation of conflicting formal and informal practices of border control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2014 and 2018 there was an unprecedented wave of jihadist terrorist activity in Austria that was mostly related to the "Islamic state." Meanwhile, many individuals have been or are gradually being released from prison. While many were able to disengage, two prevented and sentenced foreign fighters planned attacks in Vienna, one of them succeeded. In order to better understand this type of perpetrator, files of a cohort of 56 convicted jihadist terrorist offenders were analyzed. Half of this cohort were foreign fighters or attempted to become foreign fighters, while others contributed for instance by spreading propaganda, recruiting and assuming leadership. Additionally, a focus group with probation officers and an interview were conducted. The results shed light on various sociodemographic variables showing that there was not one specific profile. Rather, the cohort appeared to be very diverse, being comprised of all genders, age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, a considerable crime-terror nexus was found. Thirty percent of the cohort had had a criminal past before their engagement in violent extremism. A fifth of the cohort had a prison experience before the arrest for the terrorist offense. The criminal offenses of the cohort were typical for the general population of probation clients which backs the notion that many terrorist offenders belonged to the same population and had switched from "traditional" crime to terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the EU's history, developed regions have consistently drawn young people, with the phenomenon of 'escaping from the province' being a significant driver of youth migration. As peripheral regions become increasingly depopulated, the 'ring of desert' effect that appears in these areas also starts to impact developed regions (because depopulated areas are more vulnerable to illegal migration, the loss of social capital in the periphery results in the reduced competitiveness of the entire EU, social and political tensions increase, etc.). Instead of increasing solidarity, the opposite is happening. For example, Croatia has subsidised Germany by investing €18 billion in the education of its emigrated citizens. In the future, however, peripheral areas might become more attractive places to live due to an increase in threats such as pandemics, climate change, pollution and terrorism. Remote work could lead to a resurgence in the population of the EU's peripheries, provided there is access to broadband Internet, public transportation, mobile healthcare services and distance education in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of the 1990s and of political life in Serbia can be viewed as a history of protest. It was during this decade, in which Slobodan Milošević held power, that an entire generation of activists became part of a process of learning to engage in civil resistance. In waves of massive anti-regime protests as well as in smaller, yet persistent, anti-war protests, they asserted that 'Belgrade is the World'. This article examines the ways in which practices and themes from these protests have resurfaced more recently, and how this activism is remembered and referenced in the 2020s. Based on data collected in Belgrade during anti-regime protests in 2023, which began as a movement 'against violence' (' protiv nasilja '), it traces how the memory of protest of the 1990s turned into memory in protest as it appeared in banners, chants, slogans and speeches, as well as in everyday conversation among citizens, some three decades later. Deploying the concept of the memory-activism nexus, the article analyses generational claims in Serbia, the practices of protesters, their hope in activism, their fear of cultivating false expectations and their continuing demands for a better future. It places cultural memory in Serbia in the context of a politics of disappointment, illustrating that memory in protest can function as both a mobilising force and a source of political paralysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literature review of recent prevalence and prospective studies on interpersonal violence (IPV) identifies a link among child abuse, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse that had not emerged from life-stage-specific studies on abuse, neglect, and violence against older persons. In line with a developmental understanding of IPV from a life course perspective, early life trauma is emerging as an explanatory theory of IPV across the life course. This paradigm shift in the field of elder abuse challenges more traditional explanations of IPV in old age, such as ageism, but opens up new opportunities for interventions leading to prevention and treatment of abuse, neglect, and violence against older adults. Prevalence studies that include older subjects and questions about violence experienced as children and younger adults consistently identify child abuse as a risk factor for IPV experienced in old age. Similarly, prospective studies on IPV that follow subjects from childhood to old age identify lifetime patterns of abuse. Qualitative studies of IPV in old age that include retrospective data suggest a link as well. IPV perpetrated against children and adults of all ages by persons in positions of trust can lead to trauma that has adverse lifelong behavioral and relational implications. This provides a link between trauma theory and violence against older people. Until recently, abuse, neglect, and violence were conceptualized differently based on the life stage of the victim. While historically the definitions for partner and non-partner violence diverged based on the life stage of victims, more recently this has begun to converge. Understanding violence from a life course and trauma-informed perspective better identifies risk factors and interventions for IPV against older adults. Intersectionality of age and gender variables demonstrate differences and similarities among populations studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The effect of electoral competition on corruption, rent-seeking and informality remains poorly understood, especially in the context of post-communist economies. In a context where there is little moral value attached to law abidance, businesses or households that engage in informal activities might perceive a tolerant government as "magnanimous" and might be persuaded to support it in upcoming elections. In this paper, we investigate the case of Albania, a post-communist transition economy, characterized by high levels of corruption. The objective of this paper is to obtain insight into fiscal enforcement during elections, hence to further our understanding of the relationship between corruption, clientelism, informality and elections in the context of a transition/post-communist country. To this end, we report complementary quantitative and qualitative analysis suggesting that the incumbent deliberately lowers monitoring of enforcement vigilance before elections (e.g., through lower/fewer fines) and yielding insights into how such behaviour effects come about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a large quota-sampled online survey and data on Facebook connections among survey respondents in six successor states of former Yugoslavia to demonstrate that, even more than two decades after the violence had ended, online social connections in this region are substantially related to people's war experiences of combat, victimhood, and forced migration, as well as to their views of the wars' causes, conduct, and consequences. What is particularly important, the sizes of the effects of these war-related factors on respondents' online social networks are substantively large and comparable to those of gender, ethnicity, education, or political ideology. Our findings are an important contribution to the understanding of the deeply pervasive and long-lasting effects of wars on societies. They also highlight the enduring relevance of wartime violence in postwar social networks that is likely to affect efforts at enduring conflict resolution and reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International organisations have become increasingly contested resulting in worries about their decline and termination. While international organisation termination is indeed a regular event in international relations, this article shows that other institutions carry the legacy of terminated international organisations. We develop the novel concept of international organisation afterlife and suggest indicators to systematically assess it. Our analysis of 26 major terminated international organisations reveals legal-institutional and asset continuity in 21 cases. To further illustrate this point, the article zooms in on the afterlife of the International Institute of Agriculture in the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Refugee Organization in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Western European Union in the European Union. In these three cases, international organisation afterlife inspired and structured the design of their successor institutions. While specific international organisations might be terminated, international cooperation therefore often lives on in other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011 and New Zealand in 2019 have revealed that the far-right worldwide uses the memory of the Yugoslav wars for online mobilization. Scholars working on memory activism usually deal with the liberal, self-critical memory emerging from the bottom-up activism of human rights groups while neglecting the activism of the far-right. This article fills the gap by addressing the global circulation of two memes, Remove Kebab and Pepe the Frog, as examples of far-right memory activism. In order to address the transnational circulation of memes as memory activism, this article employs the concept of 'traveling memory' while relying on multimodal discourse analysis to unveil the processes of memetic transformation, imitation, iconization and narrativization. The analysis reveals an alternative memory of Yugoslav wars that depicts Serbia as the first case of 'white genocide' in Europe, reversing the roles of war criminals and victims while propagating violence and celebrating genocide. The article argues that memory studies can no longer ignore memory production of far-right communities and, at the same time, outlines the method for examining far-right digital memory activism, revealing a whole set of mnemonic practices developed among the anonymous fringe communities of the far-right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, the literature on External Democracy Promotion (EDP) expanded exponentially. Despite widely supported conclusions on EDP (in)effectiveness in fostering democratization and preventing democratic backsliding are still lacking, the literature has generated sophisticated explanations of these processes. Among them, Levitsky and Way's (L&W's) linkage and leverage theory stands out as one of the most influential. According to Tolstrup, however, their underestimation of domestic agency constitutes a crucial lacuna, which he proposes to fill through the concept of "Gatekeeping Elite" that underlines a significant impact of local actors on the linkage dimension and, consequently, on EDP (in)effectiveness. I believe that Tolstrup's intuition can be further developed, expanding even more the explanatory power of L&W's theory. I claim that domestic actors may exert a crucial influence also on the leverage dimension, thanks to "diversionary behaviours" that local elites may use to change external actors' interests and preferences, persuading them to limit their democratizing pressures and thus reduce their own vulnerability to EDP processes. To assess the plausibility of this claim, I perform a congruence analysis on the recent and crucial case of autocratization in Serbia (EU candidate country), which is not fully explained by the aforementioned models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]