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The term internationalization has been mainly used to show the expansion of economic activities of firms outside of their home country where they aim at capturing a bigger market. The Central and Eastern Europe region has gone through a process of market transition over the past few decades, yet the business internationalization process has played an important role in the states' economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the firm internationalization process in the new member states and the Western Balkans countries and gain a better understanding of the process and its course over time. Due to different geopolitical circumstances, the Western Balkan countries did not attract as many investors as much as the EU member states in CEE did that have had a constant flow of investments once they were members of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of social media to underline the tourism cultural heritage of Bucharest. The authors examine the history of the city, dating back from its settlement during the Ottoman Empire and passing through a series of radical changes: the period of Phanariot rulers, the golden age as the "Little Paris" of the Balkans, the Communist period, and the current democratic regime. The paper is based on the reviews' study from the Tripadvisor.com platform and investigates tourists' emotions during their travel experiences. Sentiment analysis of Bucharest as a tourist attraction was developed based on the emotion criteria (anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, trust). The findings revealed that visitors have favourable emotional responses towards the tourist attractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the representation of the Balkans in travel writing through two perspectives. The first one looks at the colonial discourse and gaze of the earlier 19th century travelogues. The second looks into contemporary travelogues to see if they moved away from the colonial/orientalist logic of the superior, Western, enlightened traveler who observes the passive, inferior cultures and places. To do this, the paper analyzes several earlier, mainly 19th and early 20th century travelogues about the Balkans predominantly written by women. It then compares them with contemporary travel works, the main focus being placed on the writings of Chris Deliso. His travelogues of Macedonia (since February 2019 referred to as the Republic of North Macedonia after a long name dispute with Greece), abandon the pretentious, colonial and orientalist approach of earlier travel literature and instead show enthusiasm to engage with local narratives and histories. In that sense, the paper argues that the contemporary travel accounts part with the colonial logic of a superior traveler who observes the wild, undeveloped places and people, very characteristic of the earlier travel literature. Yet, at certain times they also fall in the same trap of siding with one culture or ethnic group while stereotyping others. Secondly, this paper questions the concept of 'women's travel writing' as naive and politically disengaged, and shows that both men's and women's travelogues are prone to bias and partiality depending on the geopolitical agenda that the traveler favors or represents. As such, they have and still continue to play an important role in creating and perpetuating particular images about the places they write about, in this case, the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional theory has explained informal employment to result from formal institutional failings. The aim of this paper is to identify the formal institutional failings associated with informal employment so that action can be taken by governments. Using the Tobit model for econometric analysis and reporting conditional and unconditional marginal effects of the 2021 Balkans Business Barometer survey conducted in six Western Balkan economies (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), the contribution of this paper is to reveal that the perceived incidence and share of informal employment is significantly associated with businesses perceiving governance, public integrity and corruption as very negative or negative, the perception that the government does not consider business concerns and business dissatisfaction with public services. However, the perceived incidence and share of informal employment is not significantly associated with the views of business on tax rates and tax administration, or the perceived instability and lack of predictability of government. The theoretical and policy implications are then discussed. [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]

The paper will assess the impact of COVID-19 on developed and developing countries by measuring GDP and public debt, followed by an analysis of Kosovo as a case study that experienced double challenges such as COVID-19 and three successive governments from February 2020 to June 2021. This article compares the different economic policies undertaken by the three Kosovo governments to accelerate economic recovery. The methodology used to compare the variations in GDP growth, unemployment, and debt as a proportion of GDP between two groups of countries employs a descriptive statistical analysis. In this paper were compared the three different packages implemented by using the data from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and other local and international organizations. It was assumed that all countries experienced an increase in public debt as a proportion of GDP, an increase in unemployment, and a decline in GDP growth. Focusing on Kosovo's economic recovery, we understood that despite economic challenges, economic recovery measures were focused more on the political views of the different governments' convincing massive voters than on any broader economic analysis. The paper analyzes the unequal impact of COVID-19 in the EU and Western Balkans. Thus, in the paper is used Kosovo as a case study, a country that experienced political instability due to three government changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is investigated whether political orientation affects economic recovery strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to a brief overview of the historical development of the Croatian language in the linguistic and sociolinguistic sense (as a literary and standard language), the paper attempts to examine its relationship to the languages of the Balkan linguistic area. Marginal presence of Balkan language features in Croatian is indicated, since Croatian territory is also geographically on the edge of the Balkans. But, since there has not been systematic research on this subject yet, the paper is merely an attempt to draw attention to some phenomena that might be interesting and to encourage further research and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is built upon the work packages of the Enhancing and Validating Service Related Competencies in Versatile Learning Environments in Western Balkan Universities (e-VIVA), a project undertaken under the auspices of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education. The methodology employed in this paper is based on the e-VIVA project's work packages, mainly those dealing with the research and needs analysis, service related competencies learning approach, validation, desk research, interviews, online questionnaires, focus groups of universities for each Western Balkan country involved in the project during the meeting of November 2021 in Kotor, Montenegro. The findings of the project help to assess the current situation of the Western Balkan universities about the enhancing and validating competencies, as well as to make some recommendations to the relevant ministries of education, business partners and to the universities themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Religion & Tolerance / Religija & Tolerancija is the property of Center for the Empirical Researches of Religion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper explores the materials of the correspondence of Voltaire and Catherine II for examination the schemes of Enlightenment historical imagination and arguments to history used for conceptualizing and legitimation of current political events and actions during the Russian-Ottoman war of 1768 - 1774. Tropological analysis reveals, among the series of sustained historical arguments having been developed by the "patriarch of the Enlightenment" in his aspirations to persuade the Russian empress to become the "queen of the Greeks" and European countries to support Catherine in her struggle against the Ottoman Empire, an especial type of classicist imaginative schemes (schemes of "antiquising imagination") which were emerging in the correspondence during the discussion of the Balkan issues. The paper demonstrates how in these schemes, the territories of the Northern Pontic, the Balkans and the Archipelago were imagined and described by the participants of the correspondence in terms of the language which goes back to the texts by Greek classical authors included in the circle of classicist modern European education; analyses the political functions of this language in the texts of the French philosopher and the Russian empress; describes the first outlines of the future "Byzantine idea" in Russian political imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to compare the relative technical efficiency of agriculture in Western Balkan countries to those of the European Union and to propose ways to improve the position of Western Balkan countries. The group of Western Balkan countries includes Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, which are candidate countries for European Union membership, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently a potential candidate. An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model with the variable return to scale was applied to an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Input variables used in the model included labour, land, and capital, and the output was presented as the value of agricultural production. The highest average technical efficiency was achieved by the EU15 countries for the entire eleven-year period, while the Western Balkan countries had the lowest score. The source of this inefficiency was identified in lower levels of agricultural performance, e.g. a lower-level use of the primary production factors - labour and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major economic imbalances and impeded economic activity in all Western Balkan (WB) countries. This paper analyzes the strength of economic impact of the ongoing health crisis on key macroeconomic variables (GDP, public debt, fiscal balance, and unemployment) in the WB countries. In addition, the paper points out the main challenges that the economies of these countries will face in the years to come. The analysis has shown that the crisis slowed down the WB economies, but its intensity differed among the observed countries. The main economic challenges in the coming period relate to the further course and duration of the pandemic. Due to the great level of uncertainty, more detailed analysis of the crisis' impact on the economic potential will be possible only after the end of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present a benchmarking framework for short- and long-term risk of enterprises in emerging markets that seek integration in global value chains. The benchmark instrument aims in particular to assess short- and long-term risk based on accounting data and estimations of key financial ratios for enterprises located in the Western Balkan region and operating in the materials, industrials, and customer-discretionary industries. In total, the paper considers 310 enterprises. Given the geographical proximity of the region, the benchmark instrument for short- and long-term risks serves to assess the outsourcing potential these enterprises have toward foreign enterprises dominating larger markets such as the European value chain. The framework is applicable to a large-scale annual data series collected on subindustry level in order to obtain a more granular analysis of a particular industry and its respective value chain. The benchmarking instrument indicates that those subindustries performing better both at short- and long-term risk display a higher outsourcing potential and more opportunities for integration in global value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory essay situates the papers in this Thematic Section within the background of social policy development in the Western Balkans during the long period of transition following the break-up of former Yugoslavia. We identify three stages of transformation of social protection policies. The first, in the 1990s, was characterised by a continuation of the Yugoslav legacy of social insurance, while many work-based benefits were lost during privatisation. In the second stage, international institutions promoted individualised social protection policies, taken up in some countries but avoided in others. In the third phase, EU influence on social policies accompanied the prolonged EU accession process, with an emphasis on the introduction of work-care policies, early childhood education and the remediation of in-work poverty. The four papers address these issues in greater detail and provide a basis for re-evaluating progress with social protection policies in the Western Balkans in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we address the issues of the countries of the Western Balkans related to the accession to the European Union. We focus on areas to which we have so far had the opportunity to obtain information on the countries belonging to the Western Balkans region. In our paper, we aim to introduce the region of the Western Balkans in more detail and look at the arguments that support the integration of countries into the EU. For the European Union, but also for the countries of the Western Balkans, to point out what enlargement policy is like and what the benefits are. From a methodological point of view, we classify the paper among qualitative research, using a descriptive, comparative and analytical method. As part of enlargement policy, it can be seen that this policy is constantly changing. It can be said that nothing is more permanent than change, which brings with it benefits as well as certain challenges and benefits, which we want to point out in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the growing shares of renewable energy sources in the grids, the interest in energy storage systems has increased. The role of pumped hydro energy storage systems as flexible solutions for managing peak and off-peak prices from nuclear and fossil power plants in previous systems is now revitalized in the liberalized systems, with a volatile generation of wind and solar energy. Thus, understanding of the patterns behind the economics of energy storage is crucial for the further integration of energy storage in the grids. In this paper, the factors that impact the economic viability of energy storage in electricity markets are analyzed. The method of approach used in this study considers the electricity market price distribution, full load hours, the total costs of energy storage, and linear regression analysis. Using revenues from arbitraging a 10-megawatt (MW) pumped hydro storage system in the Western Balkans, resulting from the electricity market price distribution and the analysis of the total costs of storage, an econometric model is created. This model shows the impacting factors of energy storage development in the context of the rising renewables sector. Research shows that the previous hypothesis about the integration of energy storage systems in proportion to the increase in shares of renewables in the grids is incorrect. There is a significant correlation between energy storage revenues, the dependent variable, and the independent variables of hydro, wind, and solar generation. The conducted analysis indicates the future arbitraging opportunities of pumped hydro energy storage systems and provides useful insights for energy storage investors and policymakers. During the transitional period, until the deployment of renewables changes the effects of fossil power plants, energy storage price arbitrage is profitable and desirable for 500, 1000, and 2000 full load hours in the Western Balkan region. Despite the need for flexibility, with more renewables in the grids, large-scale energy storage systems will not be economically viable in the long run because of "revenue cannibalization". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "beautiful viviparous fly", Wohlfahrtia magnifica, may have a magnificent appearance due to its striking morphology; however, it is a potentially deadly agent of obligate traumatic myiasis in humans and animals, with a serious impact on welfare and economics. The fly is found across the Palearctic realm, including the Western Balkan region, with reports from former Yugoslavian countries from the first half of the 20th century. In this paper, a recent case of wohlfahrtiosis recorded in Northern Serbia is evidenced using morphological and molecular techniques. Larvae were collected from two adult sheep with severe hoof myiasis and two young sheep with genital and interdigital myiasis. Morphological identification was performed for adults bred from the infested vulva and third-stage larvae (L3) collected from the hoof wounds, supported with barcoding sequences of the COI gene obtained from larval pairs from the hoof wounds of older and the genitalia of younger sheep. W. magnifica was identified according to the appearance of male fly terminalia and the morphology of L3, which was confirmed after the comparison of representative sequences of the COI gene (deposited in GenBank™ under accession numbers MT027108–MT027114) to those available in GenBank™. This finding represents the first reported case of wohlfahrtiosis in the Western Balkans in 80 years, highlighting the need to re-inform relevant stakeholders to achieve adequate disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the potential applicability of OECD competitiveness and sustainability indicators of tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis assesses the current state of the country's tourism industry and identifies areas that require significant improvement to enhance competitiveness compared to other Western Balkan countries. This comprehensive study covers all relevant data necessary to measure the OECD indicators. Based on the research conducted, it was found that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not adequately monitor the competitiveness of its tourism industry. The main objective of this research is to demonstrate that the political-territorial structure of the country presents the main challenge in achieving a competitive and sustainable tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines specific artifacts - stone balls of various sizes - that constitute significant material remnants of Ottoman military history in Bulgaria. While historical records confirm the existence of Ottoman gunpowder artillery in the region, archaeological research has contributed little to its study. This is largely due to the misdating and misinterpretation of these stone balls. Through careful analysis of publicly available archaeological data and historical sources, this study presents a new perspective on using gunpowder artillery and stone projectiles in Ottoman Bulgaria. It contends that most of these artefacts were integral to the Ottoman military arsenal, challenging previous assumptions that limited them to medieval ammunition. The study provides compelling evidence for the existence of Ottoman-era stone projectiles at several sites, including Cherven, Shumen, Nikopol, Silistra, Kaliakra, and Svishtov. This evidence is corroborated by historical records, which underscore the undeniable presence of Ottoman artillery in the region, particularly in the areas between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, which remained a vulnerable frontier zone in contrast to the land south of the mountains. Crucially, this research underscores the need for more precise archaeological documentation, comprehensive artefact descriptions, thorough contextual information, and multidisciplinary research to understand the complex history of these stone projectiles fully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper aims to examine the frequency and significance of diagnostic comorbidity of psychiatric disorders and somatic diseases in a sample of patients with depression as well as present current psychopharmacological treatment of the patients in the sample. Methods: The subjects in this study sample were 489 patients from the four Western Balkan countries with current primary diagnosis of major depression according to ICD 10. Comorbid psychiatric disorders and non-psychiatric illnesses were noted according to ICD 10 criteria during the diagnostic interview and analysed later. Additionally, the pharmacological treatment (existing and newly introduced) for each patient was noted and analysed later. Results: At least one comorbid psychiatric disorder was present in 72.5% of patients. The most frequent were anxiety disorders (53.6%), specifically generalized anxiety disorder (20.2%); non-organic sleep disorders (50.7%), specifically insomnia (48.4%); and sexual dysfunctions (21.4%), specifically lack of sexual desire (20.2%). Comorbidity with any non-psychiatric illness was present in 80.3% of patients. The most frequent were circulatory system diseases (55.9%), specifically hypertension (45.9%); endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (51.3%), specifically hyperlipidaemia (24.0%); and other non-psychiatric disorders (60.7%), specifically low back pain (22.7%). All patients received pharmacological treatment with different medications. Most patients received monotherapy or combination therapy of antidepressants, anxiolytics, antipsychotics and antiepileptics. The most frequently used antidepressants were escitalopram, sertraline, and duloxetine. The most frequently used anxiolytics were alprazolam and diazepam, the most used antiepileptic was pregabalin, and the most used antipsychotics were olanzapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole. Conclusion: The results of the study confirm the results of previous research studies about the high prevalence of psychiatric and non-psychiatric comorbidities in patients with depression that were conducted in the past. It would be important if future studies could prove the importance of those comorbidities on clinical severity, choice of treatment, and its outcome in patients with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this paper is to reconsider the necessity for the green transition and the key preconditions for the implementation of a circular economy in Western Balkan countries. With the objective of the research in mind, the method of analysis and synthesis was applied to determine (1) regulatory and institutional prerequisites for the green transition; (2) the need for the Western Balkan countries to redefine the model of sustainable economic growth towards the green transition; (3) the development opportunities for recovery defined in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; and (4) the possibility of implementing the circular economy in the Western Balkans. Main text: The main findings of the research indicate that: (1) the countries of the Western Balkan region, following the example of the EU, should define a national strategic approach to the green transition with an accompanying action plan and regulatory framework; (2) the biggest challenge of the green transition is the reform of the energy sector and the restructuring of the energy-intensive economy; (3) the countries have untapped potential in renewable energy sources and report the improvement of energy efficiency; (4) the circular economy can boost the green transition, because the countries of the region have a five-time lower value of resource productivity than the average of the EU, while the generation of waste (excluding major mineral wastes) per GDP unit is lower compared to the EU; (5) cross-sectoral governance should be more coordinated. Conclusions: The green transition might be a development opportunity for the Western Balkans, which should enable sustainable economic growth as well as energy security and environmental protection. However, the implementation of the Green Agenda is not easy, because the region faces the problem of underdeveloped regulatory and institutional capacities that might provide not only the base for long-term planning but also financial resources for the efficient implementation of projects. In addition, it is essential to understand the principles of the Green Agenda and the interaction of all activities that should enable the achievement of defined goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans have faced many challenges in the last two decades. Thus the path of socio-economic progress has not been easy at all. Continuous efforts over time in the arena were made to reduce the gap in the integration path toward the EU. Year 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the European economy was placed in a new economic position. Unlike other known crises, dealing with such an unknown visa, social reactions, cultural conflicts, and the many restrictions that were imposed as a security measure affected the socio-economics of the EU states, questioning the degree of real convergence between the EU states and those of the Western Balkans. The purpose of this paper is to know the effect of the global and covid crisis on the convergence of the Western Balkan states as well as the convergence between the EU states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomika is the property of Society of Economists 'Ekonomika' and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of this study is to explore the correlation between migration remittances and unemployment reduction in Western Balkan countries from 2010 to 2022. The research aims to analyze the influence of migration and remittances on unemployment levels in the Western Balkans region. The study seeks to identify and analyze variables affecting unemployment, with particular attention to migration patterns and remittance flows. The study utilizes panel data sourced from the World Bank and employs various econometric methods such as OLS, fixed effects method, random effects method, and the Hausman-Taylor model. Results from the Hausman test indicate that the Hausman-Taylor instrumental variable approach is more reliable and efficient compared to fixed effects and random effects methods for examining the relationship between migration, remittances, and unemployment rates in the Western Balkans. Findings reveal a positive coefficient for migration, indicating that for every 1% increase in migration, unemployment also increases. This relationship is further clarified by examining remittances, which suggests that recipients of remittances are more likely to experience increased unemployment. The primary limitations of the research include the lack of official data available from the earliest periods for these countries. This study contributes significantly to the existing literature by providing tangible data on the relationship between migration and unemployment in the Western Balkans. The results emphasize the crucial role that migration and remittances play for citizens of Western Balkan countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of accelerated digitalization and the recent COVID-19 crisis has increased the number of remote workers worldwide to unimaginable proportions. Among the large number of remote workers that execute their projects from home, there is a significant number of permanently self-employed remote workers, usually referred to as freelancers. Despite the importance of this kind of business activity for modern project management society, perceived drivers of freelancing are still unknown. The goal of this paper was to shed some light on the general subjective well-being of freelancing activity and investigate differences concerning gender, age, and education. The study was performed in late 2020 and included 471 freelancers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro that participated in an online questionnaire evaluating their subjective well-being while participating in the “gig” economy. Factor analysis was used as a primary statistical method and two major groups were identified: (1) Impact of working from home on a freelancer’s personal life and health and (2) Fulfillment of expectations in the economic and professional sense. Gender was found not to be significant for overall work satisfaction. However, older freelancers proved to be more satisfied with the fulfillment of economic and professional expectations, which correlate with years of professional experience. Another conclusion is that more educated freelancers are generally less satisfied with both groups of drivers-fulfillment of personal life and professional expectations. Understanding how the combination of occupations, technological infrastructure, and demographic characteristics in the region has affected the well-being of freelancers may help policymakers and organization owners, as well as future entrepreneurs, better prepare for this model of work in the future. It also increases the possibility of exploring individual dimensions of wellbeing useful for targeting interventions at the level of each country separately. In line with this, the present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge and the impact of hybrid models of work on the subjective well-being of workers in the “gig” economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that will influence the economic growth. Factors that have impeded investment and economic development in these nations include political unrest, weak institutions, and restricted access to credit and finance. (OECD 2021). The region's current socio-economic conditions provide an impetus for Balkancountries governments to induce more foreign investment as a mechanism for fostering economic growth FDI promotes economic growth in both the host country and the country of origin. The host country benefits from FDI by financing projects planned, developing new technologies and generating new jobs. Investing companies benefit from the expansion of markets and, consequently, the growth of their shares in international markets. The world is full of development opportunities, be it for countries that have just begun to modernise to the richest countries. Overall, the region's economic growth and development still have a lot of room for improvement, even though some Balkan nations have made strides in recent years. Higher rates of economic growth and development in the Balkans may be facilitated by policies aimed at enhancing political stability, bolstering institutions, decreasing corruption, encouraging investment, and expanding access to finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the individual holders of public office or duty and the numerous past and present criminal cases related to corruption and abuse of power. By analyzing the penal policies of the courts in several regions (North Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania), as well as the imposed sanctions and court verdicts, this paper presented the fundamental characteristics of the criminal justice system's functioning in preventing such forms of crime. Through a comparative analysis of experiences, empirical research (case study), and an overview of the situation in multiple Balkan countries, the paper, as a key result, offered a comprehensive examination of the specific offenses outlined in the legislations of the countries under investigation and presented legal solutions derived from various Balkan nations. Finally, the paper concludes that corruption is a general problem in all the investigated countries and proposes possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the construction of a national and supra-national culinary identity in Slovenia in the decades since its independence from Yugoslavia through the TV chefs Valentina and Luka Novak's celebrity cookbooks. As they cook for the nation, they establish the idea of what is to be "Slovene" in post-socialism. Based on an analysis of the spin-off cookbooks from their popular TV series Love through the Stomach broadcast on Slovene television from 2009 to 2014, the paper discusses their complex navigation between various aspects of Slovenia's history, as the chefs distance the cuisine from its Yugoslav past and explicitly reorient its food culture toward Central Europe. In doing this, they reflect and reinforce larger discourse shifts that have been taking place in Slovenia since the 1980s and through which its political and media elites prepared the ground for Slovenia's entry to the EU in 2004, distancing themselves from its "Balkan" neighbors and embracing its European essence. This paper shows how such shifts can be reflected in culinary texts, such as cookbooks, contributing to the understanding of everyday food texts as political texts. The paper also demonstrates the role of the Slovene middle-class elite as culinary trendsetters in the post-socialist period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hospital Pharmacology: International Multidisciplinary Journal is the property of Serbian Medical Society, Section for Clinical Pharmacology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the last few years, Stara planina (the Balkan Mountains) and its surroundings have been improving their tourist offer. The area is protected by law, as a nature park, and the construction of new buildings requires a complex administrative procedure. Renovation of country houses is part of the usual construction procedures and is easier to carry out. Typical renovation solutions involve application of industrial materials with significant impact on the environment from the process of their production and further on. The traditional houses found in many mountains across Serbia and the Balkans are constructed using natural materials. Hence, this paper tackles the problem of renovating such dwellings by application of natural materials to improve their usability and reduce their energy and carbon footprint. An analysis is performed on a case study model of a typical house from Stara planina. The advantages of using natural materials in the process of renovating a traditional house are analysed. By using TRNSYS software, the total amount of energy demands of the house during a typical meteorological year with four scenarios (current state, walls isolated with sheep and hemp wool panels and EPS) was simulated. These materials were further analysed for their environmental impact by means of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). In the synthesis of the research, the best results were brought into connection with the sustainable development of the architectural heritage. The results prove that natural products provide the necessary thermal comfort and have a significantly more positive impact on the environment than artificial materials. Based on this study, recommendations were created for the sustainable renovation of vernacular architecture in Serbia. The goal of the paper is to create scientific and professional evidence that local and natural materials must be used to reduce the impact of climate change and that such sustainable renovation is in accordance with modern architectural design and thermal comfort. The goal is also to fill the gap in renovation methods in Serbia, according to the principles of sustainable design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper primarily analyzes the classification of international organizations according to different criteria to see the specificity of the EU as a sui generis international organization. The authors specifically examine the legal order of the EU and the process of achieving full membership. They are interested in the EU accession process, particularly for countries in the Western Balkans like Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Candidate countries have access to various EU funds, which the authors analyze as pre-accession assistance. The study assesses Bosnia and Herzegovina's status in European integration and delves into the use of IPA funds in the country, including its withdrawal, scope, and limitations. The authors emphasize the importance of IPA funds for Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the economy across the globe and generated uncertainties in the functioning of the industries, governments and the daily life of people. The impact that this crisis has on poverty alleviation, the global GDP and the rapid development of the digitalization process are some of the factors that have reshaped the world. Hence, the way in which the companies and different sectors have operated is now in the past. The new economic condition requires quick adaptability to the new trends and fast implementation of digital solutions. Therefore, new strategies and more advanced practices are a necessity not only for the proper functioning of the businesses, but for the governments and the countries as well. The rapid shift towards the digital channels caught many businesses off guard. All these fast changes and the late transformation slowed down the economic growth, mostly in the countries that did not reacted immediately. Considering that the Balkan region tried to provide digitally enhanced offerings and maintain the economic growth during the pandemic, many people were laid off, many business sectors were affected and many companies were closed. All these transformations affected the economic development and stagnated the growth. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to evaluate what are the main factors that have affected the economic growth in the Balkan region and the reason that contributed to digital transformation of these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many authors process of the enlargement of the European Union (hereafter the EU) have called both technical and political one. In fact, there is a wide range of criteria that an aspirant country for EU integration must meet to achieve membership of the EU. These criteria, known as the Copenhagen and Amsterdam Criteria, include the criteria that fall into the domain of politics, economics, jurisprudence and administrative domain. However, EU member states themselves are being negatively identified in such areas, and on the other hand, there are countries outside the EU that even though meet the criteria for advancement in the integration stages, remain pending as a result of geopolitics. So, the integration process itself, involves a complex, multi-stage interaction of meeting the criteria, internal dynamics of the EU and regional and the international geopolitical constellations. This paper aims to deal with EU-Kosovo relations, namely Kosovo's integration but also mentioning the cases of other Western Balkan states in the EU, analyzing the EU's enlargement technique and geopolitics, vis-a-vis Western Balkan countries with emphasis on Kosovo as a sui generis case due to the non-recognition of Kosovo's independence from five EU states. For the implementation of this paper is imposed the use of analytical-synthesis, historical, documentation and comparative methods for analyzing the periodic reports of EU institutions measuring the progress of Kosovo in certain areas throughout the process so far and comparing with other countries which are in different membership phases. As a result of the work, I intend to provide a realistic overview of Kosovo's current position in the EU integration process and its perspective in this process taking into account current international developments, which is very important to analyze for the fact that there is quiescence in the opinion and in fact even of the local institutions on the topic in question. I pretend to bring in this paper the same results of analyses for all Western Balkans states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Ohrid is one of the oldest settlements in the western Balkans, exceptionally rich with archeological, architectural, and cultural sites, which must be protected from damage during future earthquakes by proper retrofitting and strengthening of the old structures. To provide a sound basis for retrofitting work, in this paper, we describe the amplitudes of strong ground motion in Ohrid for a range of probabilities of being exceeded. We use the Uniform Hazard Method to compute the amplitudes of strong motion, and, in the calculations, we explicitly include the geological site conditions for all the maps we show. By noting the large jumps in the predicted strong motion amplitudes at sites along the contact between basement rock and sediments, we emphasize that the empirical scaling equations for strong motion amplitudes must include explicit dependence on the geological site conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consequently, a new paradigm has emerged, named "Digital Transformation" (DT), which highlights the sweeping changes that firms, organizations and society in general are undertaking to respond to digitization (Mariani & Wamba, [25]; Nambisan, [27]; Sjödin et al., [36]). DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES While developed and industrialized countries are heavily investing in and paying particular attention to digital transformation, developing countries are struggling due to specific political, social, economic, and infrastructural issues. The current economic scenario is being characterized by the dawn of advanced digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, Business Analytics, Advanced Manufacturing, Industry 4.0/5.0, Cloud and Cyber-solutions and Artificial Intelligence, all of which represent a disruptive innovation that paves the way for radical changes in all activities by offering new innovative opportunities and solutions for thriving in a new competitive scenario. This focus is of particular interest considering that the Balkans are an integral part of Europe and a geostrategic priority for the European Union (EU Commission, [11]), and a relevant market for products and services. [Extracted from the article]

This paper addresses the problem of sustainability in remediation, retrofit, and seismic upgrading of historic masonry structures. Different rehabilitation techniques and some successful applications throughout the Balkans and Italy are described, with particular emphasis to the shear reinforcement of wall panels. The selected techniques aim at improving the seismic performance, preserving the structures for future generations, having the least impact in altering the architectural and heritage values, as well as being sustainable, in terms of reduced carbon dioxide emissions, reversibility, and low energy consumption. The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT), natural fibers, and fiber-reinforced Polymers (FRP) jacketing with natural lime coatings are discussed. The paper concludes by summarizing key successes of the proposed rehabilitation solutions in conservation engineering and suggests areas in which these could be used with great advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper aims to empirically analyze the relationship between economic growth and financial development, in the region of Western Balkan countries, over the period 2010-2020. The relationship is demonstrated by the effects of independent variables such as trade (T), inflation consumer prices (ICP), general government final consumption (GGFCE), domestic credit to the private sector (DCPS), broad money (BM), and the real interest rate (IR), on the dependent variable, such as GDP growth. Hence, to evaluate this impact, we employed the regression model. Although, a correlation matrix is presented to identify the relationship between the study variables. Based on the results presented, there is a positive relationship between trade, inflation rate, and interest rates. Additionally, based on the regression results that were produced using the fixed effect technique, it can be seen that trade (T), inflation (ICP), interest rates (IR), and domestic credit to the private sector (DCPS), positively impact economic growth. The main objective of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of this connection and draw new conclusions that might greatly benefit policymakers and the Western Balkan community, by considering the fundamental role of the financial sector in sustainable economic growth. The study's second objective is to fill the vac-uum in the literature for this period and a sample of counties according to specific macroeconomic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tobacco Industry is one of the largest in the world, with very high impact in global economy, widely known as the fourth largest market in the world. In Albania tobacco industry is also an important part of the country's economy, a market that experiences great dynamics of changes both in terms of import and in relation to the production of tobacco for export. Albania applies only a specific excise tax, having the lowest tax burden on tobacco among Western Balkan countries. The total tax burden on cigarettes stands around 66% of the retail selling price (RSP) for a pack of 20 cigarettes of the most sold brand. This paper aims to study all the dynamics of tobacco market in Albania, changes in tobacco taxation and the impact of these changes in Albanian economy. Thus, this paper focuses on analyzing the impact of tobacco taxation on tobacco consumption. At the end of the paper, the impact of changing its control policies on smoking behavior and exposure to advertising, if any, will be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of a comparative analysis based on the Electoral Integrity Index, evaluated for the period 2011-2021 in the Balkan countries are this paper's objectives. Referring to perceptions of the level of fulfillment of international standards for democratic elections (PEI), the Balkan region is classified in the group of countries belonging to the "Moderate" category. In the Balkan countries, the positive relationship between the electoral process and the development of liberal democracy is evident, while the level of corruption is a factor that has a significant effect on the electoral process. Clusters analysis performed using estimates of distances between indicators related to the electoral process, the development of a liberal democracy, general economic development and the level of corruption present significant distances. The development of liberal democracy in Balkan countries is conditioned by the level of realization of synergy in the interaction between different factors. This paper aims to identify the legal framework in the details of Balkan countries related to electoral reform, going through recommendations through comparison and quantitative methodology and bringing Czech legislative dimension as a smart solution of problems that countries face in the electoral process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the effectiveness of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in measuring banking sector stability in Western Balkan countries, as well as to explore the possibility of enhancing banking sector policy and performance. The study employs a quantitative methodology created on secondary data from 2012 to 2021. The data analysis methodology incorporates static and dynamic approaches to examine the banking sector stability using OLS and 2SLS. The results of the study show that the tight A M L i , t implementation of both approaches has a positive and statistically significant impact on the banking sector stability ( B S S ). The value of the paper is unique in that it applies the most recent data in this field for Western Balkans countries, and it brings benefits for a better understanding of the effectiveness of A M L regulations. The research will encourage fruitful discussion among policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and financial institution executives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental policy of the European Union has largely contributed to the diffusion and strengthening of International environmental law, and has yielded a relatively wide harmonization of high standards in this area among the Member States, as well as among countries that strive to become fully-fledged members of the EU. The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans is an example to that end. As a growth strategy, it aims at stimulating growth in the region and helping the transformation from the traditional economic model to a sustainable economy, in line with the European Green Deal priorities. Therefore, this paper will look at to what extent has the regional environmental governance network, precisely the cooperation with the European Environmental Agency (EEA), fostered alignment with the EU Environmental policy by Montenegro as the EU candidate country. The cooperation between Montenegro and the European Environmental Agency dates back to more than a decade ago, and it has been formalised by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on October 23, 2020, which represented a step towards full membership of the country in the EEA. Cooperation with the EEA also increases the possibility of access to European funds, which will be used to invest in green technologies and renewable energy sources. The adoption, implementation and enforcement of the EU acquis on Environment, is at the same time, a condition that the Western Balkan countries must meet in order to satisfy criteria set by the accession negotiations. In addition, the Western Balkan countries as signatories to the Paris Agreement have pledged to restructure their economies in order to achieve the goals set in the agreement. This is particularly relevant having in mind the EU aspirations to become the first climate-neutral society by 2050. To this end, and having special sensitivity towards the challenges the region of Western Balkans is facing, the Union has committed generous resources to the Western Balkans green transition. Hence, the assistance provided by the EU will depend on the quality of the preparatory work done. Therefore, the practical aspect of this paper will be to draw attention to the importance of the EU support in this area, but also to highlight the genuine responsibility and effort expected from Montenegro as a case study, to develop high quality and sustainable projects leading to restructuring its economy into a green one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reviews a book comprising 16 articles covering the period from Antiquity to the end of the 20th century and consisting of a variety of topics such as: Old Egyptian temples, Crusades and the Battle of Nicopolis of 1396, the Benedictine monastery of St. Demetrius in Sremska Mitrovica, medieval coats of arms in the Balkans, Civil war in Yugoslavia/Croatia of 1995, the Catholic Church and the witch-hunts in Zagreb in the early modern era, the demographic development of Brod (1869-90), music in the NDH, and the Knight Templars from the Balkans. The rubric "discussions" presents three contributions: on the roundtable conference: "The synthesis of Serbian history as a challenge to Croatian and Serbian historiography"; the review of the German edition of Jurcevic's book "The Origin of the Jasenovac Myth"; and V. A. Fines's book "When Ethnicity did not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods."

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in the growth and development of transitional economies and especially in countries where domestic capital is insufficient to meet the investment needs of the economy. Albania is a country applying for E.U. integration, so the country's central policies in recent years have brought about a liberalized economic framework and improved conditions for business development, attracting highly sought after FDI. This paper will provide an analysis of FDI in Albania and make a comparative analysis with the Western Balkan (W.B.) countries. The focus of the paper will also be on analyzing some of the critical elements that make these countries attractive to FDI, such as: analyzing the sectoral distribution of FDI stocks, the impact that inflows have had on the development of domestic economies, in creating jobs. FDI flows even though they have been in an upward trend, have not yet reached the desired expectations levels. W.B. countries have some very potential sectors to increase in the future and to be more attractive for FDI, such as tourism, service, transport, agriculture, industry. FDI had a positive impact on Albania's economy and in other Balkan countries. However, the region still needs to make many improvements in implementing institutional reforms, building and operating democratic institutions, improving the infrastructure. All countries need to collaborate to enhance political instability, resolve conflicts, and to focus on improvements and policies to attract potential investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to locate the Western Balkans in the current age of anxiety. By using the concept of ontological security as its overarching theoretical frame, the paper first develops a concept of anxiety dilemma. The anxiety dilemma refers to a situation in which a social order that provides one group of people with a sense of ontological security is a perceived source of anxiety for the other group and vice versa. The paper proposes that such a dilemma characterizes the present age of anxiety. Trapped in this dilemma are the proponents and the contesters of the liberal (international) order and globalization, often referred to in the literature as cosmopolitans and communitarians. The paper argues that the Western Balkan countries occupy an ambivalent position in this anxiety dilemma. Their governments combine liberal-democratic justification with autocratic tendencies. The paper discusses how the Western Balkans came to occupy this position. It singles out four reasons: (1) the region's authoritarian legacy; (2) ethnonationalism coupled with state- and nation-building projects; (3) search for external legitimacy; and (4) the EU's abandonment of the inextricable link between peace and democracy. The case of the Western Balkans yields another important observation: that local anxiety dilemmas are nested in global anxiety dilemma. The paper makes two contributions. The first one is theoretical, and it consists of furthering the concept of ontological security such that it theorizes ontological security as a systemic inter-group phenomenon. The second contribution is analytical, and it consists in locating the Western Balkans in the ongoing struggles over globalization and the liberal (international) order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eradication of poverty as the main target of Sustainable Development Goal 1 by 2030 is the subject of this paper, which analyzes the national voluntary reviews of the Balkan countries and the data presented in them and which are primarily related to poverty as a multidimensional concept. Further, the paper investigate concept of poverty and gives overview poverty conditions in the region, underlining their complexity and some implications. Education seems to be an important determinant and poverty has also a spatial dimension in all these countries. As part of this paper, the issues of the situation with poverty in the Balkan countries through the prism of the covid crisis are considered, as well as this burning challenge - "inequality virus" for the situation in Macedonia with emphasis on the relevant strategic documents. Poverty moreover affects unemployment and that is why the paper presents the number of unemployed in 2020 in the Balkan countries. In the paper we concludes that governments must act on the urgency to create significant reforms, in redesigning the types and adequacy of social welfare cash benefits and support to the most vulnerable categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper rests on two fundamentals: firstly, the EU's initiative to deepen cooperation with and the prospect of its enlargement to the Western Balkans region; and, secondly, the urgency to address sustainable development issues in the international environment. As the virtual water perspective represents an innovative approach in the field of sustainable development, the aim of our paper is to analyse trade-related characteristics based on the water footprint concept (complementary to the alternative RCA/RTA indexes designed to calculate a country's comparative advantage or disadvantage). In our paper, we analyse and evaluate selected commodities traded by the Slovak Republic and the Western Balkans countries in terms of the absolute/comparative advantage related to the national water footprints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015–16, Europe witnessed the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Over a million people moved via different migration routes. The key route was the Balkan corridor running from Turkey, via Greece, to Central, Western and Northern Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and changes in the route and provide an analysis of transit via Balkan countries, looking at factors that influenced the shape of the corridor. This refugee crisis was challenging for European countries and the whole European Union (EU). This corridor was unique, being de facto formalized semi‐legal territory, which the EU had never faced before. An official reaction to the crisis was necessary due to the substantial number of people who were on the move, seeking to cross the Balkan countries in the fastest manner possible. Therefore, the response was focused on arranging transport and providing only short‐term accommodation. This paper uses the PESTLE framework to examine the key political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects that influenced the Balkan corridor, as well as changes in the route over time and responses to them. The role of the media in shaping the corridor is also acknowledged, thus resulting in a PESTLE‐M framework. Findings from the research are important, as it is likely that the EU will face a similar crisis in the near future. Therefore, there is a need to prepare and develop a plan in case such a situation arises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe is characterized by an uneven record of Middle Paleolithic occupations. Specifically, large parts of southeastern Europe display markedly lower site densities and less intensive evidence of human presence than is found elsewhere; this has often resulted in the exclusion of the Balkans from debates related to Pleistocene human adaptation. The discrepancy stems either from the lower population densities of southeastern Europe or an imbalance in research across Europe. Additionally, our understanding of Balkan Middle Paleolithic stone tool industries suffers from the use of Mousterian labels defined when Bordian typology was the chief method of lithic analysis. Industrial facies then defined and still in use include Balkan Charentian, Levallois Mousterian, Micromousterian, Denticulate Mousterian; their relation with the rest of the Eurasian record was and remains unclear. This paper sets aside the issue of scarcity of Pleistocene occupations and tries to address Neanderthal biogeography, and variations in Neanderthal technological behavior and subsistence, based on the available record. It reviews the current Middle Paleolithic record in the Balkans, presents the apparent temporal and spatial trends, and presents the provisional biogeography of hominins, including scenarios for the demise of Neanderthals at or soon after the arrival of modern humans in Europe. The paper ends with a discussion of perspectives for future research arising from this analysis of the available record and proposes some hypotheses regarding the role of the Balkans in the overall context of the occupational history of western Eurasia in the Middle/Late Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research paper is to examine the impact of monetary policy conditions on bank risk-taking in the Western Balkan countries. The paper tries to identify if monetary policy conditions, especially money interest rates, may induce a greater appetite for bank risk-taking in the Western Balkan countries. The impact of macroeconomic and banking indicators on bank risk-taking will be examined, too. For this purpose, we apply pooled OLS techniques, Fixed and Random effects panel, and Hausman-Taylor Instrumental IV model. The econometric results show a negative correlation between the monetary policy rate and bank risk-taking, rejecting the hypothesis that monetary policy rates indicate bank risk increase. However, expansive credit policies or loan portfolio growth have a positive impact on bank risk-taking in the Western Balkans. The study is original, and its findings will be of value to Central Banks and other policymakers in the Western Balkan countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]