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21. Things Washed Ashore

Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
One could not physically leave totalitarian autarchic Albania, but one could always escape it. Ardian Vehbiu, who has extensively written on totalitarian language and semiotics, will talk about the out-sized effects of found western objects, casual merchandise, media and images in the Albanian popular imagination. Looking at this “flotsam” that washed ashore, we will explore the relationship between these objects and images and how they shaped the imagination and experiences of Europe and of ourselves. How did these objects, images and messages reach an otherwise impervious Albania? How did they circulate once in Albania and what life and meanings did they take on? Did this relationship with the “beyond”, cherished and suffered by the citizens-inmates of a country otherwise closed to the world, lead to an inadvertent “colonization” of minds by these ethereal images built by and for Western media? Or, did these highly censored or scarcely available objects and images allow Albanians to clandestinely escape across the porous borders of the imagination?
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Media, Totalitarianism, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania

22. THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY SYSTEM: THE CASE OF 2016 JUDICIAL REFORM IN ALBANIA

Author:
Bojana Hajdini and Gentjan Skara
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
Corruption in the judiciary system has been considered by Albanian citizens and international organizations as deeply corrupt. In 2016 Albanian Parliament, supported by the EU and USA, adopted a judiciary reform to increase transparency, accountability, impartiality and citizens’ access to information. One way of preventing corruption and increasing citizens’ access to justice is by using information technology. This paper analyses the role of information and communication technology in preventing corruption in the Albanian judiciary system. The main research question is how and to what extent digitizing the judiciary contributes to preventing corruption in the judiciary system. The paper argues that the use of ICT in the judiciary system has been limited due to several factors, such as lack of legislation on the use of ICT in the judiciary system, absence of a unified automated case management system, lack of appropriate education or training of judiciary staff to use ICT and lack of reinvestments on ICT equipment in courts. The 2016 judicial reform, for the first time, emphasized the importance of digitizing the judiciary system in Albania. The paper concludes that digitizing the judiciary will increase integrity and prevent corruption in the judicial system.
Topic:
Corruption, Reform, Judiciary, and Digitalization
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Albania

23. Anti-money laundering in Albania: What role for civil society?

Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM)
Abstract:
Topics related to money laundering and terrorist financing are not new to civil society, academia and especially the media in Albania. While the latter (media) has often reported on the phenomenon , law and economics researchers have addressed both topics, although they have done so less frequently in the context of research initiatives. Civil society, on the other hand, has been more passive regarding the phenomenon and measures against money laundering (AML), or those against terrorist financing (CFT). Except for several research organizations engaged in the field of security, anti-corruption or prevention of violent extremism, concepts such as AML / CFT became widely known to civil society actors a few years ago, when Albania took additional steps to meet the standards of Recommendation 8 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Specifically, this recommendation suggests that FATF member countries should improve the legal framework for non-profit organizations to prevent their misuse for financing terrorism. Furthermore, the issue of money laundering is most frequently addressed in public discourse and various research reports mainly in the context of confiscation of assets and illicit proceeds generated by organized crime. However, money laundering is yet to be examined in the context of high-level corruption and state capture, increased reporting on organized crime, illegitimate interests intertwined in politics, economics and beyond. The fight against law enforcement institutions against criminal groups and other “traditional” or contemporary challenges (e.g. cryptocurrencies) suggest that the AML / CFT capacities of state institutions need additional support, new skills, in-depth analysis and alternative sources of knowledge.
Topic:
Civil Society, Crime, Law Enforcement, Financial Crimes, and Money
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania

24. National Security vs. Accountability: Striking the Right Balance

Author:
Redion Qirjazi
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM)
Abstract:
Information classification is an important mechanism that governments use to keep citizens safe and protect national interests. However, when classification regimes produce excessive secrecy, they can both interfere with democratic governance and counterproductively jeopardize national security. As such, on the one hand, ‘overclassification’ can lead to reduced oversight, transparency, and accountability in the security sector, while on the other, prevent security agencies from sharing information rapidly and detect security threats in due time. Unfortunately, in the case of Albania, there still remains a disproportionate emphasis on the need to safeguard national secrets versus the right of citizens to be informed on decisions made on their behalf. Hence, as it is for every other public institution, this policy brief calls for security sector agencies to pursue a balanced approach to secrecy: one that strikes the right compromise between protecting national security and delivering good governance by ensuring transparency and accountability.
Topic:
Government, National Security, Accountability, Transparency, Classification, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania

25. Albanian judiciary under construction

Author:
Megi Bakiasi
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
In a policy paper, Megi Bakiasi deals with the judiciary reform in Albania, including the European dimension of reform, and presents recommendations for addressing its shortcomings. The 2016 judicial reform is certainly a historical paradigm shift for Albania. The reform brought about significant change, by cleansing the system from a number of its corrupt officials. Nevertheless, like all transitions, it encountered a number of difficulties with respect to its implementation. The lack of precision in the reform laws, as well as the failure to provide a safety net resulted in numerous vacancies that paralysed key judicial institutions. Furthermore, the laxity shown by the executive and legislative branches delayed the advancement of the reform and resulted in multiple shortcomings with regard to transparency. Lastly, the provisions relative to the right to resign and the lack of proper examination of the three vetting criteria have a negative impact on the establishment of the principle of accountability.
Topic:
Reform, Accountability, Judiciary, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Albania

26. The PLO and Communist Albania: Cold War Relations

Author:
Klejd Këlliçi
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This article examines Communist Albania’s support for the Palestinian cause and the relationships Tirana cultivated with the various groups comprising the Palestinian national movement. It explores the latter’s motivation for cultivating relations with Albania, a tiny Communist country that refused the logic of the bipolar world, both in its alliance with China and, later, through its disengagement from the East-West conflict and retreat into self-imposed isolationism. The article shows that, following Albania’s break with the Soviet bloc in the 1970s, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and specifically Fatah, was a more natural and logical choice for Tirana’s support than other, more self-avowedly left-wing Palestinian organizations. This study is based on primary sources from the archives of the Albanian foreign affairs ministry and the Party of Labour of Albania, as well as secondary sources such as accounts by members of the Albanian military who trained Fatah guerrilla fighters.
Topic:
Cold War, Communism, History, and PLO
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, Albania, and Baltic States

27. History and identity should not blight the EU’s enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans

Author:
Erwan Fouéré
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The EU must reject any attempt to introduce notions of history and identity into its enlargement policy. Otherwise it risks trampling on its 70 years of experience in overcoming the legacy of the past and promoting a peace project based on reconciliation and the rule of law. Yet this is precisely what is happening with Bulgaria’s veto against the opening of EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia. In March of last year the European Council gave the green light for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. A date for the first intergovernmental conference to formally launch the negotiations with both countries remains – unfortunately, out of sight.
Topic:
History, European Union, Rule of Law, Regional Integration, Identity, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Bulgaria, Balkans, Albania, and North Macedonia

28. The Green Agenda: Providing Policy Brief breathing space for Western Balkans citizens?

Author:
Paul Hofhuis, Wouter Zweers, Giulia Cretti, and Srdja Popovic
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
This Clingendael series ‘The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans’ provides an inside perspective on the EU climate ambitions for the Western Balkan Six (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) and the challenges ahead. In this third contribution, we analyse the state of affairs with regard to pollution. Across the Western Balkans, air, water and soil pollution levels are incredibly high. Public health is continuously jeopardised by air pollution arising from local heating sources and energy production plants. The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans aims to assist the region in tackling pollution problems and aligning the countries’ environmental quality regulation with the European acquis. This paper analyses the state of affairs with regard to air, water and soil pollution in the WB6 and examines how it affects citizens’ health and socioeconomic prospects. The policy brief argues that countries in the Western Balkans need to address a coal phase-out while simultaneously tackling energy poverty. The EU could more actively support this, not only by providing a platform for dialogue, but through supporting programmes for renewable energy provisions and infrastructure, reskilling of workers and job creation. The Sofia Declaration, that sets out the Green Agenda, needs to be complemented with measures to ensure compliance with environmental regulations, preferably by involving civil society organisations in monitoring implementation and raising public awareness of the socioeconomic costs of pollution.
Topic:
Climate Change, European Union, Pollution, and Public Health
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, Balkans, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia

29. Genderizing of the Participation in the Decision-Making Process: The Electoral Quota and Female Leadership in Albania

Author:
Evis Garunja
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
This paper is focused on the Albanian electoral system, its total inclusion approach, protection and promotion of gender characteristics, historical and legal developments on the gender quotas necessity, the comparison in time and space, the barriers and opportunities to promote gender politics in public and social area in Albania. The methodology will consist of a comparative analysis of legislation, the international legal framework, recommendations of international institutions, policy papers on identifying the causes why higher gender representation in politics produces estimated results in the public area, social and economic development. Analysis of the circumstances, historical periods, social and economic impact in legal amendments would be another methodology component. Gender quotas provide a critical minority of women, from 20% to a gender balance of 50%, either as an education of the community to face with real gender balance in common life.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Democracy, Voting, and Electoral Systems
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania

30. Enforcement of the European Union Law Before the Albanian Constitutional Court and the High Court

Author:
Gentjan Skara and Bojana Hajdini
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
With the entry into force of the Interim Agreement in 2005 between the EU and Albania, Albanian judges had the obligation to partly apply several provisions of the agreement (the EU law) even in the pre-accession stage. This position was reinforced in 2009, with the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which laid down the obligation of the Albanian government to approximate its existing and future legislation in line with EU acquis and ensure proper implementation. Consequently, as of 2009, Albanian courts had to apply the EU law. The application of the EU law by Albanian courts entails the duty of judges with a twofold task: firstly, to construe their arguments in line with EU law or as close as possible, and secondly, to set aside the domestic law which is found to be incompatible with the EU law. This paper outlines some Albanian courts' decisions concerning applying the EU Law before accession to the European Union. The paper argues that Albanian judges have adopted a ‘Euro-friendly’ approach by referring to the EU Law and SAA agreement even in the pre-accession period. Nevertheless, looking closely at court decisions, the EU law is applied as a persuasive source of law to support the court’s decision and not to explain the importance of relying on EU law or CJEU case law.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Law, European Union, and Constitution
Political Geography:
Europe and Albania