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42. Labour Markets and Employment Development in South East Europe
- Author:
- Hermine Vidovic
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- In contrast to the Central European transition countries, the economies of South East Europe (SEE) have been facing complex and interrelated political and economic problems. The dis solution of Yugoslavia combined with market losses, war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, sanctions finally culminating in the Kosovo conflict were the main causes of political and economic instability in the whole region. Taking into account these factors, output recovery has been much slower in SEE than in the Central European countries. Measured in purchasing power standards, Croatia is the best per former in the region, with its GDP at about 38% of the EU average. Next comes Bulgaria (32%), whereas the respective values f or Serbia and Montenegro and Albania range between 15-17%. Looking at the economic performance in the 1990-2002 period, Croatia and Romania reached almost 94% of their pre-transitional level in 2002, followed by Bulgaria and Macedonia (about 88% each). Serbia and Montenegro, the worst-affected, reached only about half of what it was in 1990. The cumulative output decline there was one of the largest among all the Central and East European countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Development, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- United States, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Croatia, and Montenegro
43. Cross-border business activities in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector in the Southern Adriatic border areas of Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Author:
- Ivo Grkovic and Nikola Kalafatovic
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Analyzing the area of our interest and its economic perspective requires us to take a step back into the past and conclude that history repeats itself. Traditionally, this has been the area of trade, communication, as well as war. The last fifty years, up until the disintegration of ex-Yugoslavia, represented the longest period of peace in this region of different cultures, nations and history. In ex-Yugoslavia, these differences did not represent a limiting factor, and therefore the transport of people as well as goods was free and unlimited. Although the state borders existed, in the legal sense they were not of great importance. We can say that people living in this region were both geographically and economically directed towards each other. However, economic differences were present, and Croatia ranked as the second most developed state of ex-Yugoslavia (after Slovenia).
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Montenegro
44. Cross Border Trafficking in South Eastern Europe - Assessing Trafficking Activities in the Southern Adriatic Region
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
- Abstract:
- This study was commissioned by the South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC). The purpose of the Ammunition Detection Study is to determine if there is evidence to support the SEESAC hypothesis that it may be more productive to specifically target the detection of ammunition for Small Arms and Light Weapons rather than the weapons themselves. SEESAC is a developing organisation, with a responsibility to identify information on the precise level of smuggling activity and also advise on measures to reduce cross border trafficking; clearly current search methodologies used to detect weapons and ammunition within the region are an important component of this advice. Following discussions with the SEESAC Team Leader a set of assumptions, to support the Terms of Reference (TOR), were agreed.Initial desktop research examined weapons and ammunition design and manufacture to determine if and why weapons can be more easily concealed than ammunition and what constituent parts are common or exclusive to one particular commodity. Further analysis was conducted to determine if ammunition and weapons are consistently transported together and examples of occurrences are provided. The investigation has involved visits to specialist organisations and national security agencies that have undertaken to provide data on suitable search and detection methodologies. (PDF, 30 pages, 1.02 MB) Â Â
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia, Moldova, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Balkans, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia
45. A Half-Hearted Welcome: Refugee Return to Croatia
- Publication Date:
- 12-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Seven years after the end of the war, the issue of refugee return continues to be contentious for Croatia. The government that came to power following parliamentary and presidential elections in January and February 2000 inherited an unsatisfactory legacy of discriminatory laws and practices from its predecessor, to the detriment in particular of ethnic Serb displaced persons and refugees. It found that once the universal international relief that greeted its victory over the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) had worn off, international pressure to remove obstacles to refugee return and reintegration had not ended.
- Topic:
- Ethnic Conflict, Government, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Croatia
46. CERI: Les relations civilo-militaires en Croatie, 1990-2001
- Author:
- Jean-François Morel and Renéo Lukic
- Publication Date:
- 02-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
- Abstract:
- In contrast to most of Eastern and Central European countries that underwent their post-communist transition peacefully, Croatia had to undergo its transition during wartime. The outbreak of the Serbo-Croatian war in Spring 1991 forced Croatia to build rapidly an army to protect its territory. However, at this time, Croatia was an emerging democracy and after the European Community recognised its independence on January 15, 1992, the parliamentary institutions were unable to exert their authority over the Croatian army (Hrvatska vojska, HV). The Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman, and the political party he presided, the HDZ, dominated the HV by way of political penetration. Tudjman, who led Croatia to independence, benefited from a triple legitimacy (political, constitutional and charismatic) that allowed him to exert his power over the HV, much the same as the legitimacy Josip Broz-Tito enjoyed over the Yugoslav National Army in Communist Yugoslavia. The result is that the civil-military regime in Croatia after 1990 suffered from a democratic deficit. After the death of President Franjo Tudjman in December 1999 and the change of majority in the January-February 2000 elections, the new Croatian leadership, particularly President Stjepan Mesic, tried to establish democratic control over the armed forces. However, this aim clashed with the opposition of the Ministry of Defense and of numerous officers still committed to the HDZ. For these reasons, a democratic civil-military regime in Croatia is not yet a reality. However, Croatia has made some progress toward the establishment of a democratic civil-military regime. By trying to join some international organizations (NATO), or by being compelled to cooperate with others (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY), Croatia is now in the process of interiorizing the norms concerning the civilian and democratic control of the armed forces upon which these organizations are based. Being a member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), and wishing to join as soon as possible NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP), Croatia is obliged to move in this direction.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and War
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Croatia
47. Assessing Democratic Oversight of the Armed Forces
- Author:
- Sander Huisman
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- There is no such thing as the model for democratic control of the armed forces. Perhaps more influential than constitutional arrangements; historical legacies and political cultures are setting conditions. However, a few essentials or principles of democratic oversight can be discerned. This paper aims to provide an overview of the efforts of different post-communist states in establishing democratic oversight over their armed forces. The comparative analysis is based on a study that the staff of the Centre for European Security Studies has conducted last year (Organising National Defences for NATO Membership - The Unexamined Dimension of Aspirants' Readiness for Entry) and the experiences gained from a three-year multi-national programme that CESS has started in 2001 (Democratic Control South East Europe: Parliaments and Parliamentary Staff Education Programme - DEMCON-SEE). This programme is running in seven countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia-Montenegro.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Democratization, and Development
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, and Montenegro
48. Croatia: Facing Up To War Crimes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- On 8 October 2001, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) confirmed an indictment charging Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), with crimes committed in Croatia. This indictment had been keenly awaited for years in Croatia, where a widespread perception of international indifference to Serb crimes perpetrated against Croats between 1991 and 1995 has been ably encouraged and manipulated by the right wing.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Croatia
49. Croat Self-Government in Bosnia - A Challenge for Dayton?
- Author:
- Florian Bieber
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- In addition to these factors contributing to the establishment of the Croat selfgovernment, economic/criminal factors most certainly played a role.22 As the response of the HDZ to the takeover of the Hercegovačka Banka seems to suggest, the economic interests of the party and its leadership were threatened by the change of government in Bosnia and the more assertive policies of the international community in Bosnia. The Croat self-government is beyond doubt a considerable challenge to the Dayton Peace Accords. The demand of the Croat leadership for a third entity can only be dismissed with difficulty in light of the existence of a Serb entity. Despite this development being a challenge to the existing arrangement, the argument can be made that some effects have been positive. The call by the HDZ for Croat soldiers to desert the Federation army and the public display of the parallel Croat power structures have given the High Representative an opportunity to render the Federation more effective by excluding those officials, who have not only now, but throughout the past five and a half year, obstructed the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords.
- Topic:
- Governance, Minorities, Leadership, Ethnicity, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Croatia, and Bosnia and Hercegovina
50. Reunifying Mostar: Opportunities for Progress
- Publication Date:
- 04-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Reunification of Mostar is key to the reintegration of separatist Herzegovinian Bosnian Croats into Bosnia. After years of fruitless post-Dayton efforts to wean the Bosnian Croats from Zagreb and reorient them toward a constructive role in Bosnia, the international community at long last has the capability to achieve this goal. The success of the democratic forces in Croatia in the January-February elections there has brought reliable partners to power with whom the international community can work in Bosnia. Policy initiatives in Herzegovina will not require new resources and, if achieved, can lead to a reduction in the international profile in Bosnia. Failure to act on these opportunities will cripple the Bosnian peace effort and weaken the new government in Croatia. These issues present serious policy challenges.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, and Croatia