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1. A Special Part of Europe: Nation, State and Religion among Orthodox Slavs

Author:
Biljana Vankovska and Håkan Wiberg
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper studies how nation, state and religion – in particular: churches – are related among Orthodox South Slavs: Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins. The close relations between (self-conceived) nations and churches go back to the Ottoman Empire, and seem to have been strengthened by the conflicts in Former Yugoslavia since 1990. The close relation between state and nation go back to how the Ottoman empire was dissolved and have also been strengthened by the same conflicts, even though all states proclaim themselves as non- discriminatory in this respect. The close relation between church and state also has long historical roots, but is more ambiguous today, with elements of competition as well as cooperation – and the latter is seen by many as having gone too far under communism. It is notable that where there are attempts to stabilise a separate identity – in Macedonia and Montenegro – establishing separate churches is a part of this on par with defining separate languages, rewriting history, etc. and the churches are seen as important national symbols even among quite secularised groups; and the same is true for the resistance against separation from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Montenegro

2. Ten Years After (Vol I) Democratisation and Security Challenges in South East Europe

Author:
Biljana Vankovska, Jordan Baev, Aldo Bumçi, Spyros Damtsas, Miroslav Hadzic, Ljubica Jelušič, Marina Mitrevska, Arkady Moshes, Vladimir Prebilic, and Boris Trajkovski
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
Time and space dimensions have different meaning in the Balkans. During just one year (May 2000 to May 2001) this statement has been proven in the case of the main activity organised by the PfP Consortium Working Group on Crisis Mana gement in SEE. At the last Working Group's meeting in Reichenau the idea on organising an international conference was born. The idea was fully supported at the PfP Consortium meeting in Tallinn and eventually realised in Ohrid, Macedonia. The scholar conference under the title “Ten Years After: Democratisation and Security Challenges in SEE” (27-29 October, 2000) without false modesty can be seen as one of the best events organised under the auspices of the PfP Consortium between two annual meetings.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Macedonia

3. Ten Years After (Vol II) Democratisation and Security Challenges in South East Europe

Author:
Biljana Vankovska, Boris Trajkovski, Richard Cohen, P. H. Liotta, Daniel N. Nelson, Nina Nikolova, Jan Oberg, and Dennis J.D. Sandole
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
Time and space dimensions have different meaning in the Balkans. During just one year (May 2000 to May 2001) this statement has been proven in the case of the main activity organised by the PfP Consortium Working Group on Crisis Management in SEE. At the last Working Group's meeting in Reichenau the idea on organising an international conference was born. The idea was fully supported at the PfP Consortium meeting in Tallinn and eventually realised in Ohrid, Macedonia. The scholar conference under the title “Ten Years After: Democratisation and Security Challenges in SEE” (27-29 October, 2000) without false modesty can be seen as one of the best events organised under the auspices of the PfP Consortium between two annual meetings.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Macedonia

4. Information Management in the Field of Security Policy in SEE -- 1st Workshop of the Study Group: "Crisis Management in South East Europe"

Author:
Tufik Burnazovic, Athanasios E. Drougos, Gustav E. Gustenau, Wolf Oschlies, Dragan Simic, Avgustina Tzvetkova, Biljana Vankovska, and Vladimir Šaponja
Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
Secessionist conflicts have become a major feature of the European political landscape in the 1990s. International response to them has varied from full-scale military intervention to half-hearted mediation, generally providing for freezing of most active hostilities and for addressing most urgent humanitarian needs. Europe in the 1990s saw more “peace” operations on its soil than any other region in the world, but still was not able to find satisfactory answers. Kosovo is a tragic illustration of that and the deployment of NATO troops after a massive use of airpower still lacks the framework of a political plan and appears very tentative and opportunistic. Several specifically European factors define the perspective of a possible new wave of secessionist conflicts in the region.
Topic:
Security, NATO, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

5. Civil-Military Relations in the Third Yugoslavia

Author:
Biljana Vankovska
Publication Date:
08-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Any consideration of the Serbs' military traditions is inevitably a study of both the real and mythical aspects of their history. They are so intertwined that the very endeavour to distinguish between them is not only hardly possible but also counter-productive. The thesis that the 'boundaries between myth and history are not clear' can be proved in the Serbian case. At the same time, however, the inter-mixture of these two components easily leads to false conclusions and corrupt political decisions. From today's perspective Serbs are the most mythologised people in the world. Two opposed and equally biased perceptions are dominant: they are perceived as either 'heavenly people' or 'devil's seed'. The common notion in both interpretations is war. Yet this does not provide enough elements to form a clear picture. In the light of the most recent events (the 1999 NATO intervention in FR Yugoslavia) one may say that what the Serbs see as bravery, others interpret as belligerency. And vice versa - what Serbs see as an anti-heroic war, others see as humanitarian intervention. Given the crucial position of Serbia in the Yugoslav wars that have still not ceased, one may assume that fresh historical material for the evaluation of Serbian military traditions, myths and traumas is still growing. This very fact certainly contributes to the inability to analyse them objectively, but usually politically motivated blockades are made in order to prove one's righteousness.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Serbia and Balkans