1. Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Overcoming the past together
- Author:
- Gentiola Madhi, Jana Juzová, Tomás Strázay, Adam Balcer, Jelica Minić, and Nikolett Garai
- Publication Date:
- 06-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- Two decades after the last armed conflict in the Western Balkans, the reconciliation process in the region is still in its embryonic phase. Reconciliation is considered both a determinant for the democratization process of these countries and a precondition for them to join the EU at a later stage. Moreover, a satisfactory degree of reconciliation is also seen as an essential “step which would make European integration a long-term success“. Today, the political and social dynamics in the region are characterized by high youth unemployment, lack of trust in the governing elites and gloomy prospects of EU membership in the near future, which have affected citizens’ perceptions and level of confidence that the reconciliation process can overcome the present stalling stage. Moreover, the standstill with the enlargement process has allowed the local elites in power to raise the nationalistic rhetoric in their public speeches for short-term political gains, at the expense of the wider regional rapprochement process.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Conflict, and Reconciliation
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Balkans