Suchergebnisse

In the states which formed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, ethnic/national cultures are developing independently, alongside a parallel shared post-Yugoslav culture. This culture is not a continuation of the official cultural collaboration between the Yugoslav nations which took place when Yugoslavia existed, rather it is a new phenomenon. It is appearing in opposition to nationalism, against the closing off of culture into narrow ethno-national frames and is based on the genuine existence of a cultural unity older than the common state which was created from the common Yugoslav state itself. It seeks creative responses to the problems caused by the wars and collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It also looks for the appropriate analytical instruments. The author uses the Biblioteka XX vek (The 20th Century Library) as an example – the book series which he founded and publishes in the field of humanities and social sciences. The alternative post-Yugoslav culture is characterised by the high quality of what it offers. However, its protagonists are simultaneously criticised by the nationalist circles in power in the states formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, who consider the post-Yugoslav cultural unity an alleged national betrayal.

This article provides an overview of some of the most prevalent topics in post-Yugoslav memory politics as well as on some of the scholars working on these issues, focusing on the commemorative practices of the Second World War and the wars of the 1990s. Thirty years after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's disintegration, the discourse of post-war memory politics continues to dominate nearly all of the successor states, even though two of them have seemingly left the past behind to join the European Union. While the wars of the 1990s created an entirely new memoryscape in the region, they also radically transformed the way in which each country commemorated the Second World War. Although the article examines in-depth the collective remembrance of sites of memory, such as Jasenovac, Bleiburg, and Knin, trends across the broader region are also addressed. The work of young scholars, as well as experienced researchers, who have introduced innovative approaches in memory studies in the former Yugoslavia, is highlighted to show how new studies focus on the cultural reproduction of dominant narratives in addition to top-down political discourse.

This article analyses the international conditions during the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is an outline of a broad research problem, a historical analysis from the perspective of the decades-long evolution of Yugoslavia's international position. After its expulsion from the Eastern Bloc in 1948, the country balanced between East and West, becoming one of the founders and leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The author focuses on the aspect of Yugoslavia's role in the politics of the West, especially the US and the EEC, during and at the end of the Cold War. It was the West that could, possibly, have played a role in preventing the disintegration of the country in the early 1990s, in contrast to the USSR, which had its own internal problems at that time. What factors influenced Western support for the SFRY during the Cold War? How did Yugoslavia's position in Western politics change when the Cold War rivalry ended? The author points out the temporal connection between the disintegration of the SFRY and, among other things, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union, the democratisation process in Eastern Europe, German reunification, European integration, and the crisis in the Middle East. In the end, there was a lack of real and coherent action by Western countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Balkans. The consequence of this would be the disintegration of the SFRY and several years of war in the former Yugoslavia.

The breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 30 years ago still has a substantial impact on the post-Yugoslav countries which proclaimed independence. Bearing in mind that the breakup also generated a military conflict, e.g. in Croatia, the restoration of Serbian-Croatian relations remains problematic. One of the challenges is passing a fair judgment on people responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established for this reason in particular. Ante Gotovina – a Croatian general, was one of those indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the military operation "Oluja" during which some heinous acts of crime took place. Gotovina played a clear and primary role in this operation, and therefore his actions were the main count of the indictment, firstly, for the prosecution and then for the Trial Chamber of ICTY. However, the sentence of 24 years imprisonment was never carried out following a successful appeal. The Appeals Chamber did not uphold the verdict of the Trial Chamber owing to a serious legal error and, consequently, it acquitted Gotovina of all the charges. This issue became yet another source of Serbian-Croatian conflict in connection with the most important people held responsible for the crimes committed in 1991-1995.

The aim of this paper is to make an overarching evaluation by looking at historical policy of the Party of Democratic Action (Stranka demokratske akcije, SDA) in Bosnia and Herzegowina at the turn of the 20th and 21st century and trying to (analytically) examine the main directions of this policy. Therefore paper will try to focus on the major historical figures and trying to analytically to indicate the reasons of the revival the Ottoman traditions in the public life of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering this issue I wonder what events and historical figures were promoted and which were censored by Bosnian politicians. What role in Bosnian historical politics was played by Srebrenica and the leader of Bosnian Muslims, Alija Izetbegović. The results of these studies indicate that it was primarily the conflict in Yugoslavia that contributed to the revival of Ottoman traditions among Bosnian Muslims. Only after the war did the historical policy gain institutional support and help the ruling party mobilize the electorate. Since then, the pillar of historical policy has become the martyrdom of the nation, the Ottoman past as well as the cult of the leader of Bosnian Muslims, Alija Izetbegović. Also, the authorities aimed to convince the inhabitants of Bosnia that in their lives the period of communist Yugoslavia brought many negative consequences. This pejorative image was supported in the mass media and education.

Bilateral relations between the Republic of Turkey and the individual successor states of former Yugoslavia differ, after thirty years since its dissolution, in form and in substance. While just after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Turkey managed to establish and sustain cordial ties with such countries as, for instance, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, relations with Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro) remained tense and the two countries perceived themselves, in the best case, as traditional opponents. The basic aim of this paper is to analyse the bilateral relations of these two states and Turkish foreign policy towards Serbia, a country currently perceived as a 'neighbour,' despite the fact that they do not share common border. The paper argues that rapprochement of two countries, so clearly visible in several dimensions after 2002, marks a new phase in Turkey's general foreign policy. The paper will trace the thirty-year evolution of bilateral contacts while arguing that the current positive relations have their source also in the domestic arena, both of Turkey and Serbia, which is willing to increase influence in the Western Balkans and institutionalise her international position. Thus, the two states for the first time share similar foreign policy goals. The whole analysis is theoretically anchored in the behavioural approach of the 'middle power' paradigm. An author-applied qualitative content analysis is the main research technique. The main sources are official documents, selected monographs, academic articles, and analytical reports.

(Anti)protagonists? Disability in the postwar Serbian proseThe Author made an attempt to the analysis of chosen works written by three Serbian writers: Ivo Andrić (The Bridge on the Drina), Miodrag Bulatović (The Red Rooster Flies Heavenwards) and Danilo Kiš (Garden, Ashes). Her purpose is to answer the question which is focused on the category of the antiprotagonist in the context of the disability studies. The Author is focused on the similarities in representations of the disability in the postwar Serbian prose. She shows also the necesserity of the connection between the disability studies and other research perspectives.
Keywords: disability, feminist criticism, madness, Serbian literature, Yugoslavia

The article shows the phenomenon of evolution of the Montenegro transformation subprocess in terms of progress in the implementation of EU law, Montenegro stands out from the other countries of the former Yugoslavia seeking to join the EU or Euro-Atlantic structures. Over the next ten years we will be able to talk about the intensified transition process, taking place in Montenegro. Six years from the beginning of accession negotiations, despite the actions taken and the implementation of new solutions, the reality shows that the inhabitants of the state still do not see any progress in its functioning. The change requires above all political will, which in the long-term will allow the implementation of well-established reforms and ensure their lasting results. In this case, regional cooperation will also have a great significance in Montenegro.

The Republic of Kosovo was created several years after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its problems were visible during Josip Broz Tito's presidency. Over the last ten years Kosovo has had two female presidents. The question is, what is the position of women on the Kosovan political scene? This phenomenon is particularly significant from the point of view of the post-conflict reconstruction of the state. The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of the role of Kosovo Albanian women in the politics of Kosovo at the central level. For this reason, the article includes women involved in the armed conflict in Kosovo, especially in the activities of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, alb. Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, UÇK). The author also presents the role of women in the Kosovan political arena since 1999, with particular emphasis on changes that took place after the declaration of independence of Kosovo. Furthermore, the author examines the profiles of selected female politicians. The article is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources, the comparative and historical method, and an analysis of statistical data.

The Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 divided the Greek society into allies of the monarchy and supporters of the Communist Party of the Greece-led Transitional Democratic Government of Free Greece. The military arm of the leftist center was the Democratic Army of Greece. Until some time, the communist forces were actively supported by the countries of the Eastern Bloc: Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. However, the Stalin-Tito conflict, which intensified from 1948 onwards, contributed to the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece, caused by the overwhelming military advantage of the monarchist forces. In mid-1949, a decision was made to evacuate partisan units and the civilian population that had been under their control to Albania. Also, Poland, a country that suffered greatly as a result of World War II, helped Greece. First, by providing food, military and medical equipment, and later by accepting over 13,000 children and adults, fighters and civilians from the areas covered by the war, all terribly tired of war and wandering. The group of migrants was organized from scratch, provided medical and social care, work, education, and access to culture. Migrations of people in search of shelter from conflicts, persecution, and poverty are not only a contemporary problem of the European Union. This article presents the reforms initiated by the government of the Polish People's Republic as a result of the escalation of the crisis in the Balkans. In Poland refugees from Greece found completely new living, civilization, cultural, geographical, and economic conditions. Gradually, they managed to settle in this foreign country. Today many of them are grateful to Poland for their help.