Publications

A crisis of democratic legitimacy has been building up in Southeast Europe for years, despite the best efforts of democracy promoters from within and beyond the region. Led by the EU, the international community prescribed a model of democratic and economic transition in the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars that they hoped would make the region both prosperous and stable. While significant progress has been achieved, informed observers understand also that Balkan leaders often pay mere lipservice to reform while actual democratic development is backsliding.

The democratic transition in Romania has been notably difficult. There are worrying signs that there is an authoritarian drift in society and the political system. If democracy is to last and be viable, Romania needs to rebuild its pluralistic and representative institutions. Will Romania join the nationalistic, conservative, and Eurosceptic Eastern bloc or will it be able to maintain its open, inclusive and pro-European perspective?

Our colleagues from FES Belgrade have prepared this important study on the challenges of integrating refugees in Serbia. Apart from the actual influx of refugees from the Middle East, in the coming years more intense migratory movements caused by political/security (war), economic (poverty, unemployment) or ecological (devastation of the environment) factors, can be expected.

The winter months were less calm than one might expect regarding political dynamics in Southeast Europe. As in the previous period, trends within and between countries have not lent much hope for positive change. Nationalist notions have remained prominent, as seen in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the public discourse was dominated by nativist narratives, or in the case of the relations between Serbia and Kosovo, where an attempt at symbolic politics followed well-known patterns of testing and provocation.

Elections and bilateral issues shaped Southeast Europe in November 2016. Election results in Bulgaria and Moldova raised concerns over a possible change in the geopolitical landscape. Potentially historic negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus suffered a setback without a breakthrough or concrete results.

In this period almost all of Southeastern Europe was witnessing numerous significant events and developments, such as snap elections in Croatia and general and local elections in Montenegro. At the same time, Macedonia started preparing for new elections while the talks about the reunification of Cyprus and also negotiations about the resolution of the Greek debt crisis continued. However, one event that above all others has the potential to have an impact on the security situation in the region was the referendum that was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska on September 25.

The overall situation in Southeast Europe has been deteriorating in terms of security and

political stability. This is primarily due to fallout from the 15 July attempted coup in Turkey, which has had repercussions almost everywhere in the region, but also because of a deterioration in relations between Croatia and Serbia.

Peace and stability initiatives represent a decades-long cornerstone of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s work in southeastern Europe. Recent events have only reaffirmed the centrality of Southeast European stability with-in the broader continental security paradigm.