Publications

The benchmark applicable to numerous aspects of media law and policy at the national level is mainly set by the standards which can be derived from binding legal requirements and additional instruments issued at the Council of Europe as well as adopted by the European Union. In this respect, the present analysis titled “European Media Law and Policy Framework” forms an integral component of the study “The Media in South-East Europe”. The Friedrich Ebert Foundation – Regional Project South-East Europe has commissioned the Institute of European Media Law to conduct this study which should not only explore the market and legal conditions of the media sector in the countries concerned, but also identify suitable remedies that could be suggested…

With the end of socialism, South East European societies experienced a most dramatic increase in poverty and socio-economic inequality. Some might have hoped that the transition from the generalized inefficiency of bureaucratic socialism to Western-style capitalist market economies would bring Western-style mass prosperity to South Eastern Europe, but the actual experience of social polarization prove the opposite.It is much less clear how social inclusion can be re-established in economies that have productive employment only for a reduced part of the country’s work force and in states that no longer are able to appropriate and redistribute much of the national product. On the other hand, the protracted existence of large-scale social…

When the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung started its regional project in South-Eastern Europe in the year 2000, one issue was at the top of the agenda – the social dimension of the post-Yugoslav and post-war transition process. Neglected by many, the social consequences of war as well as the weaknesses inherited from the past represented a serious threat not only to the citizens of the region but also to all ambitions of the International Community to appease and stabilize South-Eastern Europe – it constituted a veritable threat to peace. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, which draws its foundations from the traditions and values of social democracy, chose to highlight the need that economic and political transition has to go hand in hand with social…

"The Albanian Youth 2011" is a novel study trying to shed light on the Albanian youth stances vis-à-vis the current Albanian society values. This publication is an initiative of the German "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation (FES), supported by German and Albanian professors. It is special in its kind as it aims at providing a general reflection of the stances of Albanian youth on certain issues like the family, religion, society, education, employment, leisure time or their views on Albania’s relationship with other regional and EU countries. The study is a testimony of the youth representation level vis-à-vis international development and changes undergone by the Albanian society.

After the successful research projects “Bulgaria in Europe and the World” and “Europe Looks to the East: Тhe Eastern Partnership One Year Later”, the Centre for European and International Studies (CEIS), together with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bulgaria and Kristian Vigenin, MEP and Head of the PES Western Balkans Task Force, launched “Western Balkans’ Accession to the European Union: Mission (Im)Possible”. The goal of this project was to give the opportunity to students and young professionals to research the long process of accession of the Western Balkans to the European Union. We chose to research this specific topic, because often our politicians are tangled in petty domestic issues or deliver grand speeches on global problems,…

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1.12.2009 was hailed as a milestone of the European Union, ending almost a decade of discussions and putting the Union on a firmer institutional basis. And also where the enlargement of the Union to South Eastern Europe is concerned significant decisions have been pushed through by the outgoing commission in its final months, which can bring a positive impetus to the process.

According to Max Weber, political parties are voluntary associations whose supreme goal is to control the resources of the state (power, jobs, money) through their leaders. However, Weber considered northern and western Europe to constitute a special case: here – and only here – parties have formed as »wertrationale Gesinnungsgemeinschaften« or associations based on convictions, rationally oriented to absolute values, of which German social democracy is the outstanding example. The principal aim of control of state resources is subject to certain restrictions for such parties: this can be a legitimate aim only if the convictions which the party represents are not violated or betrayed. Because these parties are not willing to get hold of…

With the end of socialism, South-East European societies experienced a most dramatic increase in poverty and socio-economic inequality. Sloveniawas the only country that escaped this generalized societal trauma. In the other countries that emerged out of the former Yugoslavia, the secession wars with their damaging effects on regular production and trade added to the impoverishment of large parts of the population (while enriching a few). Some might have hoped that the transition from the generalized inefficiency of bureaucratic socialism to Western-style capitalist market economies would bring Western-style mass prosperity to South- Eastern Europe, but the actual experience of social polarization followed a compelling logic. It is readily…