Publications

The current publication is a specific event, a type of its own in the row of writings about trade unionism in transition societies. It comes with a pretty engaging name - about trade unions and the 21century. Taken at face value one may expect that the book is a product of applying fashionable developmental concepts or highly celebrated organizational designs to the realities of trade unions and societies undergoing complex transformation processes. This is exactly what it is not about. This is a book derived from real life and aimed at the practical problems that the trade unions face in the process of “transition” to democratic societies and market economies in Eastern Europe. Inspired by the direct experience of living and working in the conditions of the same countries, the obvious aspiration of the author is to contribute to the efforts and discussions in the organizations to shape their understanding, structures and policy-making processes to mach the diverse and constantly changing context for operation. It addresses various kinds of issues, ranging from shop floor questions to national level systems building, from strategy formulation and developing structures and democratic procedures to their practical implementation on the ground.

Politics requires a clear sense of direction. Only those who are able to state their goals clearly will achieve them and inspire others. In light of that, in this Reader we would like to address the question of what social democracy means in the twenty-first century. What are its core values? What are its goals? How can it be put into practice? One thing is clear: social democracy is not predetermined or set in stone for all time, but must rather be constantly renegotiated and subject to democratic contestation. This volume will therefore not provide ready-made answers but rather seek to encourage further reading and reflection.

At the end of 2008, the then EU-Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, declared 2009 as the “Critical Year of the Balkans“. It remains to be seen if this prediction will come true, whether it is meant to be a warning or an offer, and to whom it has been directed. The “To-Do-List” for both the countries in the Balkans, as well as for the European Union ́s enlargement policy is long. The apparently endless period of transition and preparation for the accession into the EU has resulted in an increasing impatience and frustration on the side of the Balkans, whereas on the side of the European Union the question is asked more frequently these days why the political elites in the Balkans apparently lack the will and the capacity to overcome the legacies of the past and get their act together. The “Year of the Balkans 2009” shall probably be understood as an encouragement to both sides.

Obviously, none of the ex-communist countries of the European periphery could escape the great crisis. Regardless of their integration in global markets (such as Hungary) or their peripheral position (such as Serbia) - no macroeconomic plans, no market integration made them immune to the crisis.

According to Max Weber, political parties represent voluntary associations whose mail goal is to control the resources of the state (power, jobs, money) through their leaders. However, Weber notes that north and western Europe are a special case, where parties are constituted as "ethos communities" of which the German social democracy is a prime example.

In this issue we try to answer a few crucial questions on the future of regional cooperation and EU accession from four different standpoints (the Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian). How do the four mentioned states and their foreign policies accept the imperative of good neighborly cooperation as a condition for the accession processes.

Our partners at CDRSEE, with our support published this book series as a alternative method to teaching history in southeastern Europe. The History Education Committee of the Centre for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE) began work on the Joint History Project in 1999. After organising two series of workshops and presenting two publications (

Teaching the History of South Eastern Europe and Clio in the Balkans. The Politics of History

Education), the Committee was able to identify the specific deficiencies of historical education, the differing characteristics of educational systems, the role of central administrations, educators’ wishes and the scope for innovative initiatives.

Nations are one of the basic constituents of modern Europe and also of significant parts of the non-European world. Since the 19th century, the force of nationalist ideologies has shaped the actions of large groups of people and also the functioning of states. Southeast Europe is not an exception in this respect.