During more than a decade in power, prime minister Recep Tayyp Erdoğan has implemented important reforms, yet he hasn't done enough to tackle the deepest flaw rooted in Turkey’s republican legacy: the authoritarian reflex built into the system of governance. "Turkey after Taksim", in Dimitar Bechev's comment for OBC
Next July 1st, Croatia enters the European Union. A historic moment, a step away from the tragedies of the 90s and a hope for the future. We met and interviewed Croatian president Ivo Josipović
The migratory flow from Romania to other European countries has left behind hundreds of thousands of children, who are experiencing a “transnational childhood”. The phenomenon is particularly intense in the Romanian Moldova
On July 1st, Croatia becomes the 28th member of the EU. According to Professor Dejan Jović, adviser to president Ivo Josipović, while the country's political and economic elite celebrates, the public opinion shows indifference and does not hide some fear
In Belgrade, the building that housed one of the first Nazi concentration camps in Eastern Europe will be razed to the ground. Its place will be taken by a shopping centre. The protests of the citizens
Ten days ago we asked two experts, Joost Lagendijk and Renate Sommer, to start our online debate on the issue of Turkish integration in the EU. The revolt which started in the same period in Turkey seems now to open new political and social scenarios. Today we publish the final papers of our experts and invite readers to express their opinion
Funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, three students from the United States and Gibraltar are researching and recording traditional music in the South Caucasus to make it available online
We arrived at the halfway point of our online debate on Turkey and Europe. Fazıla Mat sums up the situation and argues that Europe should be seen as something more than a financial market. Go to the live-debate
For the first time in 10 years, Bosnia and Herzegovina will take part to the Venice Biennale with its own national Pavilion. Mladen Miljanović is the artist who will represent the country
Friends and family members have placed a memorial stone on the site where three Italian pacifists, Guido Puletti, Sergio Lana and Fabio Moreni, were murdered on May 29 twenty years ago while carrying aid to the Bosnian population
Trabzon is a millennial hub of trade and passage. Within its maze of streets stands the church of Aghia Sophia, whose fate is currently at stake as that of its more famous namesake in Istanbul
The legendary singer, first Turkish female artist to have written lyrics and music to her own songs, has also made herself known for her care for human rights
After having escaped an operation by the Bosnian police, Naser Keljmendi was arrested in Kosovo on May 5th. He is accused of murder, drug trafficking and allegedly runs networks extended throughout the Balkans
Elva is a platform developed in Georgia that allows to easily receive feedback from local communities via SMS. Successfully used to map local needs along the ABL with South Ossetia, it could soon be used elsewhere
The EU should be unambiguous about the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Albania, taking a joint position spelling out concretely what are the red lines that must not be crossed. An inteview with ESI chairman Gerald Knaus
