Interviews

Epic songs of the Balkans have often been key in the construction of controversial nationalist ideas. In fact, they sing a common history

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

For ten years Alban Muja of Kosovo has been doing research into the names of towns, places and people; at the moment he has an exhibition in the centre of Tirana in a small gallery called “the fly”

“Challenging Homophobia” is the title of the first European project for the protection and promotion of the rights of LGBT people in Kosovo.It was started to support a growing LGBT community, but has been intimidated by violent episodes tolerated by the institutions. Simon Maljevac from the organization Legebitra is one of the promoters of this initiative

Being a journalist in Albania is a difficult job. So tells us Axel Kronholm, a Finnish journalist who devoted his dissertation to press freedom in the country

In 2010, Turkey and Israel froze bilateral ties following the attack to the Mavi Marmara ship. The dialogue between the two Countries, however, has never stopped

For the first time in the recent history of Albania, extreme nationalism has political representation: the Red and Black Alliance. An interview with anthropologist Armanda Kodra

Alisa Ganieva, a Dagestani writer, is the author of "Salam, Dalgat". Active in the Russian literary scene, Ganieva tries to overcome mutual stereotyping between Russians and people from the North Caucasus. In her new novel, she imagines what would happen if the Caucasus suddenly separated from Russia. An interview

She's not a hermit, though in other times she could have been. Her job is not in keeping with the times: she repairs the clocks in the Ottoman palaces. Şule Gürbüz is the only woman in the world to be an expert in mechanical clocks and author of two collections of stories which are small jewels of contemporary Turkish literature: Zamanin Farkinda (Aware of time, 2011) and Coskuyla Olmek (Die enthusiastically, 2012)

After ten years in power in Turkey, Erdoğan's AKP still has a reformist potential, but is becoming increasingly intolerant and confrontational. The issue, according to political commentator Mustafa Akyol, has more to do with the political tradition of authoritarian power in Turkey, than with the party's supposed “Islamic agenda”

Bosnia and Herzegovina is today an ungovernable country where institutions are blocked, power is shared at the citizens' expenses, and democracy itself is in danger. The view of journalist and political analyst Almir Terzić

Montenegro: a country that has not seen a change of government for 23 years, stifled by corruption and organized crime. This is what Vanja Ćalović, director of MANS (Network for the affirmation of the non-governmental sector), struggles to change. The elections of October 14^th have opened up spaces for hope, but much more needs to be done, including by the EU. Our interview

In Azerbaijan, the hydrocarbon, oil, and gas extraction industry continues to represent the lion's share of the economy. Yet, according to economist Vugar Bayramov, director of the Centre for Economic and Social Development, the mismanagement of profits and the lack of a development strategy for other sectors are likely to create imbalances in the country's economy. Our interview

Sarajevo, 20 years after the siege. The famous Bosnian poet and writer talks about a city that for centuries has symbolized the encounter of faiths, nations, and cultures

Crises are painful, but they must be an opportunity for change. Yet in Greece, says economic analyst Janos Manolopoulos, this has not happened. Athens' political and economic leaders navigate at sight, unable to rethink the country's future

Croatia is on the so-called Balkan route of migration that runs from Serbia to the countries of the EU. How does the country, soon to become the 28^th Member State of the Union, deal with migration issues? We have asked Julija Kranjec, expert in asylum and migration policy of the Centre for Peace Studies in Zagreb

Known in Turkey for their investigations on the "deep state", Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener have been arrested in 2011, accused of being part of the"Ergenekon" terrorist organization, the same they contributed to expose. A case that soon became a symbol untransparent sides of the investigation. OBC met them in Cyprus, a few weeks after their release

In March 20 years ago, after the victory for the affirmative vote in a referendum abandoned by the majority of the Bosnian Serbs, Bosnia Herzegovina declared its independence. A month later the war began. Here are some observations of Jovan Divjak on the twenty-year period

Weeks of street demonstrations in Romania, where citizens have rarely protested against the “power”. We have discussed it with Vintila Mihailescu, an anthropologist amongst the most lucid intellectuals in Romania

Martin Čotar is a former professional cyclist. Since throwing in the towel he has continued to follow the cycling world, in further developing Istria's potential in cycle tourism

Mustafa provides the accommodation, Agim is the guide. Both strongly believe that the Rugova Valley has all the right credentials to soon become an exceptional destination in Kosovo for outdoor activity tourism

Muhammed Gafić is one of the most famous Bosnian mountaineers of all time. His long journey began from the Mountain of Romanija, near Sarajevo

Dinno Kassalo is a Bosnian documentary film-maker who has produced many works on wildlife in Bosnia Herzegovina. Together with a team of mountaineers, in 2000 he made “Expedition Rakitnica”, the first film ever to be shot inside the Rakitnica canyon. Our interview

Fatih Pınar is a photographer and an experimenter. He tells stories about daily life, transformation and urbanization in his country, Turkey. His work consists of meticulous photographic reportage with short embedded videos, never forgetting the duty of the news reporter: reporting the truth. An interview

Despite the tragic experience of the 1979 earthquake and a signature on the Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea by a country which defines itself an “Ecological State”, the Montenegro town of Budva risks being buried under cement. One after another planning regulations are leading to the model of Vancouver, “the city of towers”. Citizens' petitions are of no avail against rampant corruption

Without a common European position on the status of Kosovo, EULEX judges face many challenges and paradoxes: every single judge, for example, must choose whether or not to apply the laws passed in Pristina's parliament. We have spoken to Dragomir Yordanov, a Bulgarian judge, who worked for EULEX from the deployment of the mission till the spring of 2011

After Erdogan's victory in the elections of 12 June, Turkey is entering a difficult and important constitutional-reform process. We talked with the analyst Dimitar Bechev of the European Council on Foreign Relations

Now that Ratko Mladić has been arrested and extradited to the Hague, Serbia needs to come to terms with a history the country has not yet dared to deal with. An interview with Nataša Kandić, director of Belgrade's Humanitarian Law Centre

At the beginning of April, through the pages of the British daily 'The Guardian', he expressed very explicit criticism of the work of the European mission and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo. A point of view to be kept in mind, considering that Andrea Lorenzo Capussela worked in Kosovo, until Spring 2011 precisely for ICO. Our interview

The political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country's European path and the attempts at much-needed constitutional reform. Our interview with Paola Pampaloni, Head of the BiH Unit of the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate