Materials

Macedonia's state of democracy

17/01/2013 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

In October 2012, the European Commission gave green light to Macedonia for the fourth time in a row to start the EU accession negotiations, still blocked by a Greek veto. But what is the real state of democracy in the country? Our correspondent takes us on a personal reflection on indicators rarely taken into account

Serbia: education, the market and democracy

17/01/2013 -  Federico Sicurella Belgrado

What principles should underpin Serbia's educational system from now to 2020? The answer lies in the Strategy for the Development of Education, recently adopted by the government. The document, however, does not appeal to many intellectuals denouncing it subjects education to nationalism and the market economy

Between Syria and Turkey: the Kurdish factor

17/01/2013 -  Alberto Tetta Ceylanpinar

In north-eastern Syria, a region with a Kurdish majority, the civil war becomes a clash between the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish-Syrian separatists of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). A report by our correspondent from the Turkish-Syrian border

Mustafa Akyol: the AKP is not too Islamic, but too Turkish

02/01/2013 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

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”

Shazalakazoo’s folk-step

28/12/2012 -  Gianluca Grossi

It is a sub-genre of the more popular turbo folk - and certainly a more elaborate one. It is called folk-step. Two of its greatest representatives are Shazalakazoo, a Belgrade-based electronic music duo

The natural washing machine

It has seven speeds and works without detergent. It can clean 5 heavy blankets in a few minutes. It 's the natural washing machine of Martin Brod, along the Una River, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A miracle which survived the war and is now protected by a Natural Park

In Şule Gürbüz's lost time

08/01/2013 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

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)

Kosovo: the return of Haradinaj and the "UCK government"

14/12/2012 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

With the acquittal at The Hague and Ramush Haradinaj's return on the political scene, in Kosovo there are open talks about a possible political alliance between the leader of AAK and current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci

Oluja crimes, a test for Croatian justice

10/12/2012 -  Drago Hedl Osijek

After the acquittal of generals Gotovina and Markač at the ICTY, the Croatian judiciary must demonstrate that they know how to judge the crimes committed by the Croatian side in the 90s, without the bias seen so far against the Serbs

Tell Europe to Europe

05/12/2012 -  Luisa Chiodi

Europe on the web, in cinemas, on the radio, in schools, universities and public events. For a whole year it is going to take the lead on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso. To respond to the crisis, with new force and ideality. An editorial