Politics

Restless Armenia: before and beyond Electric Yerevan

22/10/2015 -  Simone Zoppellaro Yerevan

Armenian citizens continue to show great vitality, now directed against constitutional reform projects. The story behind the "VOCH" protest movement

Kosovo: the Association of Serb Municipalities

02/09/2015 -  Violeta Hyseni Kelmendi Pristina

The Brussels deal between Serbia and Kosovo has been met both with enthusiasm and disappointment in the region

Croatia: the fascist legacy

03/09/2015 -  Sven Milekić Zagreb

An initiative advocating the use of the Ustaša salute ‘Ready for the homeland’ in the Croatian army has caused shock in the local public, indicating the persistence of a fascist legacy in Croatia

#ElectricYerevan: journalists targeted

29/06/2015 -  Simone Zoppellaro Yerevan

A rally in the Armenian capital against yet another electricity price increase triggers the police. Beatings, insults, and even violence against journalists

Ziya Pir, a vision on Turkey

06/07/2015 -  Dimitri Bettoni Diyarbakır

After a life in Germany, Ziya Pir decided to return to Diyarbakır and run for the political elections in the ranks of the HDP. His vision on Turkey

Gezi and the HDP: a wedding never celebrated

15/06/2015 -  Dimitri Bettoni Istanbul

What is the weight of the Gezi Park movement in the electoral success of the HDP at the political elections held in Turkey last June 7th? A comment

Vučić in Tirana: all together for... Germany!

08/06/2015 -  Nicola Pedrazzi

Serbia's Prime Minister paid a historic visit to Albania last week. Major disagreements remain, especially over Kosovo, but great cordiality was expressed. In the background, the need for collaboration on major infrastructure projects for the region

Macedonia: an exit strategy

22/05/2015 -  Ilcho Cvetanoski

In the aftermath of the Skopje rallies, internal talks supported by EU and US diplomacy are trying to draft an exit strategy to the crisis

Smear campaign against the Serbian Ombudsman

07/05/2015 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

Serbian Ombudsman Saša Janković has been under attack for months. A campaign orchestrated by government circles and the media close to them has been trying to denigrate both his function and his person. An analysis

Catholic Bosnia

30/04/2015 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini Sarajevo

The forthcoming visit of Pope Francis to Bosnia Herzegovina prompts comments and analyses on the issue of catholic identity in the Balkan country. Our interview to academic and mediaevalist Dubravko Lovrenović

Centenary of the Armenian genocide, Turkey remains divided

27/04/2015 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

Despite significant progress in recent years, Turkey is still struggling with an anniversary that marks a past yet to be overcome

Montenegro, the Swiss bank account of the Marović family

31/03/2015 -  Luka Zanoni

A recent investigation by investigative team OCCRP and NGO MANS revealed a secret Swiss account with $ 3.8 million payable to the wife of Svetozar Marović, one of the leaders of the ruling party. Interview with Vanja Ćalović, director of MANS

Azerbaijan’s Whitewash Summer Games

11/03/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

In June 2015, Baku will host the European Games. Human Rights watchdogs believe the international event will serve to whitewash the country’s deteriorating rights reputation

Choking up freedom in Azerbaijan

16/12/2014 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The arrest on spurious charges of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is being met by a disturbing silence of the international community, and shows there are no more boundaries for the Aliyev regime

A bitter government coalition in Kosovo

11/12/2014 -  Violeta Hyseni Kelmendi Pristina

After years of extreme hostility, PDK and LDK strike a power sharing deal creating a government which will have to tackle the huge unemployment problem, and make progress on the normalisation of relations with Belgrade

Kosovo: the court says that the court is legal

09/12/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Can the judges of the Constitutional Court in Kosovo take part in decisions on matters that affect them directly? Of course they can. A comment

Kosovo: looking for a Parliament

03/12/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

Kosovo's political crisis has been solved bypassing its democratic institutions, namely the Parliament, making the State weaker in the long term

Edi Rama, the insults on Serbian media

21/11/2014 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama mentioned Kosovo's independence during his historic visit to Belgrade. It was enough for Serbian media to start a smear campaign against him

The Kosovo progress report: no accountability, no future

22/10/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The decision to hand over the judicial system to domestic authorities, cutting Eulex’s mandate before its objectives were achieved, will not help Kosovo in the long term. Analysis of the recent EC report

Kosovo: the small coup d'état

15/10/2014 -  Lorenzo Andrea Capussela

These days local media claim that Kosovo's president is planning to dissolve the Assembly if the two opposing political sides will not find an agreement on the election of the Assembly president. For Andrea Lorenzo Capussela it would be a small coup d'état

Serbia: media in the storm

09/10/2014 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

The abolition of "Utisak Nedelje", a popular political talk show broadcast on B92 TV and directed by Olja Bećković, caused a true storm among Serbian journalists. But this is not the only programme gone missing from the schedules

SOS: Dispatches from Azerbaijan

08/10/2014 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The Caviar diplomacy continues to be successful. The alarm messages arriving form Azerbaijan on systematic violations of human rights in the country are constantly dropping into the void

Bosnia and Herzegovina, a rich country

09/10/2014 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini Sarajevo

After the enlargement stop set by President Juncker, some fear the risk of a Turkish scenario for the Western Balkans, i.e. negotiations that never end. Renzo Daviddi, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thinks different. Interview

The cats of a US constitutional judge in Kosovo

26/09/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

The US judge Robert Carolan, appointed by the ICO to serve in the Kosovo Constitutional Court, has withdrawn his recently announced resignations. Given his previous record, this may not be good news for the Kosovo judiciary

The remarkable but dangerous fantasy of Kosovo’s president

12/09/2014 -  Andrea Lorenzo Capussela

By illegally appointing three constitutional judges, the Kosovo president breached the constitution. If the EU delegation supported the president’s decision, it gave her bad advice

Turkey and Armenia: the threads of diplomacy

09/09/2014 -  Simone Zoppellaro Yerevan

Relations between Ankara and Yerevan have recently taken small steps towards a reconciliation all too long waited for. Yet, signals are still mixed, and the wound of genocide is still open

Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Plenums legacy

08/09/2014 -  Andrea De Noni

Seven months after the February protests, a political alternative to the forthcoming general elections is not in sight. However, activists believe the movement is sowing seeds

Predrag Pašić, football at the test of nationalism

01/08/2014 -  Rodolfo Toè Sarajevo

The story of Predrag Pašić, old glory of Yugoslav football, is the story of Sarajevo and Bubamara, a small football academy for children founded during the war. Now Bosnian politics is trying to delete this experience, but Pašić assures: "We will keep fighting"

A tale of three chairs

25/07/2014 -  Andrea De Noni Sarajevo

General elections will take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 12th. Candidates for the Presidency and House of Peoples will still need to identify as Serbs, Croats, or Bosniaks, in violation of the provisions of the European Court of Human Rights

Bulgaria, towards new early elections

22/07/2014 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Dysfunctional politics, institutional crisis, banking fever. This is the image of Bulgaria after last May's European vote. Our report