Politics

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

Big international agencies have paved the way with ad hoc funds, followed by institutional initiatives en route to EU integration. An overview of the process of regionalisation in Serbia

Religion, education, politics. Observations on some recent events in the Bosnian news, a few weeks before the activities scheduled to remind Europe and the world of the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo and the war in Bosnia Herzegovina

Azerbaijan's authorities have intensified their efforts to improve the country's image abroad, hiring PR companies and lobbyists around Europe to burnish its image. Lavish business meetings and events ostensibly dedicated to culture are meant to boost the country's image abroad and make people forget about democratic shortcomings and human rights violations at home

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

Two years ago, in February of 2010, Magomedsalam Magomedov became the President of Dagestan. His appointment was accompanied by the hope that this successful entrepreneur, young and educated, could bring actual change to the Caucasian Republic. A hope that was widely thwarted, leading to previously unseen street demonstrations and spelling out of the strong desire for social dialog that characterizes today’s Dagestan

In December's parliamentary elections, Putin's "United Russia" party obtained 99.48% of votes in Chechnya. Sceptics attributed this result – a record for the whole Russia – to a massive use of administrative resources. However, the wonders of Chechen arithmetic do not stop here: President Kadyrov anticipated that Putin would get 150% of Chechen votes at March's presidential elections

The referendum organised by four Serbian municipalities in North Kosovo riaffirmed their refusal to accept Pristina's authority. As expected, the vote was rejected by the Kosovo government and international authorities. But the referendum marks a turning point in the relationship between North Kosovo and Belgrade, which opposed it fearing repercussions on its EU integration process

On January 11 EULEX dimissed all the corruption charges against Hashim Rexhepi, former governor of the Central Bank of Kosovo. Rexhepi's case, however, unearthed serious concernes about the EU Mission's administration of justice. An editorial by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela, former Director of ICO's Economics Unit

After 20 years of Igor Smirnov's authoritarian rule in this de facto independent territory within the internationally recognised borders of Moldova, Yevgeny Shevchuk became the new head of Transnistria. Over 200,000 citizens showed up at elections to vote against Smirnov, who had a falling out with Russia over allegations of financial frauds

Zoran Milanović's new executive is facing one of Croatia's most economically difficult periods, in its fourth consecutive year of recession. While taxes and contributions increase, Zagreb is thinking of attracting investors from the Middle East

Side notes to the agreement that allowed for the formation of a new government in Bosnia. The role of the High Representative, the position of the social-democratic party and the true dividing lines crossing Bosnian society

As a litmus test, the recent election campaign in Bulgaria brought to light the problematic relationship between media and power in the country. The Bulgarian information system shows serious and structural problems: lack of transparency on properties, centralisation of newspapers, economic and political pressure on journalists. In recent years the situation has been getting worse

Kosovo is building a four-lane highway to connect the country with Albania: it will cost one billion Euro, 25% of Kosovo's 2010 budget. According to Andrea Capussela, former Head of the ICO economics unit, the project is financially unsustainable, marked by non-transparent procurement procedures and may end up sending the country into bankruptcy

Thanks to its energy resources, Azerbaijan experienced for years one of the world’s highest GDP growth rates (+35% in 2006). A sovereign fund was established to manage these windfall revenues. International initiatives in favour of transparency keep an eye on the country’s main oil and gas company. Yet, opacity and corruption seem to be in the lead when oil wealth is spent rather than when it is accumulated

The conflict over the control of Northern Kosovo is at dead end, though technical negotiations between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians have resumed in Bruxelles. Mitrovica Serbs, set against Pristina, Kfor and Eulex, now feel increasingly isolated also from Belgrade

While former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader faces trial on corruption charges, further evidence emerges on the wrongdoings of the ruling party HDZ, whose popularity is at an all-time low. Political analysts believe the center-left has already won the elections, scheduled for next December 4^th

Those interested in Georgia's politics have not been talking about anything else. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in Georgia (185^th in the world), had been leading a private life until recently. But in early October he announced his entry into politics, challenging the government and opposition

On 15 October, indignados were also demonstrating in Croatian streets. It was a significant event, because Croatians have hardly ever expressed their discontent through public protests. This is an interview with one of the organisers

As a member of OSCE and the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has made specific commitments to protect freedom of expression – but the current government does not always respect these obligations. International governmental and non-governmental organisations support several projects to improve freedom of expression, especially as regards the media. Yet, oil and gas make Baku increasingly resistant to criticism.

Life in contemporary Chechnya cannot be subsumed under any one stereotype. The mix of Russian constitution, despotism, and sharia makes it virtually impossible to understand the rules of the game in this republic that is officially part of the Russian Federation. Stories from the “Kadyrov system” told by Majnat Kurbanova

In Macedonia, the census planned for October has officially been cancelled. The fiasco came as a result of increasing tensions between the two major partners in the government, the VMRO led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the DUI of Ali Ahmeti. Assessing the number of citizens (and the weight of the different ethnic communities) in Macedonia is a sensitive and highly politicized issue

After the centre-left government led by Borut Pahor resigned, Slovenia’s political destiny appeared to be doomed to a turn to the right. Former Prime Minister Janez Janša was considered likely to win the next early elections, due to take place on 4 December. However, things have recently taken a dramatic turn

A border dispute over a small village near the ski resorts where the winter Olympics of Sochi 2014 are set to take place has caused some skirmishes between Moscow and the de facto authorities of Sukhumi

Serbs in the North of Kosovo are on the barricades again, after Eulex and Kosovo customs officers took control of the administrative crossings with central Serbia. Persons and goods now pass infrequently and only via alternative routes. Tension rises and effective international mediation is lacking

The Republic of Macedonia has recently celebrated its 20^th anniversary. So far, the country has succeeded as a multicultural democracy. However, many challenges are yet to come and the name dispute with Greece is still keeping Skopje distant from the EU

The Republic of Moldova's 20th Birthday. The celebrations, organized by the Government of Chişinău, involved a military parade and a get together of the five Presidents elected in these last twenty years. The current picture is not the most positive: the country remains bogged down in the Transnistria territorial dispute and its European perspectives are still fragile

Acting President Aleksandr Ankvab won the 26th of August elections in the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia. The reactions in Moscow, the statement of the new President on the future relations with Georgia

The city centre of Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, has seen plenty of resident evictions and demolitions of old buildings lately, as developers clear paths for luxury real estate projects and fancy new boulevards. Although the demolition of the premises of several local NGOs raised criticism from international observers, it does not appear city authorities have any will to change their approach to urban planning