DOCSLIB.ORG

Albania's Counter-Terrorism Policy Options: Finding a Strategy of Common Sense

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2004-06 Albania's counter-terrorism policy options: finding a strategy of common sense Gjiknuri, Damian Monterey California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1208 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS ALBANIA’S COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY OPTIONS: FINDING A STRATEGY OF COMMON SENSE by Damian Gjiknuri June 2004 Thesis Advisor: Paul Pitman Second Reader: Douglas Porch Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2004 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Albania’s Counter-terrorism Policy Options: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Finding a Strategy of Common Sense 6. AUTHOR - Damian Gjiknuri 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT: This research will assess the counter-terrorism policy options available to Albanian authorities. As part of this investigation, it will consider the nature of the terrorism threat, review the counter-terrorism policies that have been pursued in the past, and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the current policy. These elements will provide background for an analysis of the available policy models on the basis of four main criteria: 1) political feasibility; 2) legal and constitutional constraints; 3) foreign policy objectives and 4) effectiveness. The state policy options this study will analyze can be placed under four broad categories: a) deterrence through hard line measures including military operation and emergency powers; b) co-option and conciliation; c) pursuit of sanctuary or a passive policy; or d) deterrence via criminal justice. All these options might be plausibly implemented by Albania; indeed they have been used at different times in different countries. The working hypothesis of this investigation is that a policy based mainly on deterrence through criminal justice will be the most effective way to counter the internal threats that Albania faces while improving the country’s international standing. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Terrorism, Albania, the Balkans, counter-terrorism policy, Islamists, national-extremism, organized PAGES 128 crime, criminal justice. 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited ALBANIA’S COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY OPTIONS: FINDING A STRATEGY OF COMMON SENSE Damian Gjiknuri Civilian, Ministry of Defense of Albania Law Degree, University of Tirana, 1994 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2004 Author: Damian Gjiknuri Approved by: Paul Pitman Thesis Advisor Douglas Porch Second Reader James J. Wirtz Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This research will assess the counter-terrorism policy options available to Albanian authorities. As part of this investigation, it will consider the nature of the terrorism threat, review the counter-terrorism policies that have been pursued in the past, and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the current policy. These elements will provide background for an analysis of the available policy models on the basis of four main criteria: 1) political feasibility; 2) legal and constitutional constraints; 3) foreign policy objectives and 4) effectiveness. The state policy options this study will analyze can be placed under four broad categories: a) deterrence through hard line measures including military operation and emergency powers; b) co-option and conciliation; c) pursuit of sanctuary or a passive policy; or d) deterrence via criminal justice. All these options might be plausibly implemented by Albania; indeed they have been used at different times in different countries. The working hypothesis of this investigation is that a policy based mainly on deterrence through criminal justice will be the most effective way to counter the internal threats that Albania faces while improving the country’s international standing. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE .............................................................................1 B. ORGANIZATION ...........................................................................................3 C. DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................4 II. THREAT ASSESSMENT ...........................................................................................7 A. POST-COMMUNIST ENVIRONMENT ......................................................7 B. ISLAMISTS....................................................................................................10 1. Rebirth of Islam .................................................................................10 2. Islamic Humanitarian Relief and its Dual Purpose........................14 3. Terror Connections............................................................................17 4. Islamic Fundamentalism in Prospective ..........................................24 C. NATIONALIST EXTREMISM ..................................................................26 1. The “Dream of a Greater Albania”..................................................27 2. Albanian National Army (ANA).......................................................32 3. Threat Level .......................................................................................35 D. ORGANIZED CRIME ..................................................................................37 1. The growth of Albanian Organized Crime......................................38 2. Present Status: Organization, International Links and Power .....40 3. The Threat of Organized Crime.......................................................43 III. ALBANIA'S COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY SINCE 1992..........................49 A. CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL POSTURE........................49 B. EVOLUTION OF ALBANIA’S ANTI-TERRORISM POLICY..............51 1. Sanctuary Phase 1992-1998..............................................................51 2. Reactionary Phase..............................................................................53 C. ANALYZING THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT ACTION PLAN .......56 IV. ANALYSES OF THE COUNTER- TERRORISM POLICY MODELS ............61 B. CONCILIATION POLICY .........................................................................69 C. "SANCTUARY DOCTRINE" LEADING TO A PASSIVE POLICY....73 D. CRIMINAL JUSTICE APPROACH...........................................................76 V. IMPLEMENTING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MODEL ...................................83 A. THE ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE ..............................................................83 B. THE ROLE OF THE POLICE ....................................................................86 C. THE ROLE OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM...............................................87 D. LEGISLATIVE REFORM ...........................................................................89 E. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ........................................................91 VI. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................95 A. MAJOR FINDINGS ......................................................................................95 B. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE........97 C. FUTURE RESEARCH..................................................................................98 vii APPENDIX – A. UNITED NATIONS CONVENTIONS ON TERRORISM RATIFIED BY ALBANIA......................................................................................101 APPENDIX – B.
Recommended publications
  • Palacký University Olomouc ANGLOPHONE CONFERENCE 26

    Palacký University Olomouc ANGLOPHONE CONFERENCE 26

    The publication of this volume was generously supported and completed within the Specific researched project 2119, “Teaching Performing, Performing Teaching,” funded by the Faculty of Education, University of Hradec Králové. Vol. 6 HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ No. 1 JOURNAL 2019 OF ANGLOPHONE STUDIES Volume’s editor: Jan Suk Original illustrations: Ivan Mečl Published: Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Education University of Hradec Králové Rokitanského 62 500 03 Hradec Králové Czech Republic Print: Tiskárna Brázda, Hodonín Web: pdf.uhk.cz/hkjas/ ISSN: 2336-3347 (Print) ISSN: 2571-032X (Online) Editorial Board Bohuslav Mánek, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Helena Polehlová, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Editor in Chief Jan Suk, University of Hradec Kralové, Czech Republic Volume’s Guest Editors Cyrielle Garson, Avignon University, France Daniel Schulze, Theater Konstanz, Germany Advisory Board Blanka Babická, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic Šárka Bubíková, University of Pardubice, Czech Republic Richard Burt, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA Yilin Chen, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan Jan Comorek, Charles University, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Milada Franková, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic Jana Harťanská, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia Kacie Hittel Tam, University of Georgia, Athens, USA Mirka Horová, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Vladimíra Ježdíková, University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Ema Jelínková, Palacký University
  • Albanian Families' History and Heritage Making at the Crossroads of New

    Albanian Families' History and Heritage Making at the Crossroads of New

    Voicing the stories of the excluded: Albanian families’ history and heritage making at the crossroads of new and old homes Eleni Vomvyla UCL Institute of Archaeology Thesis submitted for the award of Doctor in Philosophy in Cultural Heritage 2013 Declaration of originality I, Eleni Vomvyla confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature 2 To the five Albanian families for opening their homes and sharing their stories with me. 3 Abstract My research explores the dialectical relationship between identity and the conceptualisation/creation of history and heritage in migration by studying a socially excluded group in Greece, that of Albanian families. Even though the Albanian community has more than twenty years of presence in the country, its stories, often invested with otherness, remain hidden in the Greek ‘mono-cultural’ landscape. In opposition to these stigmatising discourses, my study draws on movements democratising the past and calling for engagements from below by endorsing the socially constructed nature of identity and the denationalisation of memory. A nine-month fieldwork with five Albanian families took place in their domestic and neighbourhood settings in the areas of Athens and Piraeus. Based on critical ethnography, data collection was derived from participant observation, conversational interviews and participatory techniques. From an individual and family group point of view the notion of habitus led to diverse conceptions of ethnic identity, taking transnational dimensions in families’ literal and metaphorical back- and-forth movements between Greece and Albania.
  • How New Is New Loyalism?

    How New Is New Loyalism?

    HOW NEW IS NEW LOYALISM? CATHERINE MCGLYNN EUROPEAN STUDIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD SALFORD, UK Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, February 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Page 1 Chapter One Hypothesis and Methodology Page 6 Chapter Two Literature Review: Unionism, Loyalism, Page 18 New Loyalism Chapter Three A Civic Loyalism? Page 50 Chapter Four The Roots of New Loyalism 1966-1982 Page 110 Chapter Five New Loyalism and the Peace Process Page 168 Chapter Six New Loyalism and the Progressive Page 205 Unionist Party Chapter Seven Conclusion: How New is New Loyalism? Page 279 Bibliography Page 294 ABBREVIATONS CLMC Combined Loyalist Military Command DENI Department of Education for Northern Ireland DUP Democratic Unionist Party IOO Independent Orange Order IRA Irish Republican Army LAW Loyalist Association of Workers LVF Loyalist Volunteer Force NICRA Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association NIHE Northern Ireland Housing Executive NILP Northern Ireland Labour Party PUP Progressive Unionist Party RHC Red Hand Commandos RHD Red Hand Defenders SDLP Social Democratic and Labour Party UDA Ulster Defence Association UDP Ulster Democratic Party UDLP Ulster Democratic and Loyalist Party UFF Ulster Freedom Fighters UUP Ulster Unionist Party UUUC United Ulster Unionist Council UWC Ulster Workers' Council UVF Ulster Volunteer Force VPP Volunteer Political Party ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my PhD supervisor, Jonathan Tonge for all his support during my time at Salford University. I am also grateful to all the staff at the Northern Irish Political collection at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast for their help and advice.
  • Behind Stone Walls

    Behind Stone Walls

    BEHIND STONE WALLS CHANGING HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZATION AMONG THE ALBANIANS OF KOSOVA by Berit Backer Edited by Robert Elsie and Antonia Young, with an introduction and photographs by Ann Christine Eek Dukagjini Balkan Books, Peja 2003 1 This book is dedicated to Hajria, Miradia, Mirusha and Rabia – girls who shocked the village by going to school. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Berita - the Norwegian Friend of the Albanians, by Ann Christine Eek BEHIND STONE WALLS Acknowledgement 1. INTRODUCTION Family and household Family – types, stages, forms Demographic processes in Isniq Fieldwork Data collection 2. ISNIQ: A VILLAGE AND ITS FAMILIES Once upon a time Going to Isniq Kosova First impressions Education Sources of income and professions Traditional adaptation The household: distribution in space Household organization Household structure Positions in the household The household as an economic unit 3. CONJECTURING ABOUT AN ETHNOGRAPHIC PAST Ashtu është ligji – such are the rules The so-called Albanian tribal society The fis The bajrak Economic conditions Land, labour and surplus in Isniq The political economy of the patriarchal family or the patriarchal mode of reproduction 3 4. RELATIONS OF BLOOD, MILK AND PARTY MEMBERSHIP The traditional social structure: blood The branch of milk – the female negative of male positive structure Crossing family boundaries – male and female interaction Dajet - mother’s brother in Kosova The formal political organization Pleqësia again Division of power between partia and pleqësia The patriarchal triangle 5. A LOAF ONCE BROKEN CANNOT BE PUT TOGETHER The process of the split Reactions to division in the family Love and marriage The phenomenon of Sworn Virgins and the future of sex roles Glossary of Albanian terms used in this book Bibliography Photos by Ann Christine Eek 4 PREFACE ‘Behind Stone Walls’ is a sociological, or more specifically, a social anthropological study of traditional Albanian society.
  • Pasts, Futures, and Connections Between Scotland, Ulster,1 and Ireland: a Critique of Some Historiographical Tendencies

    Pasts, Futures, and Connections Between Scotland, Ulster,1 and Ireland: a Critique of Some Historiographical Tendencies

    G. K. Peatling IRSS 32 (2007) 33 Pasts, Futures, and Connections between Scotland, Ulster,1 and Ireland: a critique of some historiographical tendencies G. K.Peatling* The diversity of historical interactions between Scotland and modern Ireland, especially Northern Ireland, is not in doubt. But the nature and effect of the paramount Scottish influences upon Northern Ireland are disputed. That there are also cognate disputes pertaining to the future of Northern Ireland, and the likely future of relations between Scotland and Northern Ireland, raises fundamental questions as to the purpose of academic study of such historical questions. Even scholarly depictions of the past of Scottish-Irish connections may make implicit assumptions about how the legacy of these connections may impede or nurture certain future developments in both locations. To offer any such depiction may thus be to make political recommendations on some fiercely contested present controversies, such as the likely political future of these constituent nations or regions of the British Isles or north Atlantic archipelago. This paper reviews perceptions of likely futures of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland which historically-informed commentators have advanced, identifying four strands in such analyses. Because none of these perceptions are entirely sound, this essay is partly an illustration of the seductive, and at times delusive, attraction of historical and political parallels and analogies. Significantly however, a common deficiency in such analyses lies in exaggerations of the significance of connections, parallels and affinities between Northern Ireland (or Ireland) and Scotland. Armed thus with a caution as to the errors that such overstatements may produce, this paper offers its own estimates * Dr Gary Peatling is Lecturer in European/British History at the University of Plymouth.
  • UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations

    UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations

    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Party Politics of Political Decentralization Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jw6f00k Author Wainfan, Kathryn Tanya Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Party Politics of Political Decentralization A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Kathryn Tanya Wainfan 2018 c Copyright by Kathryn Tanya Wainfan 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Party Politics of Political Decentralization by Kathryn Tanya Wainfan Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Michael F. Thies, Chair In this dissertation, I ask why certain types of parties would agree to support creating or empowering sub-national governments. In particular, I focus on nationalized parties { those that gain support from throughout a country. Political decentralization can negatively impact nationalized parties in at least two ways. First, it reduces the amount of power a party can enjoy should it win control of the national-level government. Second, previous studies show that political decentralization can increase party denationalization, meaning regional parties gain more support, even during national-level elections. I argue that nationalized parties may support decentralization when doing so reduces the ideological conflicts over national-level policy among voters whose support they seek. By altering political institutions, a party may be able to accommodate differing policy prefer- ences in different parts of the country, or limit the damage to the party's electoral fortunes such differences could create.
  • Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC Kosovo Appeal Funds Phases I and II, April 1999 – January 2000

    Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC Kosovo Appeal Funds Phases I and II, April 1999 – January 2000

    Independent Evaluation of Expenditure of DEC Kosovo Appeal Funds Phases I and II, April 1999 – January 2000 Volume III Peter Wiles Mark Bradbury Manuela Mece Margie Buchanan-Smith Nicola Norman Steve Collins Ana Prodanovic John Cosgrave Jane Shackman Alistair Hallam Fiona Watson Overseas Development Institute In association with Valid International August 2000 ,QGHSHQGHQW(YDOXDWLRQRI([SHQGLWXUH RI'(&.RVRYR$SSHDO)XQGV 3KDVHV,DQG,,$SULO¤-DQXDU\ 7KHHYDOXDWLRQFRQVLVWVRIWKUHHYROXPHVRIZKLFKWKLVLVWKHWKLUG 9ROXPH,0DLQ)LQGLQJVRIWKH(YDOXDWLRQ 9ROXPH,,6HFWRUDO6HFWLRQV LQFOXGLQJDVHFWLRQRQ:DU$IIHFWHG 3RSXODWLRQVDQG%HQHILFLDULHV 9ROXPH,,,,QGLYLGXDO'(&$JHQF\6XPPDULHV Overseas Development Institute :HVWPLQVWHU %ULGJH 5RDG /RQGRQ 6( -' 7HO )D[ (PDLO KSJ#RGLRUJXN :HEVLWH ZZZRGLRUJXN *UHDW 3RUWODQG 6WUHHW /RQGRQ :1 $+ 7HO )D[ )XUWKHUGHWDLOVDERXWWKLVHYDOXDWLRQFDQEHIRXQGRQWKH'(&ZHEVLWHDW ZZZGHFRUJXN &RYHU:DLWLQJIRUDKRXVHWREHUHEXLOWLQ.RVRYR 3KRWRJUDSKWDNHQE\-RKQ&RVJUDYHGXULQJWKH(YDOXDWLRQ)LHOGZRUN0DUFK 'LVDVWHUV(PHUJHQF\&RPPLWWHH Preface Preface This volume of the DEC Kosovo Evaluation contains summaries of each agency’s DEC funded activities. Each agency section also looks at key issues relating to performance which the evaluation team felt merited comment. This volume should be read in conjunction with Volumes I and II of the Report. Volume I contains the main findings of the evaluation, together with overall conclusions and an executive summary. Volume II contains sections on sectoral topics, such as food and nutrition, shelter and
  • The Devlinite Irish News, Northern Ireland's "Trapped" Nationalist Minority, and the Irish Boundary Question, 1921-1925

    The Devlinite Irish News, Northern Ireland's "Trapped" Nationalist Minority, and the Irish Boundary Question, 1921-1925

    WITHOUT A "DOG'S CHANCE:" THE DEVLINITE IRISH NEWS, NORTHERN IRELAND'S "TRAPPED" NATIONALIST MINORITY, AND THE IRISH BOUNDARY QUESTION, 1921-1925 by James A. Cousins Master ofArts, Acadia University 2000 Bachelor ofArts, Acadia University 1997 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department ofHistory © James A. Cousins 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission ofthe author. APPROVAL Name: James A. Cousins Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title ofProject: Without a "Dog's Chance:" The Devlinite Irish News, Northern Ireland's "Trapped" Nationalist Minority, and the Irish Boundary Question, 1921-1925 Examining Committee: Chair Dr. Alexander Dawson, Associate Professor Department ofHistory Dr. John Stubbs, Professor Senior Supervisor Department ofHistory Dr. Wil1een Keough, Assistant Professor Supervisor Department ofHistory Dr. Leith Davis, Professor Supervisor Department ofEnglish Dr. John Craig, Professor Internal Examiner Department ofHistory Dr. Peter Hart, Professor External Examiner Department ofHistory, Memorial University of Newfoundland Date Approved: 11 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users.
  • Nicholas Brooke Phd Thesis

    Nicholas Brooke Phd Thesis

    THE DOGS THAT DIDN'T BARK: POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND NATIONALISM IN SCOTLAND, WALES AND ENGLAND Nicholas Brooke A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2016 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/8079 This item is protected by original copyright The Dogs That Didn't Bark: Political Violence and Nationalism in Scotland, Wales and England Nicholas Brooke This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 30th June 2015 1 Abstract The literature on terrorism and political violence covers in depth the reasons why some national minorities, such as the Irish, Basques and Tamils, have adopted violent methods as a means of achieving their political goals, but the study of why similar groups (such as the Scots and Welsh) remained non-violent, has been largely neglected. In isolation it is difficult to adequately assess the key variables behind why something did not happen, but when compared to a similar violent case, this form of academic exercise can be greatly beneficial. This thesis demonstrates what we can learn from studying ‘negative cases’ - nationalist movements that abstain from political violence - particularly with regards to how the state should respond to minimise the likelihood of violent activity, as well as the interplay of societal factors in the initiation of violent revolt. This is achieved by considering the cases of Wales, England and Scotland, the latter of which recently underwent a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom (accomplished without the use of political violence) and comparing them with the national movement in Ireland, looking at both violent and non-violent manifestations of nationalism in both territories.
  • Greater Albania – the Next Crisis in the Balkans?

    Greater Albania – the Next Crisis in the Balkans?

    School of Social Science Department of Peace and Development Studies Master Thesis Spring 2009 Greater Albania – The Next Crisis in the Balkans? Author: Mimoza Ardolic Tutor: Manuela Knapp ABSTRACT University of Växjö, School of Social Sciences, Department of Peace and Development Studies Master Thesis Title: Greater Albania – The Next Crisis in the Balkans? Author: Mimoza Ardolic Tutor: Manuela Knapp Date: 2009-06-08 The Balkans has suffered from quite a few problems as a result of the countless ambitious endeavors for great states of the ethnic groups residing in the peninsula. The most recent great state idea to have caused troubles in the region is the Serbs’ Great Serbia (i.e. Yugoslvia), which caused a cycle of wars, the latest one being the war in Kosovo in the late 1990s. This thesis attempts to evaluate the rumors of yet another great state in the making – or rather awakening again: the attempt at a Greater Albania, and whether the Albanians in the Balkans are still harboring the idea of any such state. Particular emphasis is placed upon the following questions: Where does the idea of a Greater Albania stem from? Is a Greater Albania today still on the Albanians’ agenda as a real political plan? What speaks for and against a Greater Albania? Is the idea even feasible? The findings indicate that none of the Albanian communities residing in the Balkan region wish for a Greater Albania, nor do their leaders. The Serbs nonetheless maintain that an Albanian threat exists and has done so ever since 1878 when the idea of a Greater Albania first arose.
  • Europe Report, Nr. 54: the State of Albania

    Europe Report, Nr. 54: the State of Albania

    THE STATE OF ALBANIA ICG Balkans Report N°54 Tirana, 06 January 1999 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ I I. THE MAJKO-BERISHA MEETING................................................................. 1 II. KOSOVO......................................................................................................... 2 III. CRIME AND THE GENERAL SECURITY SITUATION .................................. 4 IV. DRUGS ........................................................................................................... 4 V. COLLECTION OF WEAPONS........................................................................ 5 VI. ISLAM ............................................................................................................. 6 VII. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH RAPID URBANISATION ......................... 8 VIII. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 10 IX. RECOMENDATIONS .................................................................................... 12 ANNEXES NEW GOVERNMENT LIST ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP LIST OF SELECTED ICG REPORTS THE STATE OF ALBANIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Premier Pandeli Majko's new coalition government is slowly consolidating its hold over the administration, though the overall power of the government remains weak after the country was rocked in September by the worst political violence since the uprising of March 1997. Within the cabinet the
  • Albanian Labor Migration in Greece

    Albanian Labor Migration in Greece

    DON’T WANT TO LIVE WITH THEM, CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE WITHOUT THEM: ALBANIAN LABOR MIGRATION IN GREECE (Paper presented at the international conference Migrations, integration security and quality of life in Mediterranean cities, September 30th – October 1st, 2005, University of Lugano, Switzerland Marko Hajdinjak International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIR) Sofia, Bulgaria When speaking about emigration in Europe, Albania makes a striking example. According to reliable estimates, around 900,000 people have left the country in the last 15 years, which represents over one quarter of the population and over 35% of the active work force.1 In terms of the share of the population, which has left the country, only Moldova can compare with Albania in the whole of Europe. The main difference between the two countries is that a very significant part of the people who left Moldova emigrated to Russia and, in case of women, trafficked for employment in sex industry, also to Turkey and Middle East. In contrast, the emigration flow from Albania is directed almost exclusively to the EU countries. A smaller number of Albanian emigrants, especially after 1995, went also overseas to the USA and Canada and in these cases, we can speak about almost 100% legal emigration of people winning the Green Card lottery program or being accepted as students to various North American universities. Popular destinations for Albanian emigrants in Europe include Germany and Switzerland, although they are much more common for Albanians from former Yugoslavia, and less so for Albanians from Albania proper. The two top destinations for them are undoubtedly Italy and Greece, the obvious reasons being the cultural and geographical proximity.