October 2009, Volume 1, Number 1 EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES The Western Balkans: 20 Years after the End of the Cold War Journal on European Perspectives of the Western Balkans EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES Journal on European Perspectives of the Western Balkans contents Volume 1 Number 1 October 2009 Letter from the Editor 03 GUEST VIEW Regional Co-operation: A Prelude to Greater European Integration 07 Erhard Busek ARTICLES Compounding the Crisis? International Assistance in the Western Balkans 27 Paul Stubbs, Moises Venancio Institutional reimagination of the South East Europe 53 Matjaž Nahtigal Victory for European Albania: Democratic Election as a Step Towards ‘Strong States’ 75 Tom Hashimoto EU’s Conditionality Mechanism in South East Europe – Lessons Learned and Challenges for the Future 93 Sandro Knezović Institutionalization of Regional Co-operation in South East Europe – Strategies and Obstacles 115 Miloš Šolaja REVIEWS Izidor Cankar – A Diplomat of Two Yugoslavias 142 Andrej Rahten (Polona Mal) Fractured Nativity - Closed Options Open 146 Possibilities Ashok Kaul (Josef Langer) SARAJEVO 2014 Manifesto: Closing a Century of European Civil Wars by Getting the Balkans into the EU on July 28th 2014 153 Franck Biancheri CROQUIS Mirsad Begić: Primož Trubar 156 Anja Fabiani Letter from the Editor Launching a new journal is always a thrilling exercise. To a certain extent is indeed also a tricky one: its mission should be precisely defined, its differentia specifica an obvious case and the area of research attractive enough to gain the attention of both readers and authors. We believe that the European Perspectives – a scientific journal for the integration research and reflection of the Western Balkans – can fulfill all the three conditions. Its founder and publisher, the Center for European Per- spective, broadens with this publication its wide range of activities dealing with common theme: to promote the integration perspective of the Western Balkans and to transfer the integration experience to the countries of the region, with emphasis on development cooperation. There are plenty of ways to exercise this as well as means where and how to attract attention to promote the cause. Our journal should also serve as a meeting point of con- templation and reflection for well established authors as well as for those, primarily from the region, who have a sharp analytical eye, but can not come through for vario- us reasons. However, this journal follows the established rules and criteria for scientific publications and will by all means try to upgrade and promote them further on. Perhaps one could articulate our mission with the fol- lowing words: we strongly believe that the Western Bal- kans region has – most probably for the first time in its history – a unique chance to achieve stability and security 3 through intensive participation in the integration pro- cess. Therefore, the region shall reach the final and clear road map for the full accession in the current term of the European Parliament, materializing it in the next term at the latest. To achieve this, the countries concerned have to proceed along the integration compass with more struc- tural ambition and firm devotion. At the same time the process’s stakeholders have to encourage them with much more invention, belief and above all with a concrete and efficient approach. Hence Slovenia has much potential to contribute to the region’s further development it is our strong belief that it shall lead the way in this endeavour. We structured the content in a rather simple and efficient manner: a guest view from a prominent authority as far as the region is concerned – let me express our thanks to Erhard Busek for his prelude to the first issue – is followed by a block of scientific papers – five of them in the inau- gural issue, which is dedicated to the twentieth anniver- sary of the end of the Cold War – written through the eyes of the regional dynamics. The review part is formed in traditional approach. Sarajevo 2014 and Crouqis sections conclude the journal and represent its innovation. The former will try – according to its Manifesto – to bring pa- pers contemplating the appeal to end a European century of wars in the Western Balkans, while the latter offers an advanced and galvanized view on the region’s rich cultu- ral potentials. They have to be thought through with both exact and symbolic language to be accepted also as a tool for the political understanding of the region. Without this the way ahead could not be neither seen nor formulated. The notion of the integration process, which has trans- formed the European state system, represents our link to those research efforts, which do not directly reflect the Western Balkans, but would find a niche on the pages of this publication. We welcome them, too. The Castle of Jable, October 2009 M. J. 4 guest view Regional Co-operation: A Prelude to Greater European Integration Erhard Busek European Perspectives – Journal on European Perspectives of the Western Balkans Vol. 1, No. 1, pp 7-24, October 2009 Regional Co-operation: A Prelude to Greater European Integration Erhard Busek1 1989 was a year of predictions. Francis Fukuyama spoke of the “end of histo- ry” and attempted to provide explanations by arguing for the emergence of a social-political paradigm that will replace the conflicts and tensions which have prevailed throughout history. Samuel Huntington in his acclaimed article in Foreign Affairs which lead to his book Clash of Civilizations posited that the world is dominated by religious and cultural conflicts or fault lines which will determine future struggle. All these theories and predications illustrate the problem but offer no solutions. They merely serve as an instrument to identify and define new paradigms to explain the post-Cold War order. The long-time diplomat and political scientist Michael Emerson, in his book Redrawing the Map of Europe, expanded on O. Tunander’s theory of “Cosmos and Chaos” and applied it to the current situation in Europe2. He argues that western democracies and market economies have not succeeded to bring Europe’s north eastern, south eastern or southern peripheral areas closer to a Europe which is trying to eliminate its borders. He claims that there is a zone of instability which encompasses the approximate 500 million inhabitants of Rus- sia, Ukraine, Turkey, the southeast Mediterranean and South Eastern European countries, countries which are not currently being considered for membership in the European Union. One can point to examples of separatism, nationalism and religious tensions within the European Union, however these factors are handled differently than in East- and Southeast Europe. Emerson explains the impact of Islam and its political formations have played a role in major conflicts not only in Southeast Europe, but also in northern Africa, Turkey and the Islamic republics of the former Soviet Union. Emerson realizes that there are young reformers in these countries who want to apply western models in politics and economics but, as the different crises in Russia shows, these forces 1 Correspondence Address: Erhard Busek, Ph. D., Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, Hahngasse 6/17, 1090 Vienna, Austria, e-mail: [email protected] 2 Emerson, M. (1998) Redrawing the Map of Europe. Macmillan Press Ltd., London. ISSN 1855-7694 © 2009 European Perspectives, UDK: 327 (4) 7 Erhard Busek are being seriously threatened by defeat. One has to mention, however, that only Belarus can still labelled totalitarian regimes ruled by a quasi-dictator. Given the various situations in the region one must lean to differentiate, and differentiation is manifesting itself in a new non-transparency. One has to have a certain knowledge of the situation in order to be able to identify which states belong to what organizations, institutions, initiatives and conferences. This is where the fine line between cosmos and chaos converge and conflict. International Organizations and Regional Integration In addition to the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), there are still many remnants of various levels of the European integration process such as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA) in which countries like Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland are connected. One must realize that the EU is the decisive factor and that is it a matter of time before all these countries will, in one form or another, become integrated into these larger structures and loose their special status. There is also the Council of Europe with its 46 members which has done more in the field of culture than in safeguarding the quality of democracy in its member countries. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) has also survived and now includes the Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union which are as vocal as ever and cannot imagine being classified as non-Europe- an. The same applies for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu- rope (OSCE) which incorporates, in addition to all the republics of the former Soviet Union, the United States and Canada and Japan. There is NATO, which includes Greece and Turkey as equal partners and thus has prevented a serious conflict from erupting in the Aegean. NATO was also enlarged step by step – the last members are Croatia and Albania – others are expected. There are also a plethora of regional initiatives such as the Baltic Council, the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the Stability Pact until June 2008 followed by the Regional Cooperati- on Council (RCC) and the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) which all focus on peace and stability as well as promoting technical coopera- tion in the different regions and sub-regions of Europe. The United States is investing more effort and interest sometimes in South East Europe while the EU is doing so in the Enlargement Process.