western balkans

In the aftermath of troubling recent violence, this episode sees Ivan Vejvoda host Ilir Deda for a discussion of the uncertain future facing the Western Balkans as the complex Serbian/Kosovan relationship hangs in the balance. Making a strong case for a robust and immediate diplomatic effort to ensure that the agreement reached in March is implemented quickly, Deda runs through the obstacles to progress and discusses the roles of the EU, the US and NATO in stabilizing the region and preventing any escalation of tensions, then examines the hopeful possibilities that have come with cooperation efforts, initiatives and moves toward a common regional market with freer movement and greater integration.

Ilir Deda is an expert on Kosovo's governance, security, and foreign affairs with over a decade of experience in public service and policy research. He has held roles including Member of Parliament, Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development, political advisor to Kosovo's Prime Minister, analyst for the International Crisis Group and Senior Expert on Human Capital Development at the Regional Cooperation Council. Deda has also lectured on European integration and published extensively. His current research as an IWM Europe's Futures Fellow focuses on the EU-sponsored Basic Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Find Ilir on X @ilir_deda

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

This week Ivan Vejvoda is joined by Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies adjunct professor and former foreign policy advisor to the Romanian presidential administration Veronica Anghel to discuss the state of EU enlargement policy in 2023. As the continent redefines itself, its security and its long-term objectives in the shadow of the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, what is the state of play for candidate countries seeking to join the European Union? Will this prove to be a moment when the expansion of the EU's border to encompass Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans - a project that many considered stalled -can be revived? How have the requirements for entry and justification for enlargement changed since the fall of communism in the early 90s? Are unresolved border questions and the rise of right wing populism affecting the way that the EU27 approaches these questions?

Veronica Anghel is a Lecturer in Risk in International Politics and Economics at Johns Hopkins University and a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute EUI. She has held research fellowships at several institutions, including Stanford University and the Institute for Central Europe. She is a 'Robert Elgie' Editorial Fellow with the 'Government and Opposition' journal. Dr. Anghel received her PhD from the University of Bucharest in co-direction with the University of Bordeaux. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Anghel has served as a foreign affairs advisor for the Romanian Presidential Administration and a Diplomatic Adviser for the Romanian Senate. She provides risk analysis for consultancy firms on topics such as European integration and rule of law issues in post-communist Europe. In 2020, Dr. Anghel was awarded the ‘Rising Star’ Award by the European Consortium of Political Research. She is a Europe's Futures fellow at IWM this year.

Find Veronica on Twitter @anghel_v1

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Thought by many to be the most openly nationalist politician in the Balkans, Milorad Dodik is a staunch supporter of Bosnian Serb separatism and continues to threaten with seceding the entity of the Republika Srpska, or what amounts to about half of Bosnia’s territory.

For years, the president of the Serb-dominated entity has been instrumental in institutionalising genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals. Things got so bad that Bosnia needed its foreign peace envoy to circumvent institutions and pass a law banning the practice.

And then there’s his friendship with the Kremlin. Although a two-bit player on the global scene, Dodik has made international headlines by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin twice since the February invasion of Ukraine. And he was Bosnia’s head of state at the time.

Who is Milorad Dodik, and how did he become the alpha and omega of Serb nationalism? 

We called Florian Bieber, a professor of Southeast European History and Politics and the director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz to help us untangle it.

Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V. – Ured u Bosni i Hercegovini with funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Calling Podcast and does not necessarily reflect the position of RLS.

All music used for educational and informative purposes, and rights retained by its respective owners:

• Halid Bešlić - Romanija

Who better to start the new series off with than the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama? Charming and colorful, sometimes literally, direct yet eloquent, Rama has captured the imagination of those less in the know by telling Brussels like it is, and wearing sneakers while doing it.

In the eyes of those with a soft spot for the talented artist, towering basketball player and expert at showboating, Rama is perhaps the most charismatic of the Western Balkan leaders.

Yet, some in Albania would disagree.

Domestically, Rama has been accused of everything from corruption to nepotism and is said to have an abrasive public personality to boot.

From his time as the mayor of Tirana to his third stint as the most powerful official in the country, we will be taking a closer look at how Rama came to politics, what his ambitions are and whether he intends to rule Albania — and possibly the region — forever.

Guest: Gjergji Vurmo, senior researcher at IDM Tirana.

Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V. – Ured u Bosni i Hercegovini with funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Calling Podcast and does not necessarily reflect the position of RLS.

All music used for educational and informative purposes, and rights retained by its respective owners:

• Aurela Gaçe - Hape Veten

Zoran Nechev heads the Center for EU integration at the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” Skopje, a Macedonian think tank organisation devoted to research and capacity-building in matters related to EU in general, and the enlargement process more specifically. He is an IWM Europe's Futures fellow, a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group, a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit's Institute for European Studies and an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Boiling down the definition of strategic autonomy to the EU's 'freedom to act, and the freedom from overdependence' - Nechev and Vejvoda use this podcast to explore the necessity for, logistics of and limits on European autonomy. As various crises have rocked the foundations of the EU, shifts in the geopolitical status quo have raised questions about the potency of NATO and the process of EU enlargement has proceeded in fits and starts; they look to the future and ask what EU security policy might look like a decade from now.

Find Zoran Nechev on twitter @zorannechev

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

In this episode Ivan Vejvoda talks with Valbona Zeneli, professor of national security studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. Born in Albania, Dr. Zeneli is an economist with an interest in international economics, good governance and international security politics.

In a complex discussion, Zeneli and Vejvoda trace the web of Chinese economic influence and address the geopolitical impact of China's global infrastructure development strategy - often called the 'Belt and Road Initiative' - on the countries of Southeastern Europe. Is the allure of Chinese investment disrupting the economic relevance of the EU in the Western Balkans and beyond?

Find Valbona Zeneli on twitter @valbonazenelito 

A list of her recent publications can be found at The Marshall Center.

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

In the first episode of Calling, we are going to go to Greece, where almost 600 forest fires destroyed more than 250 thousand acres of land, more than half of which is on the island of Evia and immensely affecting people, their lives and livelihoods. 40 towns and villages have been completely destroyed, making it the worst ecological disaster in Greece of all time.

Greece isn’t the only country that’s seen the worst wildfire season in its history. In Turkey, over two hundred wildfires burnt through 1,600 square kilometers in July and August. On top of that, the Black Sea region was affected by catastrophic flooding in mid-August, which again amounted to worst in Turkey’s history. 

Finally, we will go live to Belgrade, where we’ll talk about why this summer is not some sort of a fluke, and why in the next decade, four out of ten summers will be just like this one -- if not worse.

All this in conversation with our guests: Marcos Moschovidis, Hamdi Firat Buyuk and Viktor Berishaj.

All music used for educational and informative purposes, and rights retained by its respective owners:

• "My Friend The Wind",  performed by Demis Roussos
• "Simarik",  performed by Tarkan
• "Beograde",  performed by Đorđe Marjanović

In the latest Vienna Coffee House Conversation, Ivan Vjevoda speaks to political activism expert, Head of Communications at Forum Alpbach and Europe's Futures fellow Teresa Reiter about the way that history is taught, utlisised and remembered in twenty-first century Europe. From the ways that national foreign policy shapes curricula to the tendency to write the recent history of the Western Balkans out of a mainstream narrative that sees the creation of the EU as a successful project to end war in the continent - Ivan and Teresa bring their personal and academic perspectives to an issue that is central to how Europe sees itself.

Find Teresa Reiter on twitter @schwindelfrei  or on her website at http://www.teresareiter.com

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Srdjan Cvijic is on twitter @srdjancvijic.  

Dr. Cvijic is frequently sought out by the media and has published extensively, in both academic and policy format, on EU foreign relations and the politics of the Balkans  Previously Dr. Cvijic was a senior diplomat posted in the missions of the Republic of Serbia in Belgium and the Netherlands. Dr. Cvijic also worked as the advisor for the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, European Policy Centre and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Find more of his work at Euractiv and Poiltico.

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

For many people, Emmanuel Macron still represents the great hope for an open and liberal Europe. So what to make of the French president’s growing preoccupation with Islam, terror and security? Mehreen Khan of The Financial Times dissects Macron’s policies and his recent interview with The Economist. For more on Macron, we go to Majlinda Bregu, the Sarajevo-based secretary general of the Regional Cooperation Council. She criticises Macron’s decision to veto EU membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania. She also rebuts prejudices about Albania heard over dinner in Brussels. Others in this episode include co-President of the European Greens Philippe Lamberts; the Emperor Charlemagne; and European Commission Vice President Albert Kuñardocz. Kuñardocz, who was formerly responsible for inland waterways and catering, is active on Twitter. In fact, Twitter is the only place you’ll find him. The celebrated Lebanese musician Wael Koudaih kindly contributed his tracks “Baghdad” and “Thawra” to this episode. You’ll find more of his music under the name Rayess Bek. Visit our website for episode art and for more EU Scream.