State Collapse and Reconstruction in the Periphery
State Collapse and Reconstruction in the Periphery

Author: Jens Stilhoff Sörensen

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9781845455606

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"In the 1990s, Yugoslavia, which had once been a role model for development, became a symbol for state collapse, external intervention and post-war reconstruction. Today the region has two international protectorates, contested states and borders, severe ethnic polarisation and minority concerns. In this first in-depth critical analysis of international administration, aid and reconstruction policies in Kosovo, Jens Stilhoff Sorensen argues that the region must be analysed as a whole, and that the process of state collapse and recent changes in aid policy must be interpreted in connection to the wider transformation of the global political economy and world order. He examines the shifting inter- and intracommunity relations, the emergence of a 'political economy' of conflict, and of informal clientelist arrangements in Serbia and Kosovo and provides a framework for interpreting the collapse of the Yugoslav state, the emergence of ethnic conflict and shadow economies, and the character of western aid and intervention. Western governments and agencies have built policies on conceptions and assumptions for which there is no genuine historical or contemporary economic, social or political basis in the region. As the author persuasively argues, this discrepancy has exacerbated and cemented problems in the region and provided further complications that are likely to remain for years to come." -- Back cover.

A History of Yugoslavia
A History of Yugoslavia

Author: Marie-Janine Calic

Publisher: Purdue University Press

Published: 2019-02-15

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1612495648

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Why did Yugoslavia fall apart? Was its violent demise inevitable? Did its population simply fall victim to the lure of nationalism? How did this multinational state survive for so long, and where do we situate the short life of Yugoslavia in the long history of Europe in the twentieth century? A History of Yugoslavia provides a concise, accessible, comprehensive synthesis of the political, cultural, social, and economic life of Yugoslavia—from its nineteenth-century South Slavic origins to the bloody demise of the multinational state of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Calic takes a fresh and innovative look at the colorful, multifaceted, and complex history of Yugoslavia, emphasizing major social, economic, and intellectual changes from the turn of the twentieth century and the transition to modern industrialized mass society. She traces the origins of ethnic, religious, and cultural divisions, applying the latest social science approaches, and drawing on the breadth of recent state-of-the-art literature, to present a balanced interpretation of events that takes into account the differing perceptions and interests of the actors involved. Uniquely, Calic frames the history of Yugoslavia for readers as an essentially open-ended process, undertaken from a variety of different regional perspectives with varied composite agenda. She shuns traditional, deterministic explanations that notorious Balkan hatreds or any other kind of exceptionalism are to blame for Yugoslavia’s demise, and along the way she highlights the agency of twentieth-century modern mass society in the politicization of differences. While analyzing nuanced political and social-economic processes, Calic describes the experiences and emotions of ordinary people in a vivid way. As a result, her groundbreaking work provides scholars and learned readers alike with an accessible, trenchant, and authoritative introduction to Yugoslavia's complex history.

Socialist Unemployment
Socialist Unemployment

Author: Susan L. Woodward

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 1995-08-13

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 9780691025513

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In the first political analysis of unemployment in a socialist country, Susan Woodward argues that the bloody conflicts that are destroying Yugoslavia stem not so much from ancient ethnic hatreds as from the political and social divisions created by a failed socialist program to prevent capitalist joblessness. Under Communism the concept of socialist unemployment was considered an oxymoron; when it appeared in postwar Yugoslavia, it was dismissed as illusory or as a transitory consequence of Yugoslavia's unorthodox experiments with worker-managed firms. In Woodward's view, however, it was only a matter of time before countries in the former Soviet bloc caught up with Yugoslavia, confronting the same unintended consequences of economic reforms required to bring socialist states into the world economy. By 1985, Yugoslavia's unemployment rate had risen to 15 percent. How was it that a labor-oriented government managed to tolerate so clear a violation of the socialist commitment to full employment? Proposing a politically based model to explain this paradox, Woodward analyzes the ideology of economic growth, and shows that international constraints, rather than organized political pressures, defined government policy. She argues that unemployment became politically "invisible," owing to its redefinition in terms of guaranteed subsistence and political exclusion, with the result that it corrupted and ultimately dissolved the authority of all political institutions. Forced to balance domestic policies aimed at sustaining minimum standards of living and achieving productivity growth against the conflicting demands of the world economy and national security, the leadership inadvertently recreated the social relations of agrarian communities within a postindustrial society.

Market Socialism in Yugoslavia
Market Socialism in Yugoslavia

Author: Christopher Prout

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

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Economic analysis of post-war economic developments in Yugoslavia - considers the ideologycal basis and implementation of decentralization, economic recession, and the 1963 economic reforms; looks at the transformation of the industrial enterprise, economic planning, workers self management, role of the state, etc.; analyses the functioning of the financial market, the labour market and the product market; discusses market stabilization and economic growth (incl. Employment, inflation and the balance of payments). References, statistical tables.

Europe's Troubled Region
Europe's Troubled Region

Author: William Bartlett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-12-21

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1134650965

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The countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and the province of Kosovo - form a core European region. The region is known for its instability and recent history of wars and civil conflicts, but far less is known about the changes that have taken place in the economic and social welfare systems and the dynamic processes of transition, development and European integration that have been taking place over the last twenty years. Although economic growth has been firmly established, many problems remain in relation to the labour markets where there is high unemployment, large informal economies, and widespread poverty. The book discusses the role of welfare reforms, international aid and European integration in addressing these difficulties. The author argues that the resistance to reforms which were initiated under the communist system in former Yugoslavia led to the break up of the country and that since then a group of early reforming countries have made fast progress in institutional reform and have been at the forefront of EU integration. He also acknowledges that the main problems have been among a group of late reformers including two international protectorates where aid dependence has held back progress with institutional reforms. The book concludes that the resolution of these problems will unblock the completion of the transition, development and EU integration in the region and open for the way for a more stable and prosperous future.

Explaining Yugoslavia
Explaining Yugoslavia

Author: John B. Allcock

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 9780231120548

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Traversing the politics, economics, demography, and culture of the former Yugoslavia, John B. Allcock examines and makes sense of the region's troubled past and troubling present. Though many think of the Balkans as a uniquely troubled region, the author asserts that the continuities in Balkan history constitute the same processes of development that have occurred in other societies and are part of the ongoing process of global modernization.

Regional Economic Development in the Balkan Region
Regional Economic Development in the Balkan Region

Author: Teoman Duman

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2016-01-14

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1443887617

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This edited volume brings together original scientific studies on current economic and developmental issues in the Balkan region, and is composed of papers by 25 authors from seven different countries. The Balkan region has gained significant interest in recent years due to its location and strategic position, representing a doorway to Europe, and the region’s stability and progress have direct consequences on various European countries. Because of this strategic position, there is currently much debate regarding a potential partnership of the Balkan states with the European Union. This book offers insights into the current economic and developmental status of the countries in this region, offering a series of chapters that analyse the area from a variety of perspectives. It begins with a discussion on the recent history of the region, especially with reference to the former Yugoslavia and its break-up after the turbulence experienced in 1990s. Other sections are complementary to each other in that they offer comparisons of the Balkan states in their economic progress at the micro and macro levels. Topics such as European integration policies and effects, economic transition, regional trade, tax incentive policy, regional capital markets, regional development agencies and systems, remittances and foreign aid contributions, import-export policies, fiscal policies, analysis of regional microfinance, and the tourism sectors are explored in detail throughout the book.

The Balkans
The Balkans

Author: Misha Glenny

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2012-09-25

Total Pages: 802

ISBN-13: 0142422568

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A newly revised and updated edition of an award-winning BBC correspondent's magisterial history of the Balkan region This unique and lively history of Balkan geopolitics since the early nineteenth century gives readers the essential historical background to more than one hundred years of events in this war-torn area. No other book covers the entire region, or offers such profound insights into the roots of Balkan violence, or explains so vividly the origins of modern Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania. Now updated to include the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, the capture of all indicted war criminals from the Yugoslav wars, and each state's quest for legitimacy in the European Union, The Balkans explores the often catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the Great Powers, raising some disturbing questions about Western intervention.

Global Social Policy and Governance
Global Social Policy and Governance

Author: Bob Deacon

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2007-04-06

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9781412907620

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`This primer on the global politics of social policy ... is essential reading for students as well as others seriously interested in improving the human condition. Nuanced and critical, Deacon′s book offers a much needed and constructive guide to the complex supra-national debates over rights, regulation and redistribution impinging on social welfare all over the world′ - Jomo K.S., United Nations Assistant, Secretary-General for Economic Development `This book is very timely and addresses many issues that are en vogue at the moment. It relates social policy studies to other fields such as global governance and development studies and thus opens up new discussions in the subject area′ - Dr Antje Vetterlein, University of Oxford Global Social Policy and Governance offers an authoritative understanding of the way social policies at national and supra-national level are shaped in the context of globalisation. The book: " evaluates national social policies advanced by international organisations. " examines policies addressing global social redistribution, regulation and rights. " highlights the roles of global actors, including INGOs, consultants, think tanks, task forces and global policy advocacy coalitions. " explores the political obstacles to reforms in global social governance, " outlines the growing importance of global social movements. " presents arguments for more effective global and regional social policies. " is illustrated by case studies, further reading sections and a glossary. Global Social Policy and Governance will be an essential text for students of social policy, development studies and international relations. It will also be invaluable reading for those shaping social policies in international organisations and those in social movements seeking to influence them. Bob Deacon is Professor of International Social Policy at the University of Sheffield.