{"title":"Peace and security in the Western Balkans: a local perspective","authors":"Vladimir Đorđević","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2137894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2137894","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"675 - 676"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44101950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Critical readings of Turkey’s foreign policy","authors":"Çağla Lüleci-Sula","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2137895","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2137895","url":null,"abstract":"connectedness of military relations with the political, economic, societal, and other layers of regional and wider security regimes that intersect in this region’ (page 129) not being given the attention they deserve. This section raises questions about the future of regional relations, whose stability and improvement are a must for the stability of the region. In the last section of the volume, the authors take on the international level, discussing approaches to delivering and maintaining peace and security in the Western Balkans by two main actors involved since the 1990s, that is EU and US, as well as those powers that have for the past decade and a half or so become active players in the region, this being Russia, China, Gulf States, Turkey, and Iran. The authors discuss not only the manner of the Western engagement herein, but they additionally show how in recent years, non-Western actors have come to challenge the notion of the Western Balkans being the ‘Western powers’ playground’, indicating the democracy-wise often corrosive influence of the latter actors. This section is brought to a close with a chapter, and I fully agree with the authors on the conclusions herein, showing that the status quo in the Western Balkans is here to stay, whereby the said scenario is deemed as ‘the most probable’ (page 284), indicating that most likely no significant changes in the region will happen in the next several years. Although perhaps not a very happy ending to the volume, it is a very realistic one. I am positive that this volume will be welcomed by both students and lecturers, as well as policy practitioners and makers interested in acquiring security-related information on the Western Balkans. The book is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the study of the given region, highlighting not only the main security challenges that exist herein but also those matters that require further academic treatment.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"676 - 678"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48836860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Now we are whole:’ humiliation, shame and pride in Aliyev’s discourse on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War","authors":"Mustafa Gökcan Kösen, E. Erdoğan","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2132901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2132901","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The article focuses on the role, interchangeability and liquidity of emotions in the speeches of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. It enquires about the functionality of emotions before, during, and after the war and finds that Aliyev prepared, mobilized and motivated society for the war through multiple ‘Address to the Nation’ speeches that aimed to evoke specific emotions such as shame, pride, and humiliation via portraying the occupation of Shusha and the surrounding region as a source of shame and humiliation and the military victories in 2020 as a source of pride for the whole nation, which, combined, constitutes a crucial example of the interchangeability and liquidity of emotions. The emotional appeals in his speeches also justify and garner support for the initiation of the conflict, which, after the victory, transforms into Azerbaijani pride and humiliation of Armenians.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"571 - 588"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48152172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Humanitarian diplomacy as Turkey’s national role conception and performance: evidence from Somalia and Afghanistan","authors":"M. Altunışık","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2131978","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2131978","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In recent years Turkey has made Humanitarian Diplomacy (HD) an essential element of its foreign policy. This article analyzes Turkey’s Humanitarian Diplomacy as a role conception and role performance by focusing on two cases, Somalia and Afghanistan, as the two most significant cases of Turkey’s Humanitarian Diplomacy. It is argued that Humanitarian Diplomacy as foreign policy has provided Turkey with enough flexibility and ambiguity to bring together humanitarianism with interest. At the same time, Turkey’s foreign policy interests started to become more legitimate and accepted by linking it to widely respected norms. Finally, HD also helped the AKP to consolidate its international state identity as well as its domestic identity.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"657 - 673"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44278109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Brexit, Covid and Bulgarian migrants in the UK: stay or return?","authors":"E. Markova, Russell King","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2131986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2131986","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Much has been written about Brexit and migration, but little from the perspective of Bulgarians in the UK. Through an online questionnaire followed by in-depth interviews, we study Bulgarians’ ‘stay’ or ‘leave’ intentions in light of Brexit and then Covid-19. Combining cross-tabulation and regression analysis of survey data and narrative analysis of interview scripts, we show how migrants’ plans are dependent on their position in the labour market and document the experiences of those who have returned. We find that stayers are more likely to be highly skilled and longer-resident in the UK. Most returns are only partially related to Brexit and are often finalized following the impact of Covid-19; family considerations are the main trigger to return. Many returnees are dissatisfied with life in Bulgaria. The article demonstrates that EU migrants’ mobility decisions post-Brexit need to be examined in relation to other contingent factors operating at various scales.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"549 - 569"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47463880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Long and arduous way to decentralization: past, present and future of the reforms of local self-government in Ukraine","authors":"Natalia Rudakiewicz","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2131985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2131985","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Aiming to analyse the peculiarities of the decentralization process in Ukraine, this article focuses on the quality of changes taking place within the local self-government system in the context of democratization. I attempt to answer whether the democratic values contained in the Ukrainian Constitution and separate laws, as well as the European Charter of Local Self-Government, are observed in practice by utilizing the system analysis method combined with elements of the synergetic paradigm. I find that the decentralization process is characterized as nonlinear, chaotic and contradictory. However, the ever increasingly frequent manifestations of local democracy occurring within the analysed system have a positive impact on the effects of its democratization. The analysis of the practical dimension of the functioning of the Ukrainian local self-government made it possible to distinguish the main conditions influencing the nature and results of the decentralization process.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"489 - 507"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45999578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religion and regional voting behaviour differences in Turkey, 2007–2018: a study of the AKP electoral base","authors":"Fırat Gündem","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2129151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2129151","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT With the Justice and Development Party dominating the elections in Turkey since 2002, the existing political cleavages between religious and secular segments of the population increasingly crystallized during the last two decades. This article investigates the mass support for the AKP at a juncture of religious activities and voting behaviour. To contextualize religious activities, this study utilizes a unique data set consisting of the indicators of religious activities collected from the Directorate of Religious Affairs at the province level between the general elections in Turkey. The findings show a significant relationship between all religious activities and voting for the Justice and Development Party nationwide. However, the relationship between voting behaviour and religious activities mitigates when considering regional differences. Results imply three different spatial cleavages in western, internal, and eastern regions, where the relationship between voting behaviour and the types of religious activities, as well as demographic variables, varies significantly.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"631 - 656"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41969581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ex-combatants as civic activists in post-conflict societies: KLA members in Kosovar civil society","authors":"Lirika Agusholli, A. Çelik","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2068258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2068258","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Claiming that ex-combatants should be seen as addressing different societal needs in post-conflict societies through varied civic work, this study tries to answer how KLA ex-combatants perceive the roles they play in the civil life of post-conflict Kosovo and how they think their communities perceive them and their civic activities. It utilizes data from state, NGO, and international organizations’ reports, and 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with the KLA ex-combatants. It shows that ex-combatants describe themselves as civic activists enthusiastic about helping their communities and rebuilding the post-conflict society. How KLA members perceive social relations in post-conflict Kosovo and their past experiences shape their understanding of the role of peacebuilding through civic activism, resulting in different perceptions of peace and their worth in their society.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"523 - 543"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48645643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The way out of a crisis? the role of cities in Europeanization: a study of Thessaloniki city diplomacy","authors":"Nikola Adamovská, M. Zemanová, B. Karaca","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2127182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2127182","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Even though many stakeholders generally acknowledge cities’ presence and growing importance in international relations, the impact of their autonomous foreign policy remains unclear. Despite prior observations of city diplomacy, knowledge of how intensively city diplomacy is interconnected with the foreign policy of central governments is vague. The article is therefore focused on the circumstances that push cities to undertake diplomatic action and the consequent implications for the Europeanization process of the region. The conclusions reveal that Thessaloniki city diplomacy leverages the Europeanization of the region and has the capacity to complement the Greek government’s foreign policy. The article also argues that the cross-border exposure of cities implies possibilities for further Europeanization of the region.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"509 - 527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45527729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Involvement of the Gulf Cooperation Council States in Kosovo: development assistance, soft power, and neofundamentalism","authors":"Vít Volný","doi":"10.1080/14683857.2022.2128362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2128362","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The development assistance activities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have prompted debates and scrutiny of how the Gulf countries use assistance or aid for religious soft power goals, which has a potentially destabilizing effect on local religious communities. This article explores how the Gulf states provide development assistance and their potential motivations. Using Kosovo as a case to describe the techniques used in the field by the GCC charities and development agencies, the article finds that GCC agencies/charities’ activities in Kosovo are negligible in classical development sectors such as the transport, institutional, and social spheres; however, they are very active in promoting and financially supporting religious education, other religious activities, and the reconstruction of religious infrastructure. The article discusses the effects of the assistance on the local Muslim community and how the state reacted to the possible threats this assistance poses.","PeriodicalId":51736,"journal":{"name":"Southeast European and Black Sea Studies","volume":"36 S2","pages":"529 - 547"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41257955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}