- Islamic Studies, Islam, Balkans, Nationalism, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Turkey, and 13 moreAlbanian Studies, Kosovo, Post-Soviet Regimes, Democracy, Comparative Politics, Institutional Theory, Public Administration, European Foreign Policy, Islam in Europe, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Sociology of Religion, and European Union Politicsedit
- Arolda Elbasani is a visiting scholar at the Center for European and Mediterranena Studies, NYU, NY; academic supervi... moreArolda Elbasani is a visiting scholar at the Center for European and Mediterranena Studies, NYU, NY; academic supervisor for a project on new statehood, Open Society Foundation Kosovo; and senior analyst for the Wikistrat Consulting Network. She serves as associate editor for the Southeast European and Black Sea Studies since 2016. She also collaborates regularly with various journals and organizations as an external reviewer.
She held research or teaching positions at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence; Columbia University; Social Sciences Research Center, Berlin; European University of Tirana and Free University, Berlin.
Her research interest span the fields of comparative politics, post-conflict state building, EU rule of law promotion, contemporary Islam and state-church relations with a focus on new democracies, particularly the Balkans and Turkey. Her articles have appeared at the Journal of European Public Policy, Europe-Asia Studies, Politics and Religion, Democratization, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, and Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies among others. She has (co)edited 6 books or special journal issues including: External Governance of State-Building in Post-Conflict Kosovo (Southeast European and Black Sea Studies 2018:2); Governing Islam and Religious Pluralism in New Democracies (Balkans and Near Eastern Studies 2017:1); Localizing Islam: National Paradigms, New Actors and Contingent Choices (Nationalities Papers 2017: 4); the Revival of Islam in the Balkans (Routledge 2015) and European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans (2013).edit - Philippe Schmitteredit
International-Led Statebuilding and Local Resistance contributes theoretical and empirical insights to the existing knowledge on the scope, challenges and results of post-conflict international state-and institution-building project... more
International-Led Statebuilding and Local Resistance contributes theoretical and empirical insights to the existing knowledge on the scope, challenges and results of post-conflict international state-and institution-building project focusing on postwar Kosovo. Postwar Kosovo is one of the high-profile cases of international intervention, hosting a series of international missions besides a massive inflow of international aid, technical assistance and foreign experts. Theoretically, the book goes beyond the standard narrative of international top-down institution building by exploring how international and local factors interact, bringing in the mediating role of local resistance and highlighting the hybridity of institutional change. Empirically, the book tests those alternative explanations in key areas of institutional reform-municipal governance, public administration, nor-malization of relations with Serbia, high education, creation of armed forces, the security sector and the hold of Salafi ideologies. The findings speak to timely and pertinent issues regarding the limits of international promotion of effective institutions; the mediating role of local agents; and the hybrid forms of institution-building taking shape in post-conflict Kosovo and similar postwar contexts more broadly. Addressing timely and pertinent issues regarding the prospects of international interventions, local strategies of resistance, and the hybridity of institution-building experiences in Kosovo and in post-conflict contexts more broadly, International-Led Statebuilding and Local Resistance will be of great interest to scholars of international relations, state building, and post-conflict societies. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
Research Interests: Peace and Conflict Studies, International Studies, Balkan Studies, Kosovo, European Foreign Policy, and 14 moreState Building, Balkan Politics, Peacekeeping, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Ethnic Conflict, Post-Conflict State Building, Peace & Conflict Studies, Civil Society, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Western Balkans, Security and Peace Studies, Political patronage, and Patron-Client Relations
Post-war Kosovo has been the subject of a highly intrusive international state-building project, including an unprecedented influx of international administrators, assistance and funds. Yet, it increasingly bears the hallmark of a weak... more
Post-war Kosovo has been the subject of a highly intrusive international state-building project, including an unprecedented influx of international administrators, assistance and funds. Yet, it increasingly bears the hallmark of a weak and captured state. This special issue contributes theoretical and empirical insights that shed light on possible explanations, difficulties and prospects of the state-building project in Kosovo. Theoretically, we investigate how international and local explanations play out, interact and gain dominance over each other; highlight the local factors that shape the experience of state-building; and focus on the hybridity of institution- and state-building on the ground. Empirically, we take stock of two decades of international state-building activities and one decade of independent statehood by providing long-term and in-depth analysis of specific areas of reform - municipal governance, state bureaucracy, normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, education, creation of armed forces, security sector reforms and reception of Salafi ideologies. Such time-sensitive, case-nuanced and empirically-heavy analysis enables the authors to go back and forth between the role of international activities, domestic strategies of resistance and evidence of hybrid reforms in order to test the role of competing explanations.
Research Interests: International Relations, Public Administration, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Studies, Balkan Studies, and 15 moreSecurity, Governance, United Nations, Conflict Resolution, Rule of Law, Post-Conflict State Building, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Conflict of Laws, Peacebuilding, Corruption, Kosova, Salafism, State sovereignty, Peace Keeping Operations, and Euopean Union
The collapse of communism, and the consequent liberalization of religious field, has unleashed a new process of re-imagining state-church relations. The emerging relationships between the two, however, have been neither rapid nor smooth.... more
The collapse of communism, and the consequent liberalization of religious field, has unleashed a new process of re-imagining state-church relations. The emerging relationships between the two, however, have been neither rapid nor smooth. Instead, they have developed in a peace meal fashion and often as a result of intense processes of contestation and negotiation between relevant political and religious actors. What are the main indices of the new institutional arrangements? What do they seek to achieve and with what results? More specifically, how do they accommodate specific political and Islamic groups? And what facilitates a certain consensus on the most appropriate institutional choices in each specific context?
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Constitutional Law, and 65 moreComparative Politics, Instructional Design, Peace and Conflict Studies, History of Religion, Human Rights Law, Human Rights, Democratic Theory, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Democratization, Muslim Family Law, State Formation, Islam and Human Rights, Nationalism, Bosnia, Religious Pluralism, Legal Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, Turkish and Middle East Studies, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Turkey, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Democracy, Secularisms and Secularities, Modern Turkey, Muslim-Christian Relation, Minorities in Turkey, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Pluralism, Conflict of Laws, Political Islam, Albania, Religious Studies, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Muslims, Social Conflict, Laicismo, Religious Conflict, Religious Freedom, Ethnicity and National Identity, Secular, Post Conflict Issues, Nation building and State making, and Contemporary Muslim society
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents,... more
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors’ choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors’ strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams’ competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in post-war Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Gender Studies, and 59 moreWomen's Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Conflict, Security, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Race and Ethnicity, Identity politics, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, Nationalism, Bosnia, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, Radicalization, Localization, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Narrative and Identity, Muslims in Europe, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Islamophobia, Muslim-Christian Relation, Ethnicity, History of Nationalism and Nation-Building, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Political Islam, Ethnicity & Ethnic Conflicts, Albania, Religious Fundamentalism, Religious Studies, Balkans, National Security, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Nation-State, Muslims, Bosna and Herzegovina, Inter-civilization contact and conflict, Ethnicity and National Identity, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, Muslims in Bulgaria and the Balkans, Nationalism and transnationalism of post-Ottoman Muslims, Relgious Studies, post-Ottoman societies, Anthropology of Religion, Nation building and State making, and Contemporary Muslim society
Research Interests: Peace and Conflict Studies, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development, Kosovo, and 20 moreYugoslavia, Nationalism And State Building, Balkan Politics, Enlargement and Integration in the EU, Post-Conflict State Building, Albanian Nationalism, Liberal Peacebuilding, Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Reconciliation, Former Yugoslavia, Peacebuilding, Balkans, Policy making, Kosova, Serbia, Western Balkans, Transitional justice and reconciliation processes, Serbia-Kosovo Relations, and Inter ethnic Relations
This book challenges top-down analytical frameworks that view Islam in the Balkans as a repository of ethno-national identities and/or a potential ‘depot’ of conflict between and among nations. Conceptually, it outlines a new framework... more
This book challenges top-down analytical frameworks that view Islam in the Balkans as a repository of ethno-national identities and/or a potential ‘depot’ of conflict between and among nations. Conceptually, it outlines a new framework whereas believers are endowed with the capacity to choose and resist the broad classificatory systems; but also envisage their own individual spaces amidst various offers that have permitted the competitive market of religion after the fall of communism. Empirically, chapters in this volume, written by researchers with extensive and hands-on experience in the field, provide cross-country evidence on the reconfiguration of state-organized religious fields and the emergence of new actors and forms of religiosity along the way. Combining a fresh analytical perspective with rich empirical analysis the book pushes our understanding of Islam in new directions particularly with regard to the relation between state and religion; role of foreign influences; the diversity of actors who speak for Islam; processes of individualization of faith; and evolution and traits of Islam in the European context.
Research Interests: Religion, New Religious Movements, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Philosophy Of Religion, and 45 moreSelf and Identity, Ottoman History, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Identity (Culture), Islamic Philosophy, Identity politics, Kosovo, Nationalism, Religious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Religious Conversion, Cultural Identity, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Islamic Political Thought, Ethnic Conflict, Islamophobia, Secularisms and Secularities, Ethnicity, Religious Fundamentalism, Identity, Islamic Movements and Political Islam, Religious Studies, Balkans, Political Identity, National Security, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Islam and Secularism, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Nation-State, Ethnicity and National Identity, Muslims in Bulgaria and the Balkans, Anthropology of Religion, and Nation building and State making
""The book investigates the scope and limitations of the transformative power of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans. The extension of EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans has generated high expectations that enlargement will... more
""The book investigates the scope and limitations of the transformative power of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans.
The extension of EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans has generated high expectations that enlargement will regulate democratic institution-building and foster reform, much as it did in Central and Eastern Europe. However, there is very little research on whether and how unfavourable domestic conditions might mitigate the transformative power of the EU. This volume investigates the role of domestic factors, identifying ‘stateness’ as the missing link between the assumed transformative power of the EU and the actual capacity to adopt EU rules across the region. Including chapters on Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, leading scholars in the field offer up-to-date comparative analysis of key areas of institutional and policy reform; including state bureaucracy, rule of law, electoral management, environmental governance, cooperation with the International Court of Justice, economic liberalization and foreign policy.
Looking to the future and the implications for policy change, European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans provides a new theoretical and empirical focus on this little understood area. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of EU politics, comparative democratisation, post-communist transitions and Balkan area studies.""
The extension of EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans has generated high expectations that enlargement will regulate democratic institution-building and foster reform, much as it did in Central and Eastern Europe. However, there is very little research on whether and how unfavourable domestic conditions might mitigate the transformative power of the EU. This volume investigates the role of domestic factors, identifying ‘stateness’ as the missing link between the assumed transformative power of the EU and the actual capacity to adopt EU rules across the region. Including chapters on Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, leading scholars in the field offer up-to-date comparative analysis of key areas of institutional and policy reform; including state bureaucracy, rule of law, electoral management, environmental governance, cooperation with the International Court of Justice, economic liberalization and foreign policy.
Looking to the future and the implications for policy change, European Integration and Transformation in the Western Balkans provides a new theoretical and empirical focus on this little understood area. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of EU politics, comparative democratisation, post-communist transitions and Balkan area studies.""
Research Interests: European Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, European integration, Democratic Theory, Balkan Studies, and 17 moreDemocratization, State Formation, Institutional Change, European Foreign Policy, Political Elites, Conflict Resolution, Democracy, European Enlargement, Enlargement and Integration in the EU, Post-Conflict State Building, Democracy Promotion, EU Foreign Policy, Western Balkans, Post-Communist Studies, Democratic Transitions, Post Conflict Issues, and Governance and State Capacity
Why has the EU’s promotion of Rule of Law (RoL) triggered different and largely surface-thin reforms across countries subject to a similar frame of enlargement in the Western Balkans (WB)? We hypothesize that the domestic (non)enforcement... more
Why has the EU’s promotion of Rule of Law (RoL) triggered different and largely surface-thin reforms across countries subject to a similar frame of enlargement in the Western Balkans (WB)? We hypothesize that the domestic (non)enforcement of EU promoted rules depends on the mobilization of politically autonomous constituencies of change – organized advocacy groups and autonomous state institutions – which amount domestic accountability. The empirical investigation focuses on the prosecution of political corruption as empirical foci to assessing the travails of EU-promoted rules in the domestic context. Specifically, we trace the role of (1) EU’s RoL promotion strategy, (2) political resistance and (3) domestic accountability in explaining different records of prosecution of political corruption in Albania and Croatia.
Research Interests: European Studies, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Democratic Theory, Balkan Studies, and 15 moreDemocratization, European Foreign Policy, Judicial independence, Judicial Politics, Rule of Law, Democracy, Institutions (Political Science), Civil Society, Public Sector Accountability, Balkans, Institutions, Corruption, Political patronage, Civil Society Organizations, and Civil Society Development In Post communist States
Post-war Kosovo has been the subject of a highly intrusive international state-building project, including an unprecedented influx of international administrators, assistance and funds. However, it increasingly bears the hallmark of a... more
Post-war Kosovo has been the subject of a highly intrusive international state-building project, including an unprecedented influx of international administrators, assistance and funds. However, it increasingly bears the hallmark of a weak and captured state. This special issue contributes theoretical and empirical insights that shed light on possible explanations, difficulties and prospects of the state-building project in Kosovo. Theoretically, we investigate how international and local explanations play out, interact and gain dominance over each other; highlight the local factors that shape the experience of state-building; and focus on the hybridity of institution- and state-building on the ground. Empirically, we take stock of two decades of international state-building activities and one decade of independent statehood by providing long-term and in-depth analysis of specific areas of reform – municipal governance, state bureaucracy, normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, education, creation of armed forces, security sector reforms and reception of Salafi ideologies. Such time-sensitive, case-nuanced and empirically heavy analysis enables the authors to go back and forth between the role of international activities, domestic strategies of resistance and evidence of hybrid reforms in order to test the role of competing explanations.
Research Interests: European Studies, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development, State Formation, and 15 moreKosovo, Institutional Change, United Nations, European Foreign Policy, Nationalism And State Building, Post-Conflict State Building, Peace & Conflict Studies, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Peacebuilding, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, State sovereignty, Serbia-Kosovo Relations, EULEX, Kosovo Case, and UNMIK
Why has the internationally-promoted Weberian-style bureaucracy failed to replace patronage as the dominant principle of state organization in post-war Kosovo? This article explores how international actors’ rule-promotion activities and... more
Why has the internationally-promoted Weberian-style bureaucracy failed to replace patronage as the dominant principle of state organization in post-war Kosovo? This article explores how international actors’ rule-promotion activities and local actors’ strategies of resistance play out and interact to explain the failure. The empirical analysis focuses on rules of recruitment in the civil service system in the period 2000-2016. The analysis juxtaposes two consecutive stages of the state-building process, which are marked by different degrees and forms of international involvement: the pre-independence period, 1999-2008; and post-independence period, 2008-2016. Evidence from the case suggests that during the pre-independence period, legal inconsistencies embedded in the internationally promulgated legislation enabled local actors’ formal and informal strategies to recruit political cronies in the newly created civil service system. The transfer of authority from international administrators to elected local authorities, especially after Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, did not solve the problem of legal inconsistencies, and instead, served to consolidate governing parties’ strategies of control over recruitment in the state bureaucracy. More often than not, patron-client relationships that thrive at the borderline between formality and informality of political behaviour, continued to undermine external rule transfers.
Research Interests: European Studies, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Public Administration, Development Studies, and 67 morePeace and Conflict Studies, Political Parties, International Studies, International Development, Balkan Studies, Conflict, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development, Governance, State Formation, Kosovo, Institutional Change, United Nations, Local Government and Local Development, European Foreign Policy, State Building, Localization, Nationalism And State Building, State Theory, Balkan Politics, Comparative Public Administration, Bureaucratic Politics, Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Post-Conflict State Building, Patronage (History), Peace & Conflict Studies, Administrative Law and Bureaucratic Legalism, Institutions (Political Science), Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Party organization, External Relations of the EU, Conflict of Laws, State-building in the Failed States, Civil Service Reforms, Balkans, Good Governance, Institutions, State-Building, Bureaucracy, State, Western Balkans, Civil Service, Post Conflict Peacebuilding, Bureaucratic Reform, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, International Aid and Development, International Aid, Clientelismo, Bureaucracy and Politics, Clientelism, Post-Conflict, Public Adminstration, Political patronage, Patronage, Development Agencies, Governance, Aid Management, Local Governments, Decentralization, Urban Quality, Corporate Social Responsibility, Youth Development and Participation, Policy Making, International Development Organizations, Patron-Client Relations, Political Clientelism, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Bureacracy, Political Science and public administration, International cooperation for development, Post Conflict Development, Senior Civil Servants, State Capture, Post Conflict Issues, UNMIK, and Post Conflict and State Building process
Post-Communist openings constituted the ideal foci for reimagining the relationship between the state and religion. Specifically, it created new opportunities to balancing between rules of inclusion and exclusion regarding contending and... more
Post-Communist openings constituted the ideal foci for reimagining the relationship between the state and religion. Specifically, it created new opportunities to balancing between rules of inclusion and exclusion regarding contending and sometimes exclusionary religious alternatives of ‘good life’. In line with their new democratic aspirations, all Balkan countries have gradually reshuffled their religious policies, formalized religious freedoms, and institutionalized a more equal playing field for their respective religious communities. Realizing an all-inclusive and equal-opportunity structure for all religious denominations, however, proved neither smooth nor automatic, especially when it came to the inclusion of the historically-marginalized Muslim populations. The evolving institutional choices to incorporate such communities vacillated between the democratic urge for religious freedoms and equality, on the one hand, and the role of founding traditions and heritage of majority privileges, on the other. This article outlines the institutional compromises to accommodating Islam across plural polities which feature an unusual mix of denominations –Muslim, Christian Orthodox, Roman Catholics as well as atheist and agnostic groups –in the post-Communist Balkans.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Multiculturalism, History of Religion, and 50 moreHuman Rights Law, Human Rights, Religion and Politics, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Democratization, State Formation, Islam and Human Rights, Religious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Turkish and Middle East Studies, State Building, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Religion and Human Rights, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Comparative Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Democracy, Post-Conflict State Building, Secularisms and Secularities, Muslim-Christian Relation, Separation of Church and State, Islam in India, Democratisation, Post-Communism, Citizenship, Religious Fundamentalism, India, Religious Studies, Balkans, Religion and State, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Laicite, Church and State, Muslims, Post-Communist Studies, Religious Freedom, Religious and Political Violence, Nation building and State making, and Contemporary Muslim society
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents,... more
This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam, as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors' choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically we outline three sets of actors and related narratives to revival of Islamic faith – 1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion; 2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas ; and 3) lay-believers who can choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors' strategies, related perspectives and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians and imams' competing interpretations of Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in postwar Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Romas in different urban areas in the Balkans.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Multiculturalism, and 67 morePhilosophy Of Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies, Theology, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Conflict, History and Memory, Security, Security Studies, Nationalism, Religious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Radicalization, Localization, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Memory Studies, Social and Collective Memory, Secularization, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Conflict Management, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Turkish Foreign Policy, Secularisms and Secularities, Muslim-Christian Relation, Ethnicity, Sharia, Muslim-Christian Relations, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Pluralism, Sectarianism, Religiosity, Memory, Religious Studies, Balkans, Orientalism, Minorities, Women and gender in Muslim societies, Oriental Studies, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Shariah, Islam and Secularism, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Nation-State, Muslims, Theology and Religious Studies, Inter-civilization contact and conflict, Balkan Wars 1912-1913, Ethnicity and National Identity, Islamic Heterodoxy, Muslims in Bulgaria and the Balkans, Anthropology of Religion, Post Conflict Issues, Muslim philosophy and thought, and Contemporary Muslim society
The Islamic ‘revival’ in the Balkans has raised many questions among mainstream politicians and academics, who tend to look at religion as a repository of ethno-national identities, and hence a risky ‘depot’, furthering divisions between... more
The Islamic ‘revival’ in the Balkans has raised many questions among mainstream politicians and academics, who tend to look at religion as a repository of ethno-national identities, and hence a risky ‘depot’, furthering divisions between and among national entities. How believers themselves discover, articulate and experience their faith is often lost in the grand narratives of nations’ assumed uniformity and the related criteria of inclusion and exclusion. This article shifts the analytical and empirical focus from nation-centric debates on the revival of Islam to believers’ self-discovery and pursuit of faith after the fall of Communism. Specifically, it explores the emerging actors and mechanisms that trigger the bifurcation between Islam as a marker of national identity, on the one hand, and a source of religious beliefs, on the other. It all depends on who speaks for Islam – state authorities, religious hierarchies and/or informal faith communities. All the while, the Islamic phenomenon is no longer merely the bearer of ethno-national alternatives, but also the symptom of alternative spaces containing a variety of new actors as well as overlapping national, regional and global processes.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Ethnic Studies, History of Religion, and 43 moreReligion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Identity (Culture), Race and Ethnicity, Identity politics, Kosovo, Nationalism, Religious Pluralism, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Muslims in Europe, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Secularisms and Secularities, Muslim-Christian Relation, Ethnicity, History of Nationalism and Nation-Building, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Political Islam, Post-Communism, Religiosity, Central and Eastern Europe, Religious Studies, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Nation-State, Muslims, Post-Communist Studies, Ethnicity and National Identity, Anthropology of Religion, and Contemporary Muslim society
This article analyzes how the Muslim majority has engaged with, and contributed to parallel processes of democratization and European integration in post-Communist Albania. The assessment of Muslims’ choices focuses on the Central... more
This article analyzes how the Muslim majority has engaged with, and contributed to parallel processes of democratization and European integration in post-Communist Albania. The assessment of Muslims’ choices focuses on the Central organization, the Albanian Muslim Community (AMC), which is recognized by the state as the only authority in charge of all the administrative and spiritual issues pertinent to the community of Sunni believers, and serves as the main hub of respective religious activities in the country. The analysis of democratization, and Muslims’ respective choices, are divided into two different periods, namely democratic transition (1990-1998 and democratic consolidation (1998-2013), each facing democratizing actors, including Muslim groups, with different challenges and issues. We argue that the existence of a useful pool of arguments from the past, the so-called Albanian tradition, has enabled Muslims to contravene controversial foreign influences and recast Islam in line with the democratic and European ideals of the Albanian post-communist polity. This set of historical legacies and arguments explain also Muslims’ similar positioning towards democracy throughout different stages marked by different institutional restrictions and state policies.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Comparative Politics, European integration, and 37 moreHistory of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Democratization, Islam in Europe, Historical Institutionalism, History of Religions, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Post-Socialist Societies, Muslim Minorities, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Democracy, Enlargement and Integration in the EU, Secularisms and Secularities, Muslim-Christian Relation, Political Islam, Post-Communism, Islamic Movements and Political Islam, Central and Eastern Europe, Religious Studies, Balkans, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Atheism/Secular Studies, Muslims, Post-Communist Studies, Democratic Transitions, and Contemporary Muslim society
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, and 29 moreAlbanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Democratization, State Formation, Nationalism, Religious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Politics of Secularism, Comparative Secularism, Islamic History, Islam, Democracy, Dictatorships, Secularisms and Secularities, Political Islam, Religious Toleration, Religious Fundamentalism, Religious Studies, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Laicite, Atheism/Secular Studies, Post-Communist Studies, and Religious Freedom
What explains Islamic organizations' differing support for European integration and the democratic reforms that it entails? The question is highly relevant in the context of European Union (EU) enlargement towards Muslim-majority... more
What explains Islamic organizations' differing support for European integration and the democratic reforms that it entails? The question is highly relevant in the context of European Union (EU) enlargement towards Muslim-majority countries in the Balkans as well as theoretical debates on reasons and forms of Islamic moderation. Yet, almost no comparative research has been done on Balkan Muslims' support for European integration with the exception of the Turkish case. This article explores the role of interest- and belief-related factors in explaining Muslim organizations' differential support for the EU accession project in Albania and Turkey. The comparison of the most powerful Muslim organizations in both countries enables a most similar cases research design – our cases are similar in all aspects of the identified theoretical framework except for organizational capacities, which we argue explain the difference of attitudes towards the EU.
Research Interests: Religion, New Religious Movements, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, European Studies, and 35 moreComparative Politics, European integration, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Democratization, Politics, Religious Pluralism, European Foreign Policy, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Turkey, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Balkan Politics, Turkey And Europe, Muslims in Europe, Politics of Secularism, Comparative Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Democracy, Secularisms and Secularities, Modern Turkey, Political Islam, Albania, Central and Eastern Europe, Religious Studies, Balkans, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Western Balkans, Muslims, and Contemporary Muslim society
This paper questions whether the Stablization and Association Process justifies the strong assumptions on the EU transformative power in the Western Balkan region. The paper analyses its potential to serve as a framework of change by... more
This paper questions whether the Stablization and Association Process justifies the strong assumptions on the EU transformative power in the Western Balkan region. The paper analyses its potential to serve as a framework of change by exploring how it innovates against both the EU previous approaches in the Balkans and the EU enlargement in the rest of the Central and Eeastern Europe. In addition, the analysis delves into the implications of the distinguishing features of the SAP for fostering expected change. The paper proceeds in three parts. The first part elaborates on different forms and results of past interventions in the region. The second part outlines how and to what extent both the SP and the SAP signal a new approach including the perspective of European integration in the Balkans. The third part explores the main features of the SAP as a framework of enlargement and yet, tailored to cope with the particular challenges in the Balkans region. The paper suggests that although the EU policies have advanced to embrace the promise of membership and outline the accession stages for all the Balkan countries, the loaded agenda of both stabilization and association coupled with a weaker promise of membership can arguably erode the power of enlargement conditionality in the region.
Research Interests:
This book seeks answers to pending and pertinent timely questions regarding the potential of the EU to encourage domestic transformation at the receiving end of EU enlargement. Specifically, it asks to what extent EU enlargement tools... more
This book seeks answers to pending and pertinent timely questions regarding the potential of the EU to encourage domestic transformation at the receiving end of EU enlargement. Specifically, it asks to what extent EU enlargement tools have triggered domestic institutional and policy changes across the Western Balkans (WB). Change here is innovatively operationalized in terms of both verbal commitments, formal compliance and more substantial or irreversible reforms resulting out of EU policies. 1 The potential of the EU to turn around the poor record of reform is empirically tested against two crucial areas that have emerged as key and urgent priorities of the EU's Balkan tailored enlargement policy: the fight against corruption, and regional cooperation and good neighborly relations. The book makes for sober findings, which challenge the assumptions of much of the existing literature; call for expanding the array of explanatory frameworks and necessitate revising the mechanisms at play.
Research Interests: International Relations, European integration, Balkan Studies, Democratization, Institutional Change, and 15 moreEuropean Union, Political Corruption, Conflict Resolution, Rule of Law, Governance and Civil Society, Civil Society, Anti-Corruption, Institutions, Corruption, Informality, Accountability and Governance Issues, State Capture, Civil Society Development In Post communist States, Social Movements/Civil Society, and State capture, institutional capture as a drawback for countries in transition
As a post-Ottoman, Muslim majority, and multi-denominational European country, Albania is a rather unique laboratory for Muslim engagement with Europe, but also a historical precursor of European attempts to incorporate Muslims into the... more
As a post-Ottoman, Muslim majority, and multi-denominational European
country, Albania is a rather unique laboratory for Muslim engagement with Europe, but also a historical precursor of European attempts to incorporate Muslims into the institutional fold of the modern State.2 This century-long policy has formed a pool of useful historical legacies commonly referred toas the Albanian tradition, which is crucial to understand in order to trace the evolution and features of Islam in the present day. Yet, as a post-communist country, which experienced the prompt liberalisation of the religious sphere, including the arrival of foreign movements endowed with different origins and ideas, Albania also reflects a competitive market of religiosity marked by new religious discoveries, open channels of communication, diversification of religious
movements, and new transnational influences.
country, Albania is a rather unique laboratory for Muslim engagement with Europe, but also a historical precursor of European attempts to incorporate Muslims into the institutional fold of the modern State.2 This century-long policy has formed a pool of useful historical legacies commonly referred toas the Albanian tradition, which is crucial to understand in order to trace the evolution and features of Islam in the present day. Yet, as a post-communist country, which experienced the prompt liberalisation of the religious sphere, including the arrival of foreign movements endowed with different origins and ideas, Albania also reflects a competitive market of religiosity marked by new religious discoveries, open channels of communication, diversification of religious
movements, and new transnational influences.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, and 15 moreReligious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Radicalization, Islamic Studies, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Politics of Secularism, Islam, Secularisms and Secularities, Muslim-Christian Relation, Albania, Religious Studies, Islam and Secularism, Religious Identity, Radicalization and Extremism, and Contemporary Muslim society
The post-Communist resurgence of Islam across the Balkans has raised many questions, which are still exclusively studied within the context of the rise of nationalism and the violent conflicts of the early 1990s. The dissolution of the... more
The post-Communist resurgence of Islam across the Balkans has raised many questions, which are still exclusively studied within the context of the rise of nationalism and the violent conflicts of the early 1990s. The dissolution of the former Yugoslavia and the ferocity of conflicts and violence, moreover, have confined research to the most striking cases and particular moments in time (Poulton and Taji-Farouki 1997, 1). Consequently, the exploration of the Islamic phenomenon is left to the mercy of nationalist and post-conflict paradigms, which necessarily essentialize the revival of Islam according to the ethno-religious divisions of the day (Henig and Bielenin-Lenczowska 2013). However, the liberalization of religious conduct, and the normalization of the political arena in the two decades since the fall of Communism has unleashed a myriad of new encounters between believers and nationally envisaged religious categories and roles. In the ‘opened up’ religious market, believers face different sources of knowledge and interpretation, and are more apt to choose, but also resist and recast the collective national divisions within which they maneuver.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Ethnic Studies, History of Religion, and 42 moreReligion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Islamic Contemporary Studies, State Formation, Race and Ethnicity, Identity politics, Kosovo, Nationalism, Bosnia, Religious Pluralism, Islam in Europe, Minority Studies, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Ethnic minorities, Muslim Minorities, Faith, Politics of Secularism, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Secularisms and Secularities, Nation Branding, Ethnicity, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Post-Communism, Identity, Religious Studies, Balkans, Minorities, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, Macedonia, Nation-State, Post-Communist Studies, Ethnicity and National Identity, Anthropology of Religion, and Nation building and State making
Research Interests:
This chapter contrasts the evolution of secular models in two post-Ottoman Muslim-majority countries in Europe –Turkey and Albania. Both countries, and their respective secular models, have historically developed under the dominant... more
This chapter contrasts the evolution of secular models in two post-Ottoman Muslim-majority countries in Europe –Turkey and Albania. Both countries, and their respective secular models, have historically developed under the dominant influence of European ideas of modernity, and similar concerns to ‘secure’ the new states in a lukewarm European context. The secular arrangements, established during the founding moment of independent states in the early 20th century, resulted out of new state’s engagement with modern European concepts such as nation- and state-building, central-state authority and rational separation between state and religion. Yet, they also reflected the urge of these new states in the making to secure their European statehood by downplaying and controlling the contested role of Islam in the new European geopolitical sphere. What kind of secular models did Turkey and Albania, two predominantly Muslim states, develop within such a historical context? How do these models relate to European secular ideals? How do they discipline and control the role of Islam? And how have Islamic actors operates within these models –adapted, contested but also benefited from existing institutional frameworks?
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, and 39 moreAlbanian Studies, Balkan Studies, State Formation, Nationalism, Turkish Nationalism, Islam in Europe, Secular Ideology, Turkish and Middle East Studies, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Turkey, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Balkan Politics, Turkey And Europe, Politics of Secularism, Comparative Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Ottoman Balkans, Islam, Political History of Turkey, Secularisms and Secularities, Modern Turkey, Albanian Nationalism, Minorities in Turkey, History of Nationalism and Nation-Building, Albania, Secular, secularism and secularization, Religious Studies, Balkans, Secularism, Islam and Secularism, State, Western Balkans, Atheism/Secular Studies, Nation-State, Post-Secular Theory, Secular, and Sociology of the State
"During the 1990s, the Western Balkans have dominated academic attention as a region of violent conflicts and delayed transitions when compared to the smooth and peaceful transformations elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).... more
"During the 1990s, the Western Balkans have dominated academic attention as a region of violent conflicts and delayed transitions when compared to the smooth and peaceful transformations elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
However, the region’s reputation as Europe’s ‘trouble-making periphery’ promised to change at the turn of the 2000s, when the European Union (EU) expanded its concept of enlargement to include all Balkan countries left out of the previous wave of enlargement. The EU’s ‘unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans’ (European Council 2003), coupled with a regiontailored enlargement policy – the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) – (Elbasani 2008; Noutcheva 2012) were widely promoted as the anchor of future
reforms. By that time, EU enlargement was held as a success story that contributed to creating peace and stability, inspiring reforms, and consolidating common principles of liberty, democracy as well as market economies, in the previous candidate countries in the East. The EU policy shift towards the
region, on the one hand, and increasing domestic demand for integration, on the other, have generated high expectations that enlargement strategy will work to discipline democratic institution-building and foster post-communist reforms in
the same way that it did in the previous candidates in CEE."
However, the region’s reputation as Europe’s ‘trouble-making periphery’ promised to change at the turn of the 2000s, when the European Union (EU) expanded its concept of enlargement to include all Balkan countries left out of the previous wave of enlargement. The EU’s ‘unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans’ (European Council 2003), coupled with a regiontailored enlargement policy – the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) – (Elbasani 2008; Noutcheva 2012) were widely promoted as the anchor of future
reforms. By that time, EU enlargement was held as a success story that contributed to creating peace and stability, inspiring reforms, and consolidating common principles of liberty, democracy as well as market economies, in the previous candidate countries in the East. The EU policy shift towards the
region, on the one hand, and increasing domestic demand for integration, on the other, have generated high expectations that enlargement strategy will work to discipline democratic institution-building and foster post-communist reforms in
the same way that it did in the previous candidates in CEE."
Research Interests:
This chapter asks why postcommunist Albania has failed to ensure transitional justice for the abuses committed during one of the harshest communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. The analysis takes into account alternative explanations... more
This chapter asks why postcommunist Albania has failed to ensure transitional justice for the abuses committed during one of the harshest communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. The analysis takes into account alternative explanations of transitional justice processes, including historical legacies, the configuration of political interests, and idea-based accounts. Yet, our proposed framework attempts to link and supplement these existing explanations by incorporating the role of civil society, as a mediator that can screen and shape elite-driven initiatives on the issue. The analysis of Albania suggests that a generally weak civil society, and the very limited number of actors who have engaged with transitional justice has, over the past two decades, allowed for the political exploitation of the issue by self-proclaimed anticommunist actors. As a result, transitional justice has only gained momentum at crucial political moments when it has been seen as politically expedient to interested parties. Political actors have exploited public debates and policy initiatives, moreover, to buttress their power rather than seriously confront the crimes of the past. This has generated a deeply politicized climate but no definite results in terms of transitional justice.
Research Interests:
How do Albanian and Turkish models of secularism, both branded after the French-style Laïcité, translate European concepts into indigenous, case-specific models? And, how have Muslim majorities reacted to, embraced but also contested the... more
How do Albanian and Turkish models of secularism, both branded after the French-style Laïcité, translate European concepts into indigenous, case-specific models? And, how have Muslim majorities reacted to, embraced but also contested the established institutional arrangements? This article explores the evolution of secular institutional arrangements adopted in Albania and Turkey since their foundation as independent states and along different time periods and political regimes. We embody the analysis into two ideal-type secular traditions-civic-republican and liberal-each proposing different political projects and related institutional arrangements within the context of European modernity. The findings suggest that since independence both countries opted for variations of the state-engineered republican model, which insists in reformation of religion, social engineering, separation between state and religion and an interventionist state. Yet, those models also took case-specific features with Albania placing specific emphasis on interreligious equality and state neutrality as a means to pacify different religious communities; and Turkey promoting a synthesis between Sunni Islam and Turkishness as the basis of national identity and social cohesion. While the 'founding' model has largely stuck in post-communist Albania, Islamic political actors that came to power in Turkey, particularly AKP, which governs the country since 2002, has preserved the main institutional features of the secular system, but with a more Sunni majority bent.
Research Interests: Albanian Studies, Nationalism, Islam in Europe, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Turkey, and 10 moreIslamic Studies, Politics of Secularism, Comparative Secularism, Islam, Secularisms and Secularities, Democracy and Islam in muslim-majority countries, Political Islam, Albania, Islam and Secularism, and Contemporary Muslim society
For the external observer, Albanian political developments in the last two years may indicate an exceptional, almost dramatic, political crisis. The radical political discourse where the current PM and members of executive are daily... more
For the external observer, Albanian political developments in the last two years may indicate an exceptional, almost dramatic, political crisis. The radical political discourse where the current PM and members of executive are daily branded as ‘gangs’, ‘bandits’ and ‘criminals’ lends itself to a perception of a crisis. None of those accusations, however, are proven by the institutions in charge. International indices of democratization, moreover, don’t corroborate any plummet of democracy or the state of rule law (RoL) in the recent years. What the international indices indicate is a general stagnation , which places the country in the category of hybrid democratic regimes (Table 1). They also indicate a stickiness of the problem of RoL in all its dimensions –corruption, judiciary independence and separation of powers (Table 2).
The dilemmas about the immediate ‘dramatic’ crisis then, are more of a question of a ‘stable’ and persistent problem of democracy without RoL, which is apt to radicalization and disruptions. We argue that this kind of democracy without RoL builds on two interrelated phenomena – 1) polarization cum radicalization of the political spectrum; 2) weak and captured institutions unable to serve as trusted mechanisms of peaceful resolution of conflict. Both those factors reinforce a vicious cycle where the polarized political class sees unruly conflict as a means to take over institutions, while evolving institutions are incapable of standing such pressure and commonly become a political weapon. Periodic crisis and disruptions are an expected output of this type of democracy.
The dilemmas about the immediate ‘dramatic’ crisis then, are more of a question of a ‘stable’ and persistent problem of democracy without RoL, which is apt to radicalization and disruptions. We argue that this kind of democracy without RoL builds on two interrelated phenomena – 1) polarization cum radicalization of the political spectrum; 2) weak and captured institutions unable to serve as trusted mechanisms of peaceful resolution of conflict. Both those factors reinforce a vicious cycle where the polarized political class sees unruly conflict as a means to take over institutions, while evolving institutions are incapable of standing such pressure and commonly become a political weapon. Periodic crisis and disruptions are an expected output of this type of democracy.
Research Interests:
The end of communism was heralded as a critical ‘juncture’ for the global diffusion of democracy. Three decades since, the record of democratic gains defies initial expectations. To be sure, democracy has become the end goal of regime... more
The end of communism was heralded as a critical ‘juncture’ for the global diffusion of democracy. Three decades since, the record of democratic gains defies initial expectations. To be sure, democracy has become the end goal of regime change across regions previously infamous for boosting political alternatives- former Soviet territories, Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans and more recently the Middle East.Elections have increasingly emerged as the only legitimate method to screen political alternatives, select political representatives and delegate governing authority. Still, the legitimacy of elections has proceeded at a faster pace than advances of democratization in general.
The growing tally of defective democracies shows that power holders’ reversal and disdain for accountability mechanisms, in particular, and institutional restraints, in general, is a widespread problem among new democracies. The emerging democracies without accountability is a hybrid type of regime that typically rely on elections but features strong rulers, weak or façade institutions, prevailing informality, widespread corruption, personal or party control over decision making apparatus and often submission of check and balances to the will of majorities.
The growing tally of defective democracies shows that power holders’ reversal and disdain for accountability mechanisms, in particular, and institutional restraints, in general, is a widespread problem among new democracies. The emerging democracies without accountability is a hybrid type of regime that typically rely on elections but features strong rulers, weak or façade institutions, prevailing informality, widespread corruption, personal or party control over decision making apparatus and often submission of check and balances to the will of majorities.
Research Interests:
During the last three years, Albanians have been busy discussing a large scale judiciary reform. This would be the most comprehensive reform after the initial reshuffling of the communist-inherited system early into the transition. The... more
During the last three years, Albanians have been busy discussing a large scale judiciary reform. This would be the most comprehensive reform after the initial reshuffling of the communist-inherited system early into the transition. The project aims to depoliticize the ranks of the system but also check individual judges for links to corruption and organized crime, a strong feature of the evolving post-communist system. The central plank of reform consists of an internationally-led mission with the capacity to vet the individual members of the judiciary. Wide popular support for reforming the system, with the help of an international mission, draws on ample evidence that the judiciary has gradually degenerated into a corrupt corporation that stands on two pillars – deep politicization and links to organized crime. Given the documented links judiciary-politics-crime, any reshuffling of the judiciary is expected to trigger resistance from powerful players, who have built their careers and of course immense wealth on such underground connections.
Research Interests: Albanian Studies, Fighting and Preventing Corruption through Law, Balkan Studies, Accountability, Democratization, and 16 moreOrganized Crime, State Building, Judicial Politics, Corruption (Corruption), Political Corruption, Balkan Politics, Judicial Reform, Institutions (Political Science), Post-Communism, The role of the judiciary, Albania, Anti-Corruption, Corruption, Western Balkans, Corporate Corruption, and Post-Communist Studies
How and to what extent have European ideas transformed the political-administrative institutions in the candidate countries in the East? Which conditions work to mitigate and undermine the impact of the European Union (EU) in these... more
How and to what extent have European ideas transformed the political-administrative institutions in the candidate countries in the East? Which conditions work to mitigate and undermine the impact of the European Union (EU) in these contexts? Research on post-communist transformations, by and large, holds EU enlargement as a successful attempt of institutional transfer in the candidate countries. However, while the EU proved to be successful in the first wave of enlargement in the East, we know much less about its effects in “borderline” cases that lack the will and/or the capacity to pursue required reforms, thus posing a real challenge to EU enlargement strategy. The paper aims to trace the effects of enlargement in challenging domestic environments focusing on public administration reform in post-communist Albania. Differently from the classic Europeanization literature, the bottom-up approach used here, seeks to bring to the fore the crucial role of domestic agency to download and sometimes mitigate European transfers in the national arena. Evidence from the case study shows that governing actors have used EU enlargement as a means to further their strategic goals – they have preferred to talk the talk of reform in order to reap the benefits associated with EU integration and broader external assistance, but also resist implementation of new rules that curtail the political control of the state and the ongoing system of spoils built throughout the post-communist transition. The EU’s broad thresholds on administrative reform and the weak association between monitoring of progress and rewards have left ample space for the governing actors to merely pay lip service to the EU prescriptions, while getting full control of a politicized administration.
Research Interests:
"The Greek crisis has raised many concerns about its potential effects on the fragile post-communist Albanian economy. This report analyzes the effects of the crisis, taking into account 1) structural issues related to the model of... more
"The Greek crisis has raised many concerns about its potential effects on the fragile post-communist Albanian economy. This report analyzes the effects of the crisis, taking into account 1) structural issues related to the model of post-communist economic development and 2) conjectural challenges to crucial sectors that constitute the bilateral relations between
Greece and Albania. The analysis suggests that the potentialsectoral and ad hoc consequences of the crisis could prove dangerous when combined with the overall structural weakness of the economy, which suffers from increasing current balance and budgetary deficits as well as a model of development that relies largely on external sources of revenue."
Greece and Albania. The analysis suggests that the potentialsectoral and ad hoc consequences of the crisis could prove dangerous when combined with the overall structural weakness of the economy, which suffers from increasing current balance and budgetary deficits as well as a model of development that relies largely on external sources of revenue."
Research Interests:
Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea deals with one of the most pertinent and complex questions of our times: the appeal and resilience of Salafi-Jihadi movements despite decades of forced repression including domestic repression,... more
Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea deals with one of the most pertinent and complex questions of our times: the appeal and resilience of Salafi-Jihadi movements despite decades of forced repression including domestic repression, civil wars, and the international ‘war on terror’.
Research Interests: Religion, Intellectual History, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Terrorism, and 15 moreInternational Terrorism, Middle East Studies, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, International Security, Conflict, Political Violence and Terrorism, Islamic Studies, Islamic History, Islam, Middle East Politics, Religious Studies, Jihad, Salafi-jihadist groups, and Jihadism and Radical Islamism
How to abstract coherent meaning from seemingly multi-faceted Suras of Quran is a recurrent and pertinent topic that cuts across classic and modern Islamic scholarship. Reda’s book suggests a holistic reading of Al-Baqara, the second and... more
How to abstract coherent meaning from seemingly multi-faceted Suras of Quran is a recurrent and pertinent topic that cuts across classic and modern Islamic scholarship. Reda’s book suggests a holistic reading of Al-Baqara, the second and probably the most important Sura that introduces the very foundations of Islamic faith.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Islamic Law, Philosophy Of Religion, Islamic Philosophy, and 20 moreQur'anic Studies, Quranic Studies, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Islamic History, Islam, Quran, Political Islam, Quranic Exegesis, Religious Studies, Quranic linguistics, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Al-Quran & Al-Hadith, Quran and Sunnah Studies, Al Quran, Quran Hadith and Modern Science, Al-Quran & Hadist, The Quran and Violent Jihad, Quran and Tafsir Studies, and Qur'anic and Hadith sciences
Milton-Edwards, B. The Muslim Brotherhood: The Arab Spring and its Future Face. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the singular largest and most enduring of Islamist organizations, has been center stage of bourgeoning... more
Milton-Edwards, B. The Muslim Brotherhood: The Arab Spring and its Future Face. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the singular largest and most enduring of Islamist organizations, has been center stage of bourgeoning debates on the rise and fall of movements propagating " Islam is the solution. " It certainly bared an important role in the wave of protests, reforms and revolutions shaking the Middle East, especially in the wake of the Arab Spring. Perhaps more importantly, it became the litmus test of the Islamic-imagined governing projects to the extent it vied for power and led majority-or coalition-governments. Indeed, the evolution of the MB since its foundation in 1928 speaks to crucial theoretical and empirical dilemmas regarding key themes – nation-state, pluralism, democracy, gender, pan-Islamism and/or radicalism –that are typically associated with Islamism. Its position in the post-Arab uprisings is particularly interesting to the extent it connects the Islamist project to an ever-changing context of power shifts, ideological rifts, citizenry moods, and changing geo-strategic alliances.
Research Interests: Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Peace and Conflict Studies, Terrorism, and 46 moreInternational Terrorism, Middle East Studies, History of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Religion and Politics, Revolutions, Islamic Contemporary Studies, Democratization, State Formation, Islamic Philosophy, Political Violence and Terrorism, Nationalism, Colonialism, Palestine, Post-Colonialism, Radicalization, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Egypt, Middle Eastern Studies, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Yemen, Jordan, Islamic History, Islam, Islamic Political Thought, Social movements and revolution, Middle East Politics, Political Islam, Muslim Brotherhood, Middle East, Religious Studies, Jihad, Imperialism, ARAB ISRAEL CONFLICT AND HAMAS, Muslims, Jihadism, Arab Spring (Arab Revolts), Tunisian Revolution-Arab Spring, Hamas, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, Islamic governance, Colonialism and Imperialism, Muslim philosophy and thought, and Contemporary Muslim society
"The Emancipation of Europe’s Muslims provides a fine-tuned and convincing analysis of Western European states’ policy shifts towards their migrants of Muslim origin and the resulting transformations of European Muslims in the last two... more
"The Emancipation of Europe’s Muslims provides a fine-tuned and convincing analysis of Western European states’ policy shifts
towards their migrants of Muslim origin and the resulting
transformations of European Muslims in the last two decades.
The book has a comparative edge over earlier studies in the field to the extent that it examines seven European countries hosting a
substantial majority of Muslim migrants and, thus, covers an
almost exhaustive sample of European Muslim experiences. The
analysis draws on an impressive amount of hands-on empirical research – extended visits to all the countries under investigation and 200 multilingual interviews with different stakeholders – gathered during a decade of field work. What makes it stand out as an academic enterprise, however, is the use of the new theoretical lenses – a version of neo-corporatism – to scrutinize state policies that aim to incorporate the newcomer Muslims in the institutional structure of the state. Such an approach enables the author to take Muslims out of the unique and uniform category into which they are usually forced (on account of their beliefs) and instead analze them as part of wider resistant minorities (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish communities and new enfranchised working classes) which were gradually incorporated into the states’ institutional framework at different junctures of the European history."
towards their migrants of Muslim origin and the resulting
transformations of European Muslims in the last two decades.
The book has a comparative edge over earlier studies in the field to the extent that it examines seven European countries hosting a
substantial majority of Muslim migrants and, thus, covers an
almost exhaustive sample of European Muslim experiences. The
analysis draws on an impressive amount of hands-on empirical research – extended visits to all the countries under investigation and 200 multilingual interviews with different stakeholders – gathered during a decade of field work. What makes it stand out as an academic enterprise, however, is the use of the new theoretical lenses – a version of neo-corporatism – to scrutinize state policies that aim to incorporate the newcomer Muslims in the institutional structure of the state. Such an approach enables the author to take Muslims out of the unique and uniform category into which they are usually forced (on account of their beliefs) and instead analze them as part of wider resistant minorities (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish communities and new enfranchised working classes) which were gradually incorporated into the states’ institutional framework at different junctures of the European history."
Research Interests:
Endresen’s book provides a theoretically informed analysis of the role of religion in demarcating an ‘ecumenical’ and ‘homogenous’ Albanian identity, on the one hand, and a context-dependent and competitive notion of ‘we-ness’ on the... more
Endresen’s book provides a theoretically informed analysis of the role of religion in demarcating an ‘ecumenical’ and ‘homogenous’ Albanian identity, on the one hand, and a context-dependent and competitive notion of ‘we-ness’ on the other. Accordingly, this dialectical relation between religion and nation has evolved at the intersection of intricate historical narratives, political strategies, geopolitical contingencies and various religious groups’ loyalties and experiences. The author thus offers a comprehensive analysis of both the socio-political, historical, and religious contexts that have molded a shared and still changing meaning of ‘Albanianism’ in different periods of time.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, History of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, and 14 moreBalkan Studies, Identity (Culture), State Formation, Identity politics, Nationalism, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Ottoman Balkans, Identity, Religious Studies, Western Balkans, Nation-State, and Ethnicity and National Identity
Research Interests:
he increasing participation of Muslims in the European political arena has challenged some of the established boundaries in the relations between religion, state, and politics. The existing relations are being re-assessed, contested, and... more
he increasing participation of Muslims in the European political arena has challenged some of the established boundaries in the relations between religion, state, and politics. The existing relations are being re-assessed, contested, and negotiated from different angles – state policies to accommodate new arriving faith communities in the contemporary European societies, organized religious groups entering the political arena and making their claims within a democratic order, and individual believers’ diversified preferences for practicing and perceiving their faith. Some of the lines of contestation center around migrant-related issues such as access to citizenship, challenges of integration, and socio-political rights. Yet others raise faith-specific issues ranging from principles of Islamic law and legitimate authority to material necessities of religious practice. How do Muslims mobilize to challenge and re-negotiate the nexus between migrant status, religious concerns, and political responses in current European societies? What determines their success to lobby and pressure for their demands? And finally, what are their priorities, which they pursue once they engage in politics? Muslim Political Participation in Europe sets to explore Muslims’ expanding engagement with politics – channels of political participation, claims, and achievements – vis-à-vis the broader context that influences the community in different European locales. The empirical chapters are structured in four sections: the first focuses on Muslims’ experiences in terms of voting and standing for elections; the second discusses non-electoral channels of social mobilization and activity; the third emphasizes the role of historically rooted institutional channels; and the last analyzes futuristic trends toward participation.
Research Interests:
"THIS BOOK ANALYSES THE CURIOUS AND OFTEN DEBATED, but less often researched phenomenon of religious conversions in the former Soviet Union. Post-communist countries have witnessed an extraordinary revival of religion after the fall of... more
"THIS BOOK ANALYSES THE CURIOUS AND OFTEN DEBATED, but less often researched phenomenon of religious conversions in the former Soviet Union. Post-communist countries have witnessed an extraordinary revival of religion after the fall of the repressive communist regimes. The resurgence of religion, however, has not only meant the recovery of repressed
religious traditions, but also the thriving of new religious movements. The spiritual landscape after communism is certainly different from what it was before the advent of communism.
Indeed, one of the paradoxical developments that have emerged across the former Soviet world is the high number of conversions from traditional religions to new forms of Christianity, and the unprecedented success of ‘passionate’ religious movements in the bustling religious market. If anthropologists’ assumptions that religions tangle individuals into larger networks are true,
how is it possible for people to shift their religious affiliation? Moreover, why has conversion assumed such significant proportions at the turn of the twenty-first century? What made it a conceivable option after the fall of communism? And, why were some religions more attractive than others in the open competitive religious market? This volume is a successful attempt to address these questions, combining long-standing debates that have preoccupied students of religious change, and conversion, with detailed context-related empirical analysis of different cases across the former Soviet Union."
religious traditions, but also the thriving of new religious movements. The spiritual landscape after communism is certainly different from what it was before the advent of communism.
Indeed, one of the paradoxical developments that have emerged across the former Soviet world is the high number of conversions from traditional religions to new forms of Christianity, and the unprecedented success of ‘passionate’ religious movements in the bustling religious market. If anthropologists’ assumptions that religions tangle individuals into larger networks are true,
how is it possible for people to shift their religious affiliation? Moreover, why has conversion assumed such significant proportions at the turn of the twenty-first century? What made it a conceivable option after the fall of communism? And, why were some religions more attractive than others in the open competitive religious market? This volume is a successful attempt to address these questions, combining long-standing debates that have preoccupied students of religious change, and conversion, with detailed context-related empirical analysis of different cases across the former Soviet Union."
Research Interests:
"Stable Outside, Fragile Inside is one of the newest books in search of the distinctive development, erratic trends and widely perceived failure of Central Asian republics to make a successful transition to democracy after the... more
"Stable Outside, Fragile Inside is one of the newest books in
search of the distinctive development, erratic trends and widely
perceived failure of Central Asian republics to make a successful
transition to democracy after the disintegration of the Soviet
Union. The volume seeks to explain the region’s specific
trajectory to independent statehood, focusing on processes of
socialization with competing external norms, emanating not only
the main protagonists of the Cold War, Russia and US, but also
an increasingly influential EU, a myriad of international
organizations and European countries, as well as regional powers
such as Turkey, China, Iran, and Pakistan. At the same time, the
book draws attention to the specific domestic context of awkward
statehood of Central Asian polities – a set of authority structures
and state society relations as well as unpredictable international
behavior – which makes it difficult for the conventional
frameworks to capture the current state of affairs."
search of the distinctive development, erratic trends and widely
perceived failure of Central Asian republics to make a successful
transition to democracy after the disintegration of the Soviet
Union. The volume seeks to explain the region’s specific
trajectory to independent statehood, focusing on processes of
socialization with competing external norms, emanating not only
the main protagonists of the Cold War, Russia and US, but also
an increasingly influential EU, a myriad of international
organizations and European countries, as well as regional powers
such as Turkey, China, Iran, and Pakistan. At the same time, the
book draws attention to the specific domestic context of awkward
statehood of Central Asian polities – a set of authority structures
and state society relations as well as unpredictable international
behavior – which makes it difficult for the conventional
frameworks to capture the current state of affairs."
Research Interests:
"Wolin’s Democracy Incorporated struggles with one of the most persistent questions in social sciences – the challenge and perils of democratic systems as a ceaseless struggle between the political demos and selected few elites. The... more
"Wolin’s Democracy Incorporated struggles with one of the most
persistent questions in social sciences – the challenge and perils of democratic systems as a ceaseless struggle
between the political demos and selected few elites. The question is carried to a contemporary, but equally crucial
phenomena – the transformation of the US political system harbouring ambitions of being the world’s longest democratic
champion and promoter of democracy abroad. The book, thus, raises a very provocative question – does democracy
truly describe the US politics, or is it a cynical gesture used to camouflage a deeply manipulative politics? (242) Could we and/or should we think of an American version of totalitarianism? In that case, how can we notice it?"
persistent questions in social sciences – the challenge and perils of democratic systems as a ceaseless struggle
between the political demos and selected few elites. The question is carried to a contemporary, but equally crucial
phenomena – the transformation of the US political system harbouring ambitions of being the world’s longest democratic
champion and promoter of democracy abroad. The book, thus, raises a very provocative question – does democracy
truly describe the US politics, or is it a cynical gesture used to camouflage a deeply manipulative politics? (242) Could we and/or should we think of an American version of totalitarianism? In that case, how can we notice it?"
Research Interests:
"European Integration and Its Effects on Minority Protection in South East Europe is one of the latest efforts to trace the role of the EU in the development of minority rights regimes in Southeast Europe. The book combines the... more
"European Integration and Its Effects on Minority Protection in South East Europe is one of the latest efforts to trace the role of the EU in the development of minority rights regimes in Southeast Europe. The book combines the international perspective and
the role of EU integration with attention to domestic conditions and politics, in order to explain the state of minority protection
policies in the Balkan states; an approach that has lately become increasingly popular. The book is, thus, an academic endeavour with ambitious objectives. It aims to explain the role of the EU in furthering minority protection; to provide a socio-historical
account of minorities in the context of identity formation and nation-building; to outline the state of minority regimes across
Southeast Europe, and to elaborate on the virtues and problems of various modelsm adopted in the region. Furthermore, this book sets out to provide a rich empirical account of the minority rights in each of the nine national cases under review."
the role of EU integration with attention to domestic conditions and politics, in order to explain the state of minority protection
policies in the Balkan states; an approach that has lately become increasingly popular. The book is, thus, an academic endeavour with ambitious objectives. It aims to explain the role of the EU in furthering minority protection; to provide a socio-historical
account of minorities in the context of identity formation and nation-building; to outline the state of minority regimes across
Southeast Europe, and to elaborate on the virtues and problems of various modelsm adopted in the region. Furthermore, this book sets out to provide a rich empirical account of the minority rights in each of the nine national cases under review."
Research Interests:
Grzymala-Busse has written an excellent book (awarded the Gabriel Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics) on the unexpected regeneration of the communist successor parties in East Central Europe. She seeks to... more
Grzymala-Busse has written an excellent book (awarded the
Gabriel Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative
Politics) on the unexpected regeneration of the communist
successor parties in East Central Europe. She seeks to explain why the discredited political actors of the ancien régime, widely despised by their own citizens,
could not only survive the collapse of the old order, but also succeed in conditions of democracy. The main hypothesis is that the practices of the authoritarian regimes led to different configurations of elite political resources consisting in portable
skills and usable past, which in turn determined their organizational and programmatic choices. Utilizing an elite driven
approach she establishes a causal relation between the choice of party transformation strategies and the communist parties’
regeneration operationalized in terms of responsive appeals, electoral support and coalition potentials
Gabriel Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative
Politics) on the unexpected regeneration of the communist
successor parties in East Central Europe. She seeks to explain why the discredited political actors of the ancien régime, widely despised by their own citizens,
could not only survive the collapse of the old order, but also succeed in conditions of democracy. The main hypothesis is that the practices of the authoritarian regimes led to different configurations of elite political resources consisting in portable
skills and usable past, which in turn determined their organizational and programmatic choices. Utilizing an elite driven
approach she establishes a causal relation between the choice of party transformation strategies and the communist parties’
regeneration operationalized in terms of responsive appeals, electoral support and coalition potentials
Research Interests:
The Revival of Islam in the Balkans: From Identity to Religiosity, edited by Arolda Elbasani and Olivier Roy, seeks ‘to delineate and distinguish between different levels of re-discovery and redefinition of faith after the collapse of... more
The Revival of Islam in the Balkans: From Identity to Religiosity, edited by Arolda Elbasani and Olivier Roy, seeks ‘to delineate and distinguish between different levels of re-discovery and redefinition of faith after the collapse of communism’ (15). Contrary to mainstream research that tends to see religion in the Balkans as being solely linked with ethno-national identities, this collection challenges current ways of thinking about the issue by shifting ‘the focus to the reconfigurations of the organized religious field, alternative actors, and resulting practices of Islamic religiosity’ (243).
The Revival of Islam in the Balkans is a timely addition to the literature with its rich insights and innovative, path-breaking studies. Each chapter, including the introduction and conclusion penned by the editors, challenges mainstream scholarship and shifts the focus from a narrow-minded ethno-national approach to instead pay closer attention to local actors and agents who had largely gone ignored. Those actors and agents do – and likely will continue to – represent new Muslim communities that may play an active positive role in the future of the region. For these reasons, the book is a must-read, and the exceptional editorial work makes it even more appealing and easy to follow. There is no doubt that this book will be a useful reference work on Islam and Islamic practices in general, and on the Balkans in particular.
The Revival of Islam in the Balkans is a timely addition to the literature with its rich insights and innovative, path-breaking studies. Each chapter, including the introduction and conclusion penned by the editors, challenges mainstream scholarship and shifts the focus from a narrow-minded ethno-national approach to instead pay closer attention to local actors and agents who had largely gone ignored. Those actors and agents do – and likely will continue to – represent new Muslim communities that may play an active positive role in the future of the region. For these reasons, the book is a must-read, and the exceptional editorial work makes it even more appealing and easy to follow. There is no doubt that this book will be a useful reference work on Islam and Islamic practices in general, and on the Balkans in particular.
Research Interests: Religion, Sociology of Religion, Ethnic Studies, Philosophy Of Religion, Religion and Politics, and 31 moreAlbanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Balkan History, Islamic Philosophy, Kosovo, Nationalism, Bosnia, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, History of Religions, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Balkan Politics, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Muslims in Europe, Islamic History, Islam, Muslim-Christian Relation, Ethnicity, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Islamic Intellectual History, Greece, Religious Studies, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Ethnicity and National Identity, Anthropology of Religion, Muslim philosophy and thought, and Contemporary Muslim society
The book contains 11 chapters by as many contributors. Arolda Elbasani, a Jean Monnet Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in Italy, writes a superb Introduction outlining the book’s central thesis, which questions... more
The book contains 11 chapters by as many contributors. Arolda Elbasani, a Jean Monnet Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in Italy, writes a superb Introduction outlining the book’s central thesis, which questions much of the popular scholarship on Muslims and Islam. Roy, Head of the Mediterranean Programme at the same institute, undertakes a similar concluding chapter where he urges that the old paradigms that restricted religious affiliation to ethno-national identity are hopelessly archaic and need to be discarded. The book is divided into three main sections. Part I starts by challenging much contemporary
academic literature and sketching a new analytical framework that focuses on believers’ experiences and relations to faith. Part II explores various case studies that demonstrate how the Muslim faithful actually ‘experience, resist and reinvent…classificatory systems during everyday practice’ (15). And finally, the third part examines precisely how localMuslims engage with the public space and construct arguments to legitimize Islam as part of a complicated process of justifying particular choices inside their various post-Communist polities.
academic literature and sketching a new analytical framework that focuses on believers’ experiences and relations to faith. Part II explores various case studies that demonstrate how the Muslim faithful actually ‘experience, resist and reinvent…classificatory systems during everyday practice’ (15). And finally, the third part examines precisely how localMuslims engage with the public space and construct arguments to legitimize Islam as part of a complicated process of justifying particular choices inside their various post-Communist polities.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Sociology of Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies, Middle East Studies, and 23 moreAlbanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Democratization, Identity (Culture), Roman Religion, Identity politics, Kosovo, Nationalism, Bosnia, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, Turkish and Middle East Studies, National Identity, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Islam, Bulgarian history, Albania, Central and Eastern Europe, Religious Studies, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Anthropology of Religion
The first objective of the volume is to examine Muslim “believers’ different responses to the post-communist challenges of nationally organized religious spaces, and analyze how they adapt to swift changes, oppose rigid prescriptions, and... more
The first objective of the volume is to examine Muslim “believers’ different responses to the post-communist challenges of nationally organized religious spaces, and analyze how they adapt to swift changes, oppose rigid prescriptions, and envisage their own ‘local’ spaces”(p. 14). The empirical cases analyzed in the volume provide evidence of a number of factors that influence how Islam is practiced in
the region. They further contextualize Muslims’ expressions and pursuit of faith in the locales where they operate. Furthermore, the volume offers cross-country parallels, attempting to decipher the ways in which
believers discover and experience their new-found faith. Finally, the authors aim to “conceptualize postcommunist trends of revival of faith, establish patterns and draw conclusions regarding the relationship
between nation, state and faith, as well as traits of religiosity after the collapse of communism.
The book identifies three crucial breaks that help to reconfigure the ways in which Muslims in the Balkans grapple with their beliefs and the salience they gain in their religious lives: the consequences of
decades-long socialist secularization, the new competitive market of religiosity, and the ‘EU-ization’ of the religious sphere.
This volume demonstrates that local Muslim communities have
not only been able to reject foreign influences, but also to construct new methods to theoretically and practically defend their traditional practice. The case studies of this volume also indicate the readiness and
capabilities of Muslim leaders to integrate European human rights vocabulary into Islamic discourse, and a resolution to shape an Islam that will become and remain a constituent part of the European religious
and political landscape.
the region. They further contextualize Muslims’ expressions and pursuit of faith in the locales where they operate. Furthermore, the volume offers cross-country parallels, attempting to decipher the ways in which
believers discover and experience their new-found faith. Finally, the authors aim to “conceptualize postcommunist trends of revival of faith, establish patterns and draw conclusions regarding the relationship
between nation, state and faith, as well as traits of religiosity after the collapse of communism.
The book identifies three crucial breaks that help to reconfigure the ways in which Muslims in the Balkans grapple with their beliefs and the salience they gain in their religious lives: the consequences of
decades-long socialist secularization, the new competitive market of religiosity, and the ‘EU-ization’ of the religious sphere.
This volume demonstrates that local Muslim communities have
not only been able to reject foreign influences, but also to construct new methods to theoretically and practically defend their traditional practice. The case studies of this volume also indicate the readiness and
capabilities of Muslim leaders to integrate European human rights vocabulary into Islamic discourse, and a resolution to shape an Islam that will become and remain a constituent part of the European religious
and political landscape.
Research Interests: Religion, Sociology of Religion, Islamic Law, Philosophy Of Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies, and 40 moreHistory of Religion, Religion and Politics, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Conflict, Democratization, Race and Ethnicity, Identity politics, Kosovo, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, Nationalism, Bosnia, Islam in Europe, Bulgaria, History of Religions, National Identity, Islamic Studies, Contemporary Movements and Trends in Islam, Muslims in Europe, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Ethnicity, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Post-Communism, Albania, Identity, Greece, Religious Studies, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Muslims, Post-Communist Studies, Ethnicity and National Identity, ConteporaryI Islam, Muslims in Bulgaria and the Balkans, Anthropology of Religion, and Contemporary Muslim society
This is a timely collection of essays in that it addresses what has been the major obstacle to the study of post-communist Islam in the Balkans, namely conceiving of Islam and Muslim identity solely in terms of ethno-national categories... more
This is a timely collection of essays in that it addresses what has been the major obstacle to the study of post-communist Islam in the Balkans, namely conceiving of Islam and Muslim identity solely in terms of ethno-national categories and from a top-down perspective. The ethno-national macro-paradigm has been solidified by the wars in Bosnia & Hercegovina and Kosovo, and the conflict in Macedonia (FYROM), and by the post-conflict ethno-nationalised public discourses that have proliferated acrossthe post-communist Balkans at large. Yet the use of the immediate post-communist and post-conflict ethno-national contexts for a nuanced understanding of the contemporary religious dynamics in the Balkans is hardly accurate and productive today. This has been demonstrated by numerous grassroots ethnographic studies situated on the margins of the dominant discourses and modes of identification that have emerged in recent years. As Arolda Elbasani’s and Olivier Roy’s respective chapters correctly argue, there is an urgent need to find a middle ground that would enable us to examine mutual intertwinements of local and peripheral actors and their experiences with the wider discursive frameworks of religious and ethno-national categories, and reconfigurations of the state regulations of religious life, as well as influences of globalised Islamic discursive traditions. Moreover, these intertwinements need to be further contextualised alongside wider socio-economic and transnational processes unfolding in the region and impacting on Muslim (and non-Muslim) lives. The processes discussed in this volume include circular labour migration, proliferation of new forms of mediation and new, transnationally mediated religious discourses and authorities, public expressions of identity, and reenergised public discourses on Europeanism and Orientalism respectively.
Research Interests: Peace and Conflict Studies, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Conflict, History and Memory, and 37 moreIdentity (Culture), Race and Ethnicity, Islamic Philosophy, Identity politics, Kosovo, Nationalism, Bosnia, Bulgaria, National Identity, Nationalism And State Building, Islamic Studies, Memory Studies, Social and Collective Memory, Muslim Minorities, Balkan Politics, Collective Memory, Muslims in Europe, Ottoman Balkans, Islamic History, Islam, Muslim-Christian Relation, History of Nationalism and Nation-Building, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Identity, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Balkans, Women and gender in Muslim societies, National Security, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Western Balkans, Muslims, Bosna and Herzegovina, Inter-civilization contact and conflict, Ethnicity and National Identity, Muslim philosophy and thought, and Contemporary Muslim society
Research Interests:
Since the early 1990s, several books by historians, anthropologists and political scientists have deepened our knowledge of Islam in the Balkans. Due to the political context of the 1990s, most of these have emphasized the links between... more
Since the early 1990s, several books by historians, anthropologists and political scientists have deepened our knowledge of Islam in the Balkans. Due to the political context of the 1990s, most of these have emphasized the links between Islam, national identity and political mobilisation. Thus, in her introduction, Arolda Elbasani regrets
that the specialists of Islam in the Balkans have left ‘the exploration of the Islamic phenomena to the mercy of nationalism and post-conflict paradigms, which have essentialized religion in line with ethnonational divisions of the day’ (1). In this collective work, Elbasani proposes instead
to focus on the individual forms of faith, insofar as ‘the experiences of religiosity have increasingly become a personalized individual attitude, detached from organized religion and doctrinal official prescriptions’
(3). In her view, the current situation of Islam in the Balkans is imbued with the legacy of secularisation during the socialist period, the appearance of a pluralist religious market, and the Europeanisation
of the religious sphere—all processes that cannot be understood with approaches rooted entirely in terms of ethnonational identity. Elbasani endeavours to fill in this gap with eleven contributions by young researchers, based primarily on participant observation, non-directive interviews or, in some cases, discourse analysis.
that the specialists of Islam in the Balkans have left ‘the exploration of the Islamic phenomena to the mercy of nationalism and post-conflict paradigms, which have essentialized religion in line with ethnonational divisions of the day’ (1). In this collective work, Elbasani proposes instead
to focus on the individual forms of faith, insofar as ‘the experiences of religiosity have increasingly become a personalized individual attitude, detached from organized religion and doctrinal official prescriptions’
(3). In her view, the current situation of Islam in the Balkans is imbued with the legacy of secularisation during the socialist period, the appearance of a pluralist religious market, and the Europeanisation
of the religious sphere—all processes that cannot be understood with approaches rooted entirely in terms of ethnonational identity. Elbasani endeavours to fill in this gap with eleven contributions by young researchers, based primarily on participant observation, non-directive interviews or, in some cases, discourse analysis.
Research Interests:
THIS VOLUME IS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO OUR UNDERSTANDING of the combined dynamic of post-communist transition and Europeanisation in the often neglected Western Balkan region. The Western Balkans are often depicted as presenting... more
THIS VOLUME IS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO OUR UNDERSTANDING of the combined dynamic of post-communist transition and Europeanisation in the often neglected Western Balkan region. The Western Balkans are often depicted as presenting unfavourable conditions, or, in the editor’s words, ‘challenging domestic factors’ to the Europeanisation process (p. 5). The book covers several case studies, focusing on different states as well as policy areas and providing information about the degree of EU impact and the level of acceptance or rejection of EU requirements. Two questions cross-cut
through different case studies presented in the volume. One is the role of domestic agents in the process of Europeanisation; and the other is the importance of formal and informal political structures for successful Europeanisation. The authors specifically emphasise the issue of ‘stateness’, that is state authority and bureaucratic capacity, as an area of investigation which connects EU transformative power with the willingness and capacity of domestic elites and institutions to accept and implement EU rules.
Importantly, in this volume, Europeanisation is not treated in its classical dimension, as a top-down impact coming from abroad, but as a dynamic relation between the EU and individual Western Balkan countries. From one side, there is one common reform package coming from Brussels, but on the other hand, Europeanisation in each country is differentiated and is strongly influenced by country-specific factors.
through different case studies presented in the volume. One is the role of domestic agents in the process of Europeanisation; and the other is the importance of formal and informal political structures for successful Europeanisation. The authors specifically emphasise the issue of ‘stateness’, that is state authority and bureaucratic capacity, as an area of investigation which connects EU transformative power with the willingness and capacity of domestic elites and institutions to accept and implement EU rules.
Importantly, in this volume, Europeanisation is not treated in its classical dimension, as a top-down impact coming from abroad, but as a dynamic relation between the EU and individual Western Balkan countries. From one side, there is one common reform package coming from Brussels, but on the other hand, Europeanisation in each country is differentiated and is strongly influenced by country-specific factors.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Democratization, Governance, Balkan Politics, and 15 moreEnlargement and Integration in the EU, Educational reform, Albanian Nationalism, Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Former Yugoslavia, EU, Balkans, Internationale Beziehungen, Demokratisierung, Electoral System, Coming to Terms with the Past, Inter ethnic Relations, constitutional State, and Bildungsreform
Research Interests:
How do Albanian and Turkish models of secularism, both branded after the Frenchstyle Laïcité, translate European concepts into indigenous, case-specific models? And, how have Muslim majorities reacted to, embraced but also contested the... more
How do Albanian and Turkish models of secularism, both branded after the Frenchstyle Laïcité, translate European concepts into indigenous, case-specific models? And, how have Muslim majorities reacted to, embraced but also contested the established institutional arrangements? This article explores the evolution of secular institutional arrangements adopted in Albania and Turkey since their foundation as independent states and along different time periods and political regimes. We embody the analysis into two ideal-type secular traditions – civic-republican and liberal – each proposing different political projects and related institutional arrangements within the context of European modernity. The findings suggest that since independence both countries opted for variations of the state-engineered republican model, which insists in reformation of religion, social engineering, separation between state and religion and an interventionist state. Yet, those models also took case-specific ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Comparative Religion, Constitutional Law, Comparative Politics, Democratic Theory, Albanian Studies, and 15 moreBalkan Studies, Democratization, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Balkan Politics, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Comparative Secularism, Ethnic Conflict, Democracy, Conflict of Laws, Albania, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Contemporary Muslim society
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Comparative Religion, Ethnic Studies, History of Religion, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, and 15 moreBalkan History, Identity politics, Bulgaria, Balkan Politics, Islam, Ethnic Conflict, Ethnicity, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Historical Studies, Ethnicity and National Identity, Anthropology of Religion, and Contemporary Muslim society
Research Interests: Comparative Religion, History of Religion, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Nationalism, and 15 moreIslam in Europe, National Identity, Islamic Studies, Balkan Politics, Comparative Secularism, Islam in Turkey, Islam, Modern Turkey, Albanian Nationalism, Minorities in Turkey, Albania, Balkans, Islam and Secularism, Islam In Europe, and De Gruyter
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, European Studies, Comparative Politics, Instructional Design, European integration, and 15 moreDemocratic Theory, Balkan Studies, Democratization, Institutional Change, European Foreign Policy, European Union, Conflict Resolution, Democracy, European Enlargement, Enlargement and Integration in the EU, Democracy Promotion, EU Foreign Policy, Democratic Transitions, Historical Studies, and Governance and State Capacity
This chapter asks why postcommunist Albania has failed to ensure transitional justice for the abuses committed during one of the harshest communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. The analysis takes into account alternative explanations... more
This chapter asks why postcommunist Albania has failed to ensure transitional justice for the abuses committed during one of the harshest communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. The analysis takes into account alternative explanations of transitional justice processes, including historical legacies, the configuration of political interests, and idea-based accounts. Yet, our proposed framework attempts to link and supplement these existing explanations by incorporating the role of civil society, as a mediator that can screen and ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Comparative Religion, History of Religion, Albanian Studies, Balkan Studies, Democratization, and 15 moreIdentity politics, Institutional Theory, Institutional Change, Comparative Constitutional Law, Balkan Politics, Conflict Resolution, Comparative Secularism, Democracy, Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Albania, European Islam, Constitution, Historical Studies, Anthropology of Religion, and Contemporary Muslim society
EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans. Extensive Conditionalities Coupled with Weak Incentives? DSpace/Manakin Repository. Search Cadmus. Search Cadmus This Collection. Advanced Search. Browse. ...
This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If cited or quoted, reference should... more
This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the working paper, or other series, the year and the publisher.