For better or for worse? Civil society and transitions in the Western Balkans
Event part of a joint LSEE - LSE Global Governance - SEESOX (ST Antony's College, University of Oxford) series of workshops and publications on the state and civil society in contemporary South East Europe
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, scholars 'rediscovered' civil society and identified grass-roots activism as a key driver of democratisation of illiberal regimes and reconciliation of divided societies after the war.
Twenty years on, there is a growing recognition of the limits of civil society and even of its negative impact. Ultimately, the role of civil society cannot be a priori assumed as either beneficial or detrimental to political and social change.
Instead, it has to be analysed in view of the complexity of transitional processes and their goals. The conference explores these questions as they relate to Western Balkans.
PROGRAMME
9:00 - Welcome and introduction
- Denisa Kostovicova
- James Ker-Lindsay
- Vesna Bojicic-Dzelilovic
Promises and Constraints of Civil Society in Multi-Track Transitions: Questions for the Western Balkans
9:30 - Civil society and democratisation
Chair:
Othon Anastasakis, SEESOX, Oxford University
Stephanie Schwandner Sievers, School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The Albanian Youth Organisation 'Self-Determination’: Democratisation Through Political Defiance in Kosovo?
Nenad Markovic, Saints Cyril and Methodius University
The Strange Case of Civil Society in FYR Macedonia: From Post-Communist to Uncivil Society
Anita Brkanic, London School of Economics and Political Science
The Diaspora Dilemma: Croatian-American Civil Society Institutions and their Political Role in Democratisation of the Homeland
11:00 - Coffee break
11:30 - Civil society and statebuilding
Chair:
Spyros Economides, London School of Economics and Political Science
John O’Brennan, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
State and Society within the Stabilization and Association Process in the Western Balkans: The European Commission’s activities within the Civil Society Sphere
Adam Fagan, Queen Mary, University of London
Civil Society Development or State-Building? EU Assistance and Conditionality in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Jens Narten, University of Hamburg
Demobilization of a Civil Protection Actor: Build-up and Stand-down of the KPC in Kosovo
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Civil society and post-conflict reconstruction
Chair:
Vesna Bojicic-Dzelilovic, London School of Economics and Political Science
Francesco Strazzari, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
Enza Roberta Petrillo, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
Parallel Societies: Nationalism and Civil Society Organisations in Post-Independence Kosovo
Mladen Ostojic, Queen Mary, University of London
Facing the Past while Disregarding the Present? Human Rights Organisations and Truth-Telling in Post-Milosevic Serbia
Jasna Dragovic-Soso, Goldsmiths, University of London
Confronting the Legacy of the 1990s in a Divided State: Attempts to Create Truth Commissions in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Gemma Collantes, City University
War Criminals in the Police: The Role of Civil Society in Vetting Processes
16:00 - Coffee break
16:30 - Policy dialogue
Chair:
David Gowan, University of Birmingham
- Joanna Hanson, Research Analysts, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Filippo Addarii, Euclid Network for Third Sector Leaders
- Gabriel Partos, Economist Intelligence Unit
INFO:
London School of Economics and Political Science
e-mail: EuroInst.LSEE@lse.ac.uk
