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On the Role of the Individual in History
K PITANJU O ULOZI LIČNOSTI U ISTORIJI
Foreword and translation from Russian by Veljko Ribar. Published in Yugoslavia by KULTURA in 1959
More...Foreword and translation from Russian by Veljko Ribar. Published in Yugoslavia by KULTURA in 1959
More...Keywords: Centre for Advanced Study; CAS; CAS-Sofia; Newsletter; CAS Newsletter; CAS Newsletter 2015-2016
Articles, pictures and interviews can be reprinted only with the consent of Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS - Sofia). Any citations should be duly acknowledged.
More...Keywords: Centre for Advanced Study; CAS; CAS-Sofia; Newsletter; CAS Newsletter; CAS Newsletter 2012-2013
Articles, pictures and interviews can be reprinted only with the consent of Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS - Sofia). Any citations should be duly acknowledged.
More...Keywords: Russia; Balkans; European Policy; Yugoslavia; conflicts; NATO; Constitutionality; Serbia; Montenegro; Federation; Equal States; freedoms and rights, separation;
(English edition) Russia’s long presence in the Balkans - from the eleventh century onwards - can be analysed in terms of its two salient features: continuity and, as far as the role of the Russian state in Balkan (especially Serbian) affairs is concerned, inconstancy. Russia has been trying to push out its frontiers as far as the warm seas ever since Muscovy Russ and the principality of Kiev began to expand. Its imperialistic policy has carried its influence as far south-west as the Adriatic Sea across and with the help of Balkan states. Various Balkan states have found in Russia both friend and foe; this depended on their attitude towards Russia’s rivals among the great powers and towards other Balkan countries at the time. At one time the latter found Russia’s support invaluable, at another they regarded it counter-productive. Russia was particularly adept in capitalising on Balkan crises and wars, in which it took an active part, to strengthen its position in the Balkans; its consequent peace-making efforts were almost always hailed by local populations with great relief. This policy has given rise to a number of myths in some Balkan countries (especially among the Serbs) about there being a selfless "mother Russia" always ready to rush to one’s rescue. However, historical evidence shows Russia to have been far less amiable and benevolent than some local political elites concerned primarily with furthering their day-to-day political objectives made out at the time. In the pursuance of its "Balkan strategy" Russia, i.e. the Soviet Union, sought to realise its political interests; the fact that at some periods these interests coincided with the interests of some Balkan nations cannot be used to defend the thesis that Russia has been an a priori friend of Balkan states, especially of Serbia and/or Montenegro. Once the need for an outlet to the warm seas ceased being a strategic priority, Russia, i.e. the Soviet Union, found another justification for its presence in the Balkans: having emerged from the Second World War as a major world power, it took part in the partition of Europe into two political systems and controlled one-half of the Balkan peninsula for over fifty years ostensibly to protective those parts from the other, imperialistic side. Throughout that period Russia’s political vocabulary and rhetoric abounded with stock ideological phrases to justify this presence in some Balkan country or other. Finally, the closing years of the twentieth century, witnessing the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the FRY, proved once again that Russia is an unavoidable protagonist in Balkan tragedies. As a great power, Russia strove permanently to add territory and then to protect its gains by all available means. Whenever it found it impossible to expand territorially, Russia sought to widen the zones of its political, economic and military influence. Russia either waged war or played nations against each other to realise its strategic objectives in the role of victor or peacemaker as the case may be; whether on the winning or the losing side, Russia always made the most of a situation. To be sure, besides paying rich dividends this policy occasionally backfired: in times of war, for instance, Russia usually paid a heavy price in human lives as well as found it necessary to deal with increasingly strong separatist movements on its soil (especially in 1991-93). But even in such times of adversity Russia found the strength to make the most of the setback. On the other hand, whenever it emerged victorious it tried to keep all the spoils. This dual line became especially prominent after the cold war and the end of the bipolar division of the world, when Russia failed to learn to play the part of one of the major forces in Europe; it is still finding it difficult to accept its new role of a respectable factor. The contradictory nature of Russia’s imperialistic policy vis-à-vis the Balkans was shown up in particular during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and the FRY. The analyses that follow show that even when Russia seemed to be losing ground it managed to realise its interests at least partially if not in whole.
More...Keywords: Serbia;rights and freedoms; minorities; round-table; multicultural; cohabitation; autonomy;
In view of the key importance of inter-ethnic relations and status of national minorities in Serbia for development of democracy, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Centre for Regionalism, the Vojvodina Club and Centre for Multiculturality have organised the round-table "National Minorities in Serbia" on 8 and 9 September 2000 in Novi Sad. Participants in this round-table were representatives of several dozen NGOs from Vojvodina and Serbia, representatives of political parties, prominent public personalities and experts for minority rights and ethnic relations. In a two-day debate participants in the round-table underscored that peace, tolerance and democratization of the society represent the basic prerequisite of the exercise of individual and collective rights and freedoms in the Republic of Serbia. Considering that a social community in the Republic of Serbia has a markedly heterogeneous cultural character and the fact that it is faced with pronounced ethnification of politics and intolerant nationalism, our discussion confirmed that the majority nation, that is, the ruling political establishment, were to be blamed for such a poor status of inter-ethnic relations. Hence the current political authorities cannot be relieved of responsibility from catastrophic consequences of internal conflicts and external and internal isolation. After analysing institutions and real social and political processes and actions of the most influential political protagonists, it was established that we all must insist on comprehensive implementation of ideas and legal-constitutional norms determining the Republic of Serbia as a state of equitable citizens, and the one guaranteeing corresponding standards in attainment and exercise of collective rights of national minorities in Serbia. Unfortunately during our discussion we identified through a host of examples a pronounced gulf between proclaimed norms and concrete reality in the sphere of protection of national minorities rights, notably in development and expression of their cultural identity. After the SFRY disintegration, the problem of "new minorities", notably Croats, Bosniaks, and Macedonians, emerged in Serbia. This problem entails official recognition of those minorities and concrete legal regulation of their status and rights. During preparations for the 2001 census scientific and cultural institutions and representative bodies should lay the groundwork for facilitating the free declaration of nationality by citizens. This particularly applies to Bosniaks, who have been deprived of that right to date. It is also expected that the democratic opposition of Serbia shall take a clear public stand on manner of resolution of minority problems, and incorporate pertinent proposals into their program of changes, offered as an alternative to the current regime. We brought into prominence the need to revive earlier initiatives for adoption of the Act on National Minorities in the Republic of Serbia, aimed at removing current shortcomings and imprecise points, and boosting harmonisation of domestic legal and political practice with the European standards on the Protection of Minorities. Our discussion indicated that the Republic Serbia in its relations with almost all neighbouring countries disregards the issue of minorities, and that this negligence is in turn reflected in the status of minorities and has a negative impact on relations between the majority and minorities. The role of ecological issues was discussed in the context of good-neighbourly relations, for they alike the minority issue clear the way for establishment of broad and efficient communications. Considering regional trends within the context of Europe those two issues can play an important role in the inclusion of Serbia in the project of European regions. Participants think that the Stability Pact is a conceptual framework for analysis of the most important problems and devising models of their resolution.
More...Keywords: Balkans; historiographic revisionism; post-socialist regimes; Yugoslavia; patriotism; nationalism; Serbia;
The author presents the main and general characteristics of historiographic revisionism in Europe in the 1990s, drawing attention to the various features of revisionism in former socialist countries (Russia, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria) and their attitude to Socialism. The necessary scientific re-examination of the past is separated from its ideological reinterpretation inspired by revived nationalism. The attention focuses on Serb and Croat revisionism, that is, on its moderate versions (‘medium compass’ revisionism), as found in the works of the Yugoslavia historians Branko Petranović and Dušan Bilandžić. Digest: Contemporary historiographic revisionism exhibits a number of components: a critical attitude to historiography on the part of the winner (the communists); a clearer understanding of the essence of past events owing to greater distance from them and to the availability of new sources; a pragmatic reinterpretation of the past inspired by narrow or broad party or national motives. Revisionists in former socialist countries find their principal source in revived nationalism which seeks to play down one’s own fascist past by uncritically attacking anti-Communism and anti-totalitarianism. Instead of being confronted, the dark shadows from one’s own past are being shown in a new light. This paper draws attention to state-sponsored and academic revisionism, and lays bare its chief motives and rhetoric in several European countries. The object of this comparative study is to show up the triviality of domestic revisionism. The revisionism in the works of B. Petranović and D. Bilandžić written in the 1990s is discussed at some length to show up the contradictions characterizing their writings before and after the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the pattern of their revision fired by awakened concern for their respective ‘endangered’ nations. Selective memory and orchestrated forgetfulness were major catalysts of the civil war in Yugoslavia, with revisionist historiography enlisted to justify the new national objectives. The author believes that one can master one’s past only by confronting its dark aspects and hopes that a critical appraisal by domestic scholars of own nationalism will not be overly delayed by customary tardiness. Is contemporary historiography in former Yugoslav republics under the prevalent influence of any of the following components: a) an inevitably maturer scientific outlook on the past brought about by sounder theory and improved methods, and made possible by the discovery of hitherto unknown archival material of prime importance; b) a rather understandable shift of accent in interpreting key historical events, that is, a fuller and broader understanding of their historical function resulting from changes in the epochal consciousness and from the disappearance of the authoritarian patterns of the one-party socialist regime, or; c) a pragmatic revision of the past prompted by broader or narrower ideological, party or personal interests or motives? Which of the above components are discernible in the leading historians and can they be differentiated in more detail? In trying to answer these questions we shall take a look at: a) some general characteristics of historiographic revisionism in Europe and in former socialist regimes at the end of the twentieth century as an important aspect of reinterpreting the recent past; b) narrower regional characteristics, that is, the chief nationalistic motives of revisionism in the contemporary historiography of former Yugoslav republics, and; c) concrete revisionist components in the works of the Yugoslavia historians D. Bilandžić and B. Petranović.
More...Keywords: Germany's politics of memory; German patriotism
Important changes have occurred in recent years in the attitude of a majority of the German elite towards the history of the 20th century and the political identity built on collective memory. Until recently, the sense of guilt for the crimes of the Third Reich and the obligation to remember were prevalent.While these two elements of Germany's memory of World War II are still important, currently the focus increasingly shifts to the German resistance against Nazism and the fate of the Germans who suffered in the war. Positive references to Germany's post-war history also occupy more and more space in the German memory. In 2009, i.e. the year of the 60th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany and the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism, the efforts of German public institutions concentrate on promoting a new canon of history built around the successful democratisation and Germany's post-war economic success. The purpose behind these measures is to build a common historical memory that could be shared by the eastern and western parts of Germany and appeal to Germany's immigrants, who account for a growing proportion of the society.
More...Keywords: Elementary schools; school projects; methodology; cookbook; career; career counselling projects; equal opportunities; boys; girls; traditional division of jobs; educational programmes;
Dear readers, we are presenting you with a methodology “cookbook“ which you can use to organize career counselling projects which promote equal opportunities for girls and boys. The goal of this publication is to broaden the range of jobs and education programmes girls and boys consider as their potential career options. We hope to liberate the imagination of young people from the constraints of the traditional division of jobs into jobs for men and jobs for women. The idea that everybody deserves opportunities to put their unique talents to use and to dream freely and without regard to stereotypes about men’s and women’s social roles is fundamental to this book. Studies on decision-making among Czech students show that rather than evaluating their skills and abilities, girls and boys tend to use gender stereotypes to help them choose their future careers (see Jarkovská et al. 2010, Smetáčková 2006, 2007). To reverse this trend, a two-pronged strategy is needed; we have to strengthen career guidance as well as build awareness about the power of gender stereotypes. Better career choices will not only improve the opportunities of girls and boys for self-realization; well considered career choices will also bring employers truly competent workers. With this publication we hope to promote critical thinking and to help people understand how gender stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes can play a positive role in the society – they organize the world for easier orientation. However, we should use them consciously so that we can actually decide whether we want to act according to their dictate or not. We see education as a process of broadening our horizons and learning about the important questions we face in today’s world (such as the issue of the position of men and women in today’s Europe). At the same time, education should always provide space for students to discover their own ways. To meet this goal, our book includes activities to help students reflect on gender stereotypes and to defend their own perspectives. In other words, we seek to facilitate equality between women and men. Our book corresponds with current government strategies and ministerial policy documents (Government Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equality between Women and Men, Ministry of Education Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equal Opportunities for Men and Women). The materials in this book are aimed at elementary school teachers although they can also be used at secondary schools, children’s clubs and other educational institutions for children and youth. Activity descriptions are supplemented by arguments clarifying the fundamental connections between work, career and gender stereotypes. Most of the activities have been field-tested in seminars with real students and have been adjusted for teachers with different backgrounds so that they could use the activities regardless of knowledge of gender studies. We hope that our ideas will help to make your school projects more encouraging for students to see their careers free of gender stereotypes, useful and inspiring. We are interested in hearing from you!
More...Keywords: Women; labour market; gender studies; gender mainstream; inequality; equal opportunities; gender stereotypes; motherhood; childcare; maternity leave; career break; developing career; female scientists; workplace; discrimination; women’s human rights;
Dear readers, We are pleased to bring to your attention Women on labour market: today and in the future, a book, which is one of the outcomes of the project Fit for Gender Mainstreaming - Gender-Sensitive Transcending of Borders between East and West. Based on cross-border qualification initiatives for multipliers and public events in all countries participating in the “East-West Dialogue”, the goal of the project is to advance gender mainstreaming strategies on a local level and enhance exchange of experiences and qualifications. The publication follows up the international conference Future of Women on the Labour Market, which took place under the auspices of Kateřina Jacques, a Member of Parliament, in Prague in October 2007. Our goal is to assess situation of women on the labour market, refer to persisting inequalities and inspire discussion about the future. We are aware of the fact that gender equality policies need a thorough evaluation to prevent biased application, which may lead to cementing gender stereotypes instead of disrupting them. Our texts address not only decision-makers, but they also represent a call for solidarity between women, since its lack often stands for a barrier in achieving equality. Thus, we decided to focus some of our current activities especially on women.
More...Keywords: criminal sanctions; minors; educational–correctional institution; Kruševac; Valjevo Reformatory; penitentiary-reformatory for women; Požarevac; prison system in Serbia; 2011;
Over the past ten years, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS) has conducted dozens of visits to prisons in Serbia, with the aim of making an assessment of the human rights conditions for imprisoned and detained citizens. Since 2001, the HCHRS has visited all 28 institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions, many of which several times. In a vast number of reports, the HCHRS has conducted analyses and noted non-compliance with solutions prescribed by national legislature and international law on the one hand, and with common practices in the system of execution of criminal sanctions on the other. During the first visits to prisons in 2001, it was determined that human rights conditions were extremely poor. At that time, there were around 6,500 convicted and imprisoned persons in Serbia. Ten years later, resulting from vast efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (OSCE, UN, CoE), but that of the state as well, the human rights conditions in prisons have been significantly improved, primarily when the decreasing practice of torture and introduction of new (contemporary) legal solutions in the field of criminal sanctions are concerned. The implementation of the institute of alternative execution of criminal sanctions has finally begun in 2011. It includes the possibility of serving a sentence in home confinement (with or without electronic monitoring) for persons serving prison sentences of up to one year, or the conversion of the prison sentence to community work. However, the number of sentenced and detained persons in prison has nearly doubled over the same period of time.
More...Keywords: Serbian municipalities in Kosovo; association of Serb municipalities; Serbs and Kosovars; Prishtina-Belgrade-Dialogue; Brussel-dialogue;
The Agreement on the Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities marks the cornerstone of discord of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The General Principles for the establishment of the Association/Community, agreed in August 2015, brought more controversy and caused an unprecedented crisis in Kosovo. Proponents championed it as a tool to integrate northern Kosovo Serbs into Kosovo jurisdiction and advance normalisation of relations between the two states. Yet, the Association has become a complicated matter in practice. Many segments of Kosovo society reject an Association of this kind, the Constitutional Court ruled it to be in violation of the spirit of the Constitution and the government is largely reluctant to implement it until Serbia presents clear plans for withdrawal of the parallel institutions it funds around Kosovo. Kosovo Serbs view an Association from a very practical point of view: a reward instrument for painful integration into Kosovo and a replacement for departing Serbian-funded institutions. Serbs fear the Albanian reactions seen over the last 24 months, feel unwanted in Kosovo and worry that Belgrade will abandon them soon. The Serb community - the party most affected by the dialogue and least included in it - wants the dialogue on normalisation to continue, want the coalition agreement to be adhered to and want a smooth transition from the Serbian to Kosovar system.
More...Compilation of 12 monthly reports of 2020 as published by VIASNA Center for Human Rights
More...SOCIAL FOUNDATION FOR MIDDLE CLASS FORMATION IN UKRAINE: IDENTIFICATION CRITERIA, STRUCTURE, KEY FEATURES // MIDDLE CLASS IN UKRAINE: LIFE VALUES, READINESS FOR ASSOCIATION AND PROMOTION OF DEMOCRATIC NORMS AND STANDARDS // SECTION 1. MIDDLE CLASS: IDENTIFICATION CRITERIA AND DEFINITION OF STRUCTURE // SECTION 2. MIDDLE CLASS IN SOCIAL CLASS STRUCTURE OF UKRAINIAN SOCIETY: MAIN FEATURES // 2.1. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES // 2.2. SOCIAL BACKGROUND // 2.3. SOCIAL COMPOSITION // 2.4. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION (REGIONAL PROFILE)AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES // 2.5. FINANCIAL STANDING, POSSESSION OF PROPERTY // 2.6. WORK AND LEISURE TIME // 2.7. SOCIAL WELL-BEING // SECTION 3. MIDDLE CLASS: LIFE VALUES AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR // 3.1. LIFE VALUES // 3.2. SOCIO-POLITICAL VALUES // 3.3. SOCIAL BEHAVIOR // SECTION 4. MIDDLE CLASS: CIVIC ACTIVISM, READINESS FOR ASSOCIATION AND PROMOTION OF DEMOCRATIC STANDARDS // 4.1. TRUST IN SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY // 4.2. TOLERANCE TO REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER SOCIAL AND SOCIAL CLASS GROUPS // 4.3. PERCEPTION OF COMMON INTERESTS WITH OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS // 4.4. CIVIC ACTIVISM // 4.5. PROTEST ACTIVITY POTENTIAL // SECTION 5. CONCLUSIONS // POPULATION WITH MEDIUM INCOME AS THE BASIS FOR MIDDLE CLASS FORMATION IN UKRAINE // 1. POPULATION WITH MEDIUM INCOME // 2. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF A HOUSEHOLD WITH MEDIUM INCOME // 3. INCOME: LEVEL, SOURCES, FEATURES OF FORMATION // 4. POSSESSION OF PROPERTY IN MEDIUM INCOME HOUSEHOLDS // 5. CONSUMPTION IN HOUSEHOLDS // 6. EXPENSES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR NON-FOOD GOODS AND SERVICES // 7. CERTAIN SUBJECTIVE EVALUATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MEDIUM INCOME POPULATION // 8. MOST IMPORTANT VALUES OF POPULATION WITH MEDIUM INCOME
More...PROSPECTS OF UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS // Ukraine and the Russian Federation: scenarios of the course of events // New model of relations: conceptual approaches and practical steps // External policy // Economic relations // Energy sector // Security policy // Humanitarian and information sphere // UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN EXPERTS ON THE CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS OF KYIV-MOSCOW RELATIONS // RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT: THE VIEW OF WESTERN DIPLOMATS AND EXPERTS // THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT: EXPERTS’ OPINIONS // UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AS SEEN BY THE PUBLIC // THE DEEP DRIVERS OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT // THE IMPACT OF PROPAGANDA // ENERGY ASPECTS OF UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RUSSIAN HYBRID AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE // DETERRING AND DEALING WITH AUTHORITARIAN RUSSIA: TOWARD A UNIFYING WESTERN STRATEGY
More...Keywords: Institutional bilinualism; School structures in Romania; Education policy; School-life practice; Language learning;
The present study deals with institutional bilingualism in the context of school structures in Romania where the language of teaching is different from Romanian. The conclusions of the paper show a few possible directions to follow in the context of conceiving an educational policy in which the linguistic alterity represents a natural element to be taken into consideration when considering the qualitative aspects of organisational structures.
More...CONSULTATIVE MEETING // “UKRAINE-RUSSIA: TO A NEW MODEL OF RELATIONS” // Towards a new quality of co-operation between Russia and Ukraine // Expanding the base of Ukraine-Russia co-operation // Produce a strategy of co-operation adapted to new challenges // Four stations of Ukraine’s European train // Towards the new formula of the Ukraine-Russia partnership // Problems and perspectives of the Ukrainian choice // Searching for ways of rapprochement between Ukraine and Russia // Remove uncertainty zones // Follow the standards of democracy // The principle of rigid political realism should become prevalent // Building relations on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and good neighbourhood // Develop bilateral contacts // Potential of inter-parliamentary co-operation // Solve questions in the political sphere of relations // The way to a new format of relations is through the construction of civil society // No hasty steps, no mistakes // Get rid of complexes, be realistic about opportunities // No need to drive relations into a deadlock // Dialogue should have a productive effect // Strengthen contacts of non-governmental structures of both countries // PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF CO-OPERATION BETWEEN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA IN THE ASSESSMENTS OF UKRAINIAN CITIZENS
More...Keywords: festival;film;cinema;catalogue
More...Keywords: Kosovo; Constitutional Court; politics; transformative role; jurisdiction;
In constitutional democracies, constitutional courts are established in order to support the establishment and maintenance of democratic regimes, being devised as a last resort mechanism to protect both human rights and the integrity of constitutions. The leitmotiv behind the establishment of the constitutional courts in Austria and what was then known as Czechoslovakia, in the period between the World Wars, has traditionally been explained in this manner. According to Tushnet, many countries have established ‘[…] specialized constitutional courts on the German model, rejecting the older U.S. system of having the nation’s highest court for ordinary law also serve as the highest court for constitutional law’. Tushent argues that until the late twentieth century there were two ideas about the means of policy control that are arguably inconsistent with the constitution’s limits. The first ‘…was parliamentary supremacy which allowed for democratic self-governance surrounded by some institutional constraints on power-holders and many more normative ones. The second was judicial review, that is, the creation of a separate institution, removed from the direct influence of politics and staffed by independent judges charged with the job of ensuring that the legislature remained within constitutional bounds’. Constitutional courts, through the jurisdiction entrusted to them, have had direct impact upon the consolidation of newly-established democracies around the world. Vanberg notes that the constitutional review has become an inherent part of the constitutional democracies in many western states. While operating at the heart of politics, constitutional courts continuously face challenges that directly impact their work, including their independence. Boulanger, for example, argues that ‘…judges have to consider the political effects of their actions, they have to strategically choose opponents and allies, and this will in turn have an influence on their decisions. Starting from a rational choice approach, we can predict that no court will decide cases with complete disregard for daily politics.’ In that context, it could be reckoned that the final outcomes may be determined by both ideological and political motives. In light of this, Waluchow did not reject the possibility that the judicial review sporadically assists in confirming political decisions ‘…by judges pursuing, consciously or not, their preferred political agendas’. In this paper, however, we analyse whether and, if yes, how, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has influenced and guarded the essentials of the nascent democracy. While we strive to assess the Constitutional Court’s role in the democratic transition of Kosovo, various external factors, such as political influence and the legitimacy of the Court, will necessarily be part of the equation. The first section of this paper briefly reviews the role of constitutional courts in transitional democracies, and identifies the common denominators which explain their endeavours to influence democratic developments. The second section focuses on the jurisdiction, functioning and organisation of the Court, and its relationship with public opinion. The third section analyses internationalised constitutionalism and its impact on the legitimacy and integrity of the Court in Kosovo. The fourth and fifth sections assess specific indicators, including the perceived level of confidence in the Court by political actors and the public at large, the role of international actors, and the perceived outside pressure on judges, doing so through analyses of the most notable cases and their impact upon societal and political life in the country. The final section provides a brief conclusion.
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