Macedonian Migration Policy and the Future of Europe
This year-end analysis draws in unique facts and previews of the migrant crisis in the Balkans, and how it is likely to affect Macedonia and Europe in general.
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This year-end analysis draws in unique facts and previews of the migrant crisis in the Balkans, and how it is likely to affect Macedonia and Europe in general.
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Our annual year ahead risk assessment covers the most likely and often underreported security trends to watch,
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This article details the potentil for migrant route diversification following the closure of the Balkan Route, and especially Italy and Albania.
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This exclusive interview with Edith Harxhi provides insight on the challenge and opportunities facing Albania as it aspires to a larger regional role.
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This article explores the potential regional security risks from terrorism and the migrant crisis following weaks of border violations and protests.
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This exclusive article examines the potential for a breakdown in European security along the Balkan and Italian migration routes.
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This exclusive article with accompanying Defense Ministry photos is the best analysis of the reasons for poor security cooperation between Macedonia and local EU staff on migration response, required reading for all scholars on the issue.
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The first series article, dating from mid-June 2016, explores EU behavior concerning Macedonia, diplomatic preference for the opposition, and chronic media avoidance tactics meant to protect high-level officials from public accountability.
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This contextual article, first appearing in mid-June 2016, narrates the local situation in which the EU's crisis response occurred, discussing the main players- and main mischaracterizations of reality that would affect the project.
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The series' third part examines how the EU came to understand the Macedonian crisis as a 'rule-of-law' issue, and explores previously unavailable internal EU documentation referencing Macedonian SIGINT capacity from 2010.
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The explosive fourth part of the series is a detailed investigation of every detail of the June 2015 Priebe Report, that effectively set the rules for reform in Macedonia and became the 'official history' of the crisis. This exclusive report, complemented by inside interviews, exposes the massive flaws of the entire endeavor, and the EU's complicity in the scheme.
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The explosive conclusion of the series (identical to the same text in 2016 Issue 13 on Italian security) concerns the possible role of Italian intelligence and diplomacy before and during the Macedonian crisis, based on original interviews and close analysis.
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Traditional norms of filial piety in Asian societies, including Vietnam, emphasizecare roles of children for their elderly parents. In particular, caregiving is often theresponsibility of women, who are increasingly migrating and participating in the labourmarket, leading to an increasing withdrawal of family caregivers from caring for their parents.In collaboration with local mass organisations and stakeholders, Vietnam is enhancinginstitutional care and changing the balance of care towards home, community-based servicesand marketisation to provide alternative care options for its elderly population. Thecommunity is playing a key role in emotional support for the elderly. Taking into accountthe traditional Confucian-influenced family structure, the responsibility for elderly careis still a family matter. Using a dataset from a collaboration survey of 307 elderly peoplein 2017, the paper aims to examine and analyse roles, challenges and difficulties of family,community, private and public social services and policy in care provision to the elderlyand the gaps in it, to understand the processes of the reconstruction of those formal andinformal sectors in order to bear the increasing care responsibilities, and the ways theyprovide care to the elderly and the linkages with policies and institutional in Vietnam,using the care diamond model. The paper also raises issues of increasing left-behind elderlypeople in the rural areas and identifies various initiatives to sustain Asian cultural values,family relationships, and continuous development of care policies and potential implicationsin developing a better care mode for the elderly.
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Ageing is an issue faced by the majority of the European countries, includingPoland. Due to their dissimilarity there is a need to apply different approaches to ageingin urban and rural areas. The population aged 65+ is expected to increase by nearly 60% by2035, and the percentage of that group within the total population is estimated to growfrom the current 14% to 22%. These demographic changes will bring new challenges tosocial welfare system. The need for social care and healthcare services will grow. In order tolimit the consequences of this phenomenon action must be taken to allow elderly people tocontinue their careers, ensure that they are active members of their communities and thatthe quality of lives does not worsen. This article identifies new and innovative solutionsin rural areas to support the elderly inhabitants whose independence is limited and keepthem actively involved in community activities, and in order to ensure quality of life. Theauthors provide a detailed description of two non-standard solutions to deal with the ageingissue. These include social farms and rural hospices at home, both of which have alreadybeen implemented in some rural areas in Poland.
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The current situation of the socio-economic life of the elderly now in part reflectsVietnam’s historical characteristics. The socio-economic structure in Vietnam has changeddrastically due to the development of market relations, migration, the transformationof traditional society and modern agricultural societies that are creating forms and levelsof socio-economic risk for the elderly. Based on the data from two communes, the articleshows that, older men are more likely to receive monthly social transfers than women.Elder ly people with higher education receive higher monthly social benefits than thosewith lower education. The elderly in rural areas surveyed hardly enjoy any social welfareprogrammes. The only beneficiaries are those who must be 80 years or older withouta pension or other allowance. Some older people are entitled to benefits but only fromprogrammes not reserved for the elderly. In order to live, the elderly still have to work,mainly in agriculture. This fact reflects the contrast and inadequacy of retirement andhealth regulations, which stipulate that workers must stop working at a certain age. Theenjoyment of social welfare differs between elderly groups with different personal andsocial characteristics. It can be said that elderly people in rural areas who are not entitledto social welfare benefits are “double disadvantaged”. This mandates that the policy shouldbe aimed at all the elderly in ensuring social welfare. Along with this, it is necessary tohave a roadmap to increase the level of monthly social welfare benefits for the elderly togradually achieve the minimum living standard because the current level of support forthe elderly in Vietnam is still much lower than the comparable level for the poor. Theprocess of population ageing in Vietnam is bringing great opportunities as well as greatchallenges, requiring new approaches to pensions, social pensions, health and the socialenvironment for the elderly in rural areas.
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The paper focuses on the mutual support provision between older peopleand their children. Intergenerational exchange is considered an empirical indicator offunctional solidarity, a core constituent of intergenerational solidarity (Bengtson andRoberts 1991). Types of support in this analysis include financial support, housework, caresupport and work assistance. Data from the 2011 Vietnam National Ageing Survey wereused for analysis with a sample of 2,700 participants aged 60 and older. Results suggestedthat older people with more resources tend to be involved in mutual intergenerationalsupport provision relationships, particularly financial support. Additionally, age, maritalstatus, living arrangements, number of children, and the health condition of older parentssignificantly contribute to encouraging mutual support provision. Future research couldfocus on reciprocity models and the relationship between the quality of intergenerationalrelationships and mutual support. Further, it could explore the outcomes of mutual support,which results in older people’s well-being in advanced age.
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Study was conducted to research the effect of “Jigsaw II Technique” to be one of the “Cooperative Learning Approach” on the students’ academic learning success and gains in the 10th classes geography lesson’s learning subject of “Turkey’s Population” located in the unit of “A Spatial Synthesis Turkey.” In this study Cooperative learning technique and traditional question-answer and explaining were compared and “Pretest-Posttest Control Group Experimental Research Method” was used. In the control group the choosen geography lesson was carried out by using traditional methods and in the experimental group the “Jigsaw II Technique” being one of the “cooperative Learning Approaches” was used. Achievement test and attitude scala were applied such as pretest and posttest. In the end of the study afew students having representation ability of representing the experimental group was selected and their ideas were defined by using semi stuructured interview forms. According to the applied interview results it was understood that the cooperative learning process was more effective in geography lesson for improving the learning success than the traditional teaching methods called question-answer and explaining methods. In other words it was understood that the cooperative learning method affected the students’ attitudes positively in geography lesson.
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By using the example of the “Festino di Santa Rosalia” festivity in Palermo this essay presents ways of rendering religious scenarios (e.g. myth, rite) topical within a current political and social context. The last part of the text attempts to justify the necessity of including ethnography (conceived as a research method) into the framework of the interpretation theory proposed by G. Vattimo.
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The aftermath of the Libyan conflict and the country instability continues due to the internal political division echo of the Arab Spring and the overall fragile regional context strongly influenced by external powers seeking to impact on the direction the country takes socio-economically and politically. In post-Qaddafi Libya the long transition to sustainable institutions and peace remains fragile. The tensions between political parties, armed groups and non-state security actors with different ideological preferences resulted in the full-scale civil war that broke out in the mid-2014. The large arsenal inherited from Qaddafi regime fell under the armed groups and non-state security actors control increasing the already vast proliferation of weapons escalating political tensions and polarization between religious and secular actors. This research aims to examine the transition process in the post-conflict Libya assessing the political developments within the broader aspects of regional peace, stability and security and in reverse how the political instability in Libya affects broader regional security, the growth of violent extremism and uncontrolled acute forced migrations through Libya’s porous border. Libya is a strategic partner and an international player for the EU engaged with the emerging power in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. The EU interest focuses - beside foster a sustainable economic system - on preserve peace and prevent conflict strengthening its relations with its neighboring countries to maintain security in the region. To reach national, regional and international security is necessary to recognize security as a political matter to be reflected in a long-term process part of the governance reform and economic development through a coherent and effective inter-policy approach. In the case of Libya as any other case, it is necessary to acknowledge the national interest and national priorities and the need for case-by-case analysis tailoring international support to transform a state of insecurity into a state of peace coordinating short and long term policies and actions and visioning the nexus between security and development to restore peace in the country and in the region.
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