The Second Russian Constitutional Court:
An 11-Year Assessment of Its Role inCenter-Regional Conflicts
From the book: “Light of the Greeks”
Window
Published by
an independent
and non-profit NGO:
“Ian Collins”, Skopje
Macedonia
This issue of NBP is published thanks to the support and sponsorship of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Skopje.
Mirjana Maleska,
Editor in Chief
Editor’s comment on the current Macedonian issue between Skopje and Athens
I have invited several distinguished academic scholars to express their views on the incredible dispute between Macedonia and Greece regarding the name of the country – Macedonia. I had hoped to see impartial, objective analysis about the origin of the dispute, its history from 1991 until today, and what the perspective is to find a solution...[more]
PANAYOTE DIMITRAS, Greece
Interview with Panayote Dimitras
Panyote Elias Dimitras is the founder and president of the Greek Helsinki Watch since 1992, and since 1998 he has been the Director of the Documenting and Information Center for Minorities in Southeastern Europe. He is a PhD of political and legal sciences at Harvard University, one of the few intellectuals who openly speak about the existence of a Macedonian minority in Greece...[more]
NICOS DIMOU, Greece
Interview with Nicos Dimou
Nicos Dimou is one of the most eminent Greek writers and commentators. He was a columnist for the leading Greek dailies and weeklies, and author of many television and radio shows, the first Greek writer who hosted talk-shows on literary and ideological topics. He has written more than 60 books, including poetry, satire, philosophy, political theory. Probably his most famous book is: “On the Misery of Being Greek”. Now he works as a freelance writer... [more]
Denko Maleski
Law Faculty, Macedonia
The Borders of our Minds
The book that I held in my hands in the Princeton University library that day, some ten years ago, was a collection of maps of eastern Europe through the centuries. Holding the pages with my thumb, I let them turn one by one very rapidly. Suddenly, these seemingly fixed borders of states and nations became alive, moving back and forth, expanding and contracting, disappearing and reappearing again, as pages and centuries went by...[more]
Stephan E. Nikolov
Institute of Sociology, Bulgaria - Sofia
A COUNTRY THAT CAUSED EUROPE’S “ASSISTANCE FATIGUE”
Bulgaria was probably the least probable country to join the EU. It was a political rather than based on economical rationality decision, one that came in times of deep transformation of the EU itself. With the Bulgarian succession, the Cyrillic alphabet became the third official EU alphabet. And this is a distinct Bulgarian contribution to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Union. However, due to frauds and abuses of European funds in Bulgaria, this country faces tough time with the withdrawal of the EU money... [more]
YANNIS A. STIVACHTIS
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA
EU Accession Pressures and Foreign Policy Dilemmas: The Case of Romania Implications for Prospective Balkan EU Candidate States
It is widely recognized in the relevant literature, as well as acknowledged in the political practice that the wish of candidate countries to join the European Union (EU) implies a strong will on their part to pursue policies which aim at satisfying the Copenhagen political and economic criteria set by the Union. Although bringing the candidate countries in line with the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) does not fall directly within these criteria, the contents of these policies do constitute part of the EU Acquis Communautaire, which, in turn, forms a part of what has been termed ‘EU conditionality’... [more]
Sherri McFarland
National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC), USA
The Usage of Proxy Militias in the Horn of Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo
This study of insurgency groups and the counter insurgency measures used in the DRC, Ethiopia and the Sudan reveals the uniqueness of the relationships that exists between the marginalized groups and the governing powers of each nation state. The populations of the Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will continue to be afflicted by war because of the usage of proxy militias that only serve to intensify pre-existing problems. In the marginalized regions of these countries there must be a serious effort to stop the usage of proxy militias to quell unrest in ungoverned regions and more emphasis should be placed on strengthening state and local institutions so that political legitimacy can be established... [more]
Mirjana Maleska
SEE University, Macedonia
THE GENERAL AND DIRECT ELECTIONS FOR PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC SHOULD BE ABANDONED
In the beginning of April this year, a president of the Republic of Macedonia was being elected. The thesis that I advocate in this text is that instead of general and direct elections for a president of the Republic, which antagonize the society, especially the ethnic groups, Macedonia needs a greater social cohesion. This may possibly be achieved more successfully if the president is elected by the Parliament... [more]
Martin Nikolic,
European University, Macedonia
The meaning and the role of the states and their national interests against the myth of supra-nationalism
The intent of this short essay is to reveal the consistence in the international political relations, affairs and participants. Despite all efforts for unity on the European continent in a political, economical and even cultural sense, we consider that in the future, the states and the nations will remain the only subjects which will moderate the political processes. Our hypothesis is aiming towards the realistic concept, which has a perception of the states as rational and unitary subjects which have a legitimate right to follow their own national interests. Into a service of our hypothesis we will take the epic creation of Thucydides, The Melian Dialogue...[more]