scholarly journals 'Migration crisis' and the far right networks in Europe: A case study of Serbia

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-178
Author(s):  
Marina Lažetić

During the 'migration crisis' Serbia has been a transit country. However, several thousands of migrants and refugees remained 'stuck' in the Western Balkans after the closure of the Balkan Route, and issues related to their potential integration provided a platform for Serbian far right movements and parties to establish new and stronger relationships with their European counterparts. This changed the far right landscape in the Western Balkans and allowed anti-European narratives to strengthen. This paper identifies the 'new far right' which is on the rise in Serbia, and its relationships with the larger network of European far right movements. Based on field interviews and social media content analysis, the paper draws a conclusion that if the EU fails to take a more active role in making integration an attractive option for the Western Balkan countries, the rise of far right movements in the region could present a serious security threat.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Ejdus ◽  
Tijana Rečević

Abstract. One of the central debates in Ontological Security Studies (OSS) has been about the level-of-analysis. While some authors focus on individuals, others have scaled up the concept and applied it to collectives such as states as the main ontological security seekers. In this article, we contribute to the level-of-analysis debate in OSS by providing a novel argument in defense of scaling up. By drawing on the literatures on complexity and securitization, we conceptualize ontological security as an emergent phenomenon. It arises from the ground-up and is driven by feedback loops in a non-linear and spontaneous fashion from horizontal micro-interactions and securitizations from below, ultimately reaching a tipping point. We illustrate this argument in a case study of anti-immigrant mobilization in Serbia since the outbreak of the European migration crisis (2015–2020). At the outset of the crisis, state officials interpreted the migration crisis as a manageable and temporary situation, adopted an “open door” policy and even banned far-right extremist demonstrations against migration. Over time, however, ontological insecurity over the migrant threat has gradually emerged from the bottom-up through a cascade of rumors, connective action, and everyday securitizing acts. While it might be too early to conclude that the national tipping point has been reached, this case study clearly shows why ontological insecurity merits to be studied as an emergent phenomenon.


Politeja ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3(66)) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Wawrzyniec Banach

European Union towards Western Balkans in the Context of Migration Crisis 2015‑2019 The aim of the article is to analyse the actions taken by the European Union towards the Western Balkans in the context of the migration crisis. The study assumes that the migration crisis was an important factor accelerating the accession process of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. In order to fulfil the research goal, an analysis of sources (European Union documents) was conducted. The paper uses elements of the theory of the regional security complex as a theoretical framework. Firstly, the activities of the European Union before the migration crisis are discussed. Next, the paper focuses on presenting the course of the crisis on the Western Balkan route. The further part of the study discusses the actions taken by the EU towards the countries of the Western Balkans in response to the migration crisis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Čavoški

Although the implementation of the acquis is a crucial element of the EU integration process, it is recognised as its ‘weakest link’. The implementation deficit is especially apparent with the EU environmental acquis, both in the existing member states and the accession countries. Most recently, following the accession of Croatia, the EU faces prospective enlargement to other Western Balkans countries. The author argues that there are specific problems in implementing the environmental acquis in accession countries and that the case of Serbia, or other countries of the Western Balkans, is not particularly unique. The case study used to support this argument is the implementation of the waste acquis in Serbia as it represents a highly demanding and costly policy area for national authorities and the country faces extensive legal, institutional, economic and financial challenges in implementing the environmental acquis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-197
Author(s):  
Nina Paulovicova

Societies around the globe have been witnessing the emergence of the radical right, often seen as the result of neoliberal globalization. Democratic governance, liberalism, human rights, and values are being questioned while populist, authoritarian, and ethnonationalist forms of governance are being offered. In the European Union, the tumultuous developments have been testing the viability of the identity marker of Europeanness and its perseverance in EU member states. What we are witnessing are significant shifts in the discourse about sameness and otherness, the convergence of left and right ideologies and the emergence of hybrid forms of authoritarianism and democracy that have been dubbed as illiberal democracy or authoritarian liberalism. The rise of the radical right and its mobilization across the EU member states is reflective of these processes, and it is the goal of this author to understand the mechanisms behind the empowerment, mobilization, and normalization of radical right through the case study of Slovakia. In particular, the effort of this paper is to understand how the far-right party Kotlebovci – Ľudová Strana Naše Slovensko (ĽSNS) in Slovakia re-conceptualized the notion of nation and normalized far-right ideology as a pretext of a broader mobilization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Věra Stojarová

AbstractThe paper looks at the political party scene in Visegrad countries before and after the influx of refugees and compares how much the negative reactions were instrumentalised not only by the extremist and radical right parties but by the newly emerged populist formations as well as the well-established mainstream parties across the whole political spectra. Until the “migration crisis”, the far right parties focused mainly on Roma issue, anti-Semitism, anti-communism, anti-establishment and used anti-NATO, anti-EU, anti-German, anti-Czech, anti-Slovak or anti-Hungarian card. Since 2015, the parties re-oriented against immigrants, more precisely against the Muslims presenting them as a threat and also increased their criticism on the EU. However, the mainstream parties also accepted far right topics and actively promoted them. The result is then mainstreaming of xenophobia, nationalism and marginalization of far right parties as their flexible voters move to the populist subjects.


Südosteuropa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Kudlenko

AbstractSecurity sector reform (SSR) has become an important part of the EU’s efforts to transform the Western Balkans from a conflict-ridden area into a stable and democratic part of Europe. This paper studies SSR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as an illustration of the multifaceted and complex Europeanization policies employed by the EU in the region. It does not present a study of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) missions, as there is already a wealth of material available on this subject, but offers instead a broader examination of changes in two sectors of BiH’s security system with the aim of improving understanding of the EU’s impact on the domestic environments of candidate states. Its main argument is that the EU used police and intelligence reforms in Bosnia, both of which were part and parcel of the SSR efforts in the country, as state-building tools. But because domestic competence in Bosnia was lacking and the EU was rather inexperienced in implementing SSR, the reforms have had a mixed record of success and reveal the limitations of the region’s Europeanization.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-404
Author(s):  
I.dris Turan ◽  
Ekrem Yas¸ar Akçay

This study elaborates on the European Union’s (EU) Balkan policies evaluating the developments in the Western Balkans from the post-Cold War era until today. In addition, the study will tackle the EU policies and practices in the Western Balkans on the basis of the principles of the domino theory. In this context, the EU believes that destabilisation due to conflicts in former Yugoslavia after disintegration has also destabilised other countries in the region in domino effect. This situation means both the region and the EU will encounter security threat. In this regard, the study dwells upon EU policies in the region to provide financial aid in an attempt to ensure development and sustainability which will foster stability on the basis of the assumption that these countries in the region will be accepted to the EU as member countries after ensuring stability.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soeren Keil

The Western Balkans have seen rapid changes since the end of the violent conflicts in the 1990s. The European Union (EU) has been one of the main drivers for change, focusing on the political, economic and social transformation of the region to prepare the countries for membership in the Union. This introduction to the special issue will clarify the key terms and their interaction in the Western Balkans. EU enlargement has never before been this complex and inter-connected with processes of state-building and democratization. The focus on conditionality as the main tool of the EU in the region has had positive and negative effects. It can be argued that the EU is actively involved in state-building processes and therefore the termEU Member State Buildingwill be used to explain the engagement of the Union with the countries in the region. This paper will discuss the concept of EU Member State Building, its potential and its pitfalls. It will be demonstrated that the stabilization of the region is unlikely to take place without an active role for the EU; however, the current approach has reached its limits and it is time to think about alternative options to integrate the Western Balkans into European structures.


Author(s):  
DAMIR ČRNČEC ◽  
JANEZ URBANC

Just like every other organisation, NATO and the EU are more or less constantly changing and organisationally adapting to new challenges and related new priorities and tasks. The intelligence and security structures of both organisations are no exception and although radical or major organisational changes, mainly due to the consensus mode, are not very frequent and require more time, minor changes and adjustments occur constantly. In recent years, the field of intelligence and security in both organisations has not witnessed any major organisational changes. Nevertheless, especially within NATO, the intelligence structure has significantly increased in quality due to the extra effort to include, in addition to military and defence, civil intelligence and security structures of Member States to play a more active role in the exchange of intelligence with the Alliance. Similarly, although less obviously, a similar trend took place in the context of the intelligence and security structures within the EU. In parallel with the termination of operations in Afghanistan, with a slow stabilisation of the situation in the Western Balkans, and mainly as a result of the new/old challenges posed by the situation in relation to Ukraine, there is no doubt that the intelligence and security structures of both organisations, especially NATO, will be further modified and upgraded over the coming years. The aim of this paper is thus, in addition to outlining the current organisation of the intelligence and security structures in both organisations, to indicate the future trends in the field of intelligence and security. Kot vsaka organizacija se tudi zveza Nato in EU bolj ali manj stalno spreminjata ter organizacijsko prilagajata novim izzivom in posledično novim prednostim ter nalogam. Obveščevalno-varnostni deli obeh organizacij niso izjema in čeprav radikalne oziroma večje organizacijske spremembe, predvsem zaradi konsenzualnega načina delovanja, niso zelo pogoste ter zahtevajo več časa, se manjše spremembe nenehno dogajajo. V zadnjem času se sicer na obveščevalno-varnostnem področju v obeh organizacijah niso zgodile večje organizacijske spremembe, kljub temu pa se je predvsem znotraj Nata struktura na obveščevalnem področju pomembno kvalitativno dopolnila. Dopolnitev se je zgodila zato, da se k bolj aktivni vlogi pri izmenjavi obveščevalnih podatkov z zavezništvom (še močneje kot v preteklosti) vključijo poleg vojaških oziroma obrambnih tudi civilne obveščevalno-varnostne strukture držav članic. Podoben, čeprav manj očiten, trend je potekal tudi v okviru obveščevalno-varnostnih struktur EU. Vzporedno z zaključevanjem operacij v Afganistanu, s počasnim stabiliziranjem razmer na Zahodnem Balkanu, predvsem pa kot posledica novih/starih izzivov, ki jih povzročajo razmere v povezavi z Ukrajino, postane jasno, da se bo obveščevalno-varnostna struktura v obeh organizacijah, zlasti pa v Natu, v naslednjih letih dodatno spreminjala in izpopolnjevala. Cilj prispevka je poleg prikaza trenutne organiziranosti obveščevalno-varnostne strukture v obeh organizacijah napovedati prihodnje usmeritve na obveščevalno-varnostnem področju.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document