ISSUE 3 May 2012
TOP STORY
Skills and the Labour Market in the Western Balkans
The second workshop of LSEE’s Research Network on Social Cohesion in SEE took place on Friday 11 May in Belgrade. The workshop was organised in collaboration with Belgrade-based Foundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN)| and the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade. The workshop attracted a strong collection of research papers focusing on themes such demand-supply imbalances in the Western Balkan region, skill shortages and mismatch, vocational education and training systems, and overall labour market performance in light of the challenges posed by the global economic crisis and the process of European integration.
Click here| for more details about the event.
FORTHCOMING EVENT
2nd Joint PhD Symposium on SEE - 18 June
The second PhD Symposium on Southeast Europe, jointly organised by LSEE, Goldsmiths College and UCL’s SSEES, will take place on Monday 18 June at Goldsmiths College.
Over 60 PhD scholars studying various aspects of the politics, history, economy and society of SEE will have the opportunity to present and discuss their work with other colleagues from the region and from the organising institutions. The event follows the successful organisation of the inaugural Symposium at LSE in June 2010.
Click here| for programme details.
RECENT EVENTS
Monday, 26 March: Talk by Edi Rama, former Mayor of Tirana and Leader of the Socialist Opposition Party in Albania
Tuesday, 13 March: Panel debate with Avni Zogjani (Organization for Democracy Anticorruption and Dignity) and Prof Iraj Hashi (Staffordshire University), co-organised with the LSE Albanian Student Society
Friday, 10 February: HO and LSEE Conference ‘The Cyprus Economy at a Time of European Uncertainty: Managing Reform and Sustainability’
Click here| for details.
VISITING SPEAKERS PROGRAMME
During the Lent Term we hosted four very interesting presentations covering a range of topics and geographical areas.
On 10 January, Prof Stefan Wolff (Birmingham University) spoke on ‘Resolving a Frozen Conflict: Prospects of a Settlement for Transistria’. On 24 January we hosted a presentation on ‘Economic Liberalization of the Western Balkans’ by Dr Fikret Causevic (University of Sarajevo). Dr Stefanos Katsikas (Goldsmiths) presented his new book ‘Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: ‘Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria’ on 7 February and the series closed in March with the presentation by Dr Aidan Hehir (Westminster University) on ‘Decentralization in Kosovo: Creating a 'Multi-Ethnic' or an 'Ethnically Divided' Society?’
Our series resumes in the next academic year, with various academic speakers from the UK and the SEE region. Keep an eye on our Events pages| for details.
LSEE IN THE NEWS
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Future prospects of the SEE labour market
An interview with Dr Will Bartlett discussing the labour market and skills in South East Europe was published on the RCC website in March 2012.
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200 years of Serbian diplomacy
Dr Spyros Economides and Dr James Ker-Lindsay featured in a documentary at the Serbian national television channel RTS (broadcasted on 17 February 2012) on 200 years of Serbian diplomacy.
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Israel finds a new friend in Cyprus
Dr James Ker-Lindsay was cited in an article at The National (17 February 2012) discussing the expansion of diplomatic and economic ties between Cyprus and Israel, despite Turkey's opposition to their hydrocarbon cooperation.
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Recent developments in Kosovo
Dr James Ker-Lindsay gave an interview to the Voice of Russia (17 February 2012) on the developments in Kosovo.
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Netanyahu Visit to Cyprus May Stoke Mediterranean Gas Dispute
Dr James Ker-Lindsay commented in an article in Bloomberg (15 February 2012) on the Mediterranean gas drilling rights.
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Coverage of the Eurozone Crisis and Political Developments in Greece
Interviews and commentaries on the Greek crisis by Prof Kevin Featherstone and Dr Vassilis Monastiriotis appeared in a number of national and international media, including NBC's Nightly News (Featherstone, 14/2), the US edition of the Voice of Russia (Monastiriotis, 21/2), the Washington Post (Featherstone, 21/2) and others.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY LSEE STAFF
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Will Bartlett and Ivana Prica, The Variable Impact of the Global Economic Crisis in South East Europe, The LSEE Papers Series-Issue 4, ISBN 978-0-9572614-0-2.
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Ker-Lindsay, James and Economides, Spyros (2012) Standards before status before accession: Kosovo's European perspective. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern studies, 14 (1). pp. 77-92. ISSN 1944-8953.
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Economides, Spyros (2012) The “European pull” in the Balkans. In: Mayall, James and De Oliveira, Ricardo Soares, (eds.) The new protectorates: international tutelage and the making of liberal states. Colombia University Press, Colombia, USA. ISBN 9780231702584. In: Mayall, James and De Oliveira, Ricardo Soares, (eds.) The new protectorates: international tutelage and the making of liberal states. Colombia University Press, Colombia, USA. ISBN 9780231702584.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Will Bartlett
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Will Bartlett, Debora Gatelli and Jens Johansen (2012) Skill Mismatch in EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Countries: Empirical Analysis, Paper presented to LSEE Workshop on Skills and the Labour Markets in the Western Balkans, FREN, Belgrade, 11 May.
James Ker-Lindsey
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Self-Determination in Theory and Practice: Lessons from the Balkans, Conference: ‘The Social and the Political in Discourses of State-Building’, University of Westminster, 27 April 2012.
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Why do States Contest Secession? Some Insights for Peacemaking, 13th Mediterranean Research Meeting, European University Institute, Italy, 21-24 March 2012.
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The Prospect of Border Changes in the Western Balkans, Workshop: ‘Balkans 2020’, LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics, 27 January 2012.
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Why do States Attempt to Prevent the Recognition of Secessionist Territories? Conflict Research Group, London School of Economics, 25 January 2012.
Vesna Bojicic- Dzelilovic
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Participated in the conference: The Role of the Parliaments in Deciding on Priorities: Cutting Public Spending or Stimulating Economy, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Belgrade, 3 March 2012.
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Speaker at the international conference Balkan Wars in 100th Anniversary: Conflict Prevention, Peace and Welfare Vision, Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies, Istanbul 26-27 April 2012.
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Paper presentation at the workshop: Exiting Conflict, Owning the Peace, organised by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Berlin on 21 May 2012.
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Discussant and moderator at the international conference Social, Political and Economic Change in the Western Balkans, organised by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Sarajevo 24-27 May 2012.
Clare Gordon
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Participated in a roundtable on Kosovo, Serbia and the EU: Discussing the Challenges and Perspectives of a Conflict Region, at the University of Fribourg, 27 April 2012.
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Visiting the Department of Political Science of the University of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Skopje in capacity as an International Scholar on the Open Society Foundations’ Associated Fellowship Programme, 13-14 May 2012.
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The lead chair/discussant for the Post-Conflict Arrangements and Democracy strand of panels at the Regional Research Promotion Programme for the Western Balkans’ Annual Conference in Sarajevo, 25-26 May 2012.
OTHER NEWS
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New Visiting Fellow
In May 2012 we welcome a Dr Jelena Lausev, from the University of Belgrade, who will be Visiting Fellow at LSEE until September. Jelena joins the Social policy, regional policy and labour markets stream of LSEE and will be doing work on unemployment duration and wage premia in the Western Balkans countries.
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Temporary administrative support
In April-May we had with us Mrs Branka Vukovic-Zahirovic who worked for a short period as LSEE Administrator. Branka has helped with a number of tasks while at LSEE, including the preparation of this issue of the Newsbites. We wish her well as she returns to her permanent post. As we are waiting to permanently fill the post of LSEE Administrator, Ms Ioanna Antonopoulou (Hellenic Observatory Administrator) will be helping with day-to-day administrative duties.