Eastern European Studies Commons^™

Chechnya: Human Rights Issues, Latife Bulur

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Chechnya is a country plagued by terrorism and human rights abuses. A primary source of these issues is the unsettled situation between local insurgents and the Russian military. This conflict, increasing in magnitude over time, makes it incredibly difficult to negotiate the terms of Chechnya’s independence perpetuating the crisis. Rising violence fuels Russia’s frustration in addressing the conflict with Chechen groups. Russia has and continues to employ various tactics to minimize the violence, but such tactics have all so far been unsuccessful.

Violations Of Human Rights In The Russian Military, Cathy Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In 2005, an estimated 450 deaths were caused by injuries due to internal military violence. The degradation inflicted on Russian soldiers within their regime necessitates reformation by the government and implementation of resolutions. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military has been experiencing heightened levels of personnel decline despite the compulsory draft. The prestige that the Soviet Army of the 1950s received through the late 1980s is dwindling rapidly. Despite the military code of conduct, today’s army is afflicted with perpetual violations of human rights. For the future of the Russian military, extensive action must include systemic …

The Roma: During And After Communism, Florinda Lucero, Jill Collum

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Roma are an interconnected ethnic and cultural group that migrated out of India more than ten centuries ago. In the Czech Republic, they may have been present since the 15th century. Although relations within Czech lands began honorably, they quickly disintegrated into enmity and within a century Czechs could kill the Roma with impunity. Legislation restricting Roma movement came about in 1927 with Law 117: the “Law on Wandering Gypsies,” which stated that the Roma were now required to seek permission to stay overnight in any given location. In the run-up to World War II, parallel restrictions to those …

Ethnic Conflict, Kristina Libby

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has experienced high levels of ethnic conflict with regard to exit claims by former satellite states that no longer want to be part of the federation. Exit claims often antagonize the state. However, political leaders of titular ethnicities maximize ethnic revivals to keep traditions alive, and to minimize the amount of exclusion vis-à-vis the center. Massive human rights violations have resulted because of misperceptions between the center and the periphery, especially in Chechnya, the Volga-Ural’s Region and Eastern Siberia.

Violations Of Human Rights During Military Operations In Chechnya, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning violations of human rights law during armed conflict has been extended after the first decisions on cases arose from violations, committed during the war in Chechnya between 1999 and 2000. In the words of the Court, at that time the situation called for exceptional measures, in order to regain control over the Republic and suppress an illegal armed insurgency. The Court has been ready to admit those measures, including the deployment of army units equipped with heavy combat weapons, military aviation and artillery, were necessary to counter the aggressiveness of …

Democratization In Bosnia, Melanie Kawano, Amber Goodman, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Democratization in post-conflict, post-Dayton Bosnia has been characterized by many scholars as a “noble experiment”: the West’s guinea pig for internationally initiated post-communist democratization. In a state so wearied by war and dictatorship, democracy would be expected to take root quickly and flourish. However, due to various cultural and political influences, what the Dayton Peace Agreement originally intended to quickly lead to Bosnia’s self-governance has instead resulted in the state’s crippling dependence on external actors. The articles in this section of this bibliography explore the myriad influences (primarily under the umbrella of ethnicity) on the process.

Neotrusteeship In Bosnia, Lauren Ingram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict in Bosnia resulted in 4.3 million displaced people, 250,000 estimated casualties, and more than 200,000 wounded including 50,000 children. (Cousens and Carter 25). In 1995, these facts became known to the world when the U.N. Protection Force (UNPROFOR), NATO, and the United States were able to reach a peace agreement with warring factions. As in World War II, Bosnian-Serbians, Bosnian-Croatians, Croatians, Muslim were active combatants. However, unlike World War II, no single governing authority emerged. Instead, the U.N., with key U.S. involvement, had to institute not only peace but also an administration that could uphold that peace. The …

State-Building In Bosnia, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Although the idea of state-building is at least as contentious as the idea of the state itself, international technocrats and foreign policymakers remain resigned to this project. International state-building has been conceived of as maintaining intermestic social order, protecting individual rights, and consolidating transnational linkages of power. Yet whatever the motive, effect or standard form of state-building, some political organization called “the state” is a necessary condition for membership in international society, if not for protecting individual human rights.

Uzbekistan, Chris Maggard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central Asian republics have largely remained hidden from the world attention since they gained independence a decade ago. However, immediately following September 11th the region was brought into focus as a part of the US-led “War on Terror”. Uzbekistan became a full partner in this initiative when the government decided to allow the U.S. military full use of its territory in the invasion against Afghanistan . As Uzbek President Karimov has become willing to work with the West than neighboring countries, the debate in recent years has been how and to what extent, rather than whether or not the …

Romania, Bulgaria, The United States And The European Union: The Rules Of Empowerment At The Outskirts Of Europe, Dana Neacsu

Law Faculty Publications

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States came to Eastern Europe spreading the gospel of democracy and the American Rule of Law. In addition to encouraging Western ideology, the United States was there to forge new economic relationships and, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to accelerate the creation of military alliances through membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the newly-formed "coalition of the willing." Romania and Bulgaria, among other former Soviet satellites, welcomed the invitation. Romania and Bulgaria are small countries which share similar economic pressures as they attempt to emerge …

United Nations Tribunals And Complicity In Human Rights Violations: The Assassination Of Zoran Djindjic, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article presents a hypothesis of untoward consequences through the reification of human rights.

The Role Of The Eu In The Non-Proliferation Of Nuclear Weapons: The Way To Thessaloniki And Beyond, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past few years the EU has begun taking some steps against the spread of nuclear weapons within its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). At the Thessaloniki Summit June 2003, the European Council adopted its first draft Strategy against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). In order to assess the significance of the Strategy, this paper will first present and evaluate the Union’s record in the field, then review the newly released Strategy, and finally make suggestions as to how it can be improved.

The EU is not an unitary actor in the nuclear non-proliferation domain, …

Trends. When Governments Want Government To Change, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses regime change in Germany and Iraq in a political psychological context.

East European Security Revisited: Institutions, Power, And Security, Blagovest Tashev

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Drawing on the literatures on democratization, security studies, and small states this dissertation explores the relationship of small states' domestic and international institutionalization and their security. Small states have limited power not only to affect their environment but also to guarantee national security. Small states, it is hypothesized, enhance their security through the consolidation of domestic institutions and the accumulation of capacities provided by their participation in capacity-reach international institutions.

The dissertation tests the hypothesis by applying the comparative method to the post-communist states of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. The three case studies analyze the effects of domestic …

Kosovo And Beyond: Is Humanitarian Intervention Transforming International Society?, Roberto Belloni

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society by Nicholas J. Wheeler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 352pp.

and

The Kosovo Tragedy: The Human Rights Dimensions edited by Ken Booth. Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2001. 386pp.

Reshaping The Present And Constructing The Future Through Remembering The Past, Mercedes Barros

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

When History is a Nightmare: Lives and Memories of Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia Herzegovina by Stevan Weine. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999. 259 pp.

and

The Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice by Ifi Amadiume and Abdullahi An-Na’im. New York: Zed Books, 2000. 207 pp.

Trends. After The Election: Milosevic Myths, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the defeat of Slobodan Milosevic in his re-election attempt in 2000, as well as the subsequent political balance in Yugoslavia.

Trends. Psychopolitical Action In Yugoslavia: With Friends Like These, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the actions of the United States Government to affect Yugoslavian presidential elections in Macedonia and Serbia against Slobodan Milosevic, as well as Milosevic's use of these actions as evidence of outside interference. Nationalism as well as opposition strategies are also discussed.

The Concept And Practice Of Representative Democracy In Post-Communist Eastern Europe, Georgeta V. Pourchot

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Using the concept of representation, this study advances a comparative interpretive analysis which makes use of hard statistical data and soft data to assess the direction of democratization in Eastern Europe between 1990 and 1998. Specifically, the study looks at how governments in Eastern Europe chose to heed constituencies' calls for the institution of a market economy, and analyzes the degree of government responsiveness towards constituencies. The study finds that the region is moving towards a more responsible and responsive type of governance, but at different paces and degrees. Poland leads with respect to government responsiveness. The Czech Republic displays …

Ibpp Research Associates. Macedonia, Anonymous - Skopje, Macedonia

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article is a note (lightly edited for English only) from a professor in Skopje, Macedonia that was addressed to a professional colleague of the IBPP Editorial Board in response to that colleague's inquiry into the situation in Macedonia. The author notes a difference between what has been broadcast via the Western media and the perceptions of conditions in-country.

Ibpp Research Associates. Serbia, Aleksandar Radulovic, Nikola Radulovic

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article is a perspective that was contributed on April 25, 1999 by Aleksandar & Nikola Radulovic of Belgrade, Serbia through Global Network Initiative staffer Gil Grein.

Ibpp Research Associates. Banja Luka, Srpska, Zeljka Kasagic

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article is a letter from a 26 year-old Serbian female, Ms. Zeljka Kasagic, of Banja Luka, Srpska. The letter was written in a response to inquiries by Global Network Initiative staffer Gil Grein concerning the current crisis between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Yugoslavia.

From The Ibpp Research Associates. Yugoslavia., Slobodan Milosevic

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article is an an English translation of a statement by the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Mr. Slobodan Milosevic, to Yugoslav citizens. The statement was originally posted online at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/yuembassy/ by the Yugoslav Embassy in Washington, DC, but is no longer available there. It was sent to IBPP by a reader.

IBPP suggests that readers analyze this statement in the context of the objectives publicly ventured by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as rationale for its ongoing attacks on Yugoslav military assets that began on March 24, 1999.

Change And Continuity In German Relations With The East, Brian L. Kessel

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This paper will look at the history of German relations with the East in an attempt to gain insight into the future of German-East European relations. Change and continuity in German relations with the East from the original German colonization of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages until the present will be examined. Special attention will be paid to the historical, geographical, and economic factors that have influenced German behavior. The paper will attempt to show that the East has always held an attraction and fascination for the Germans, an attraction that has often led to German efforts to dominate …

A Structured Analysis Of Ostpolitik: A Paradigm Of A Systems Approach, James E. Getz

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Communism In Unity And Conflict: Poland, Yugoslavia, Ussr, Steven E. Weber

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Poland's Foreign Policy, 1945-1956: A Case Study In Soviet Subordination Of Satellite Diplomacy, Thomas M. Stanley

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

American Governmental Response To The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Martin Ivan Elzy

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

5. The Democracies Between The Wars (1919-1939), Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XVIII: The Western World in the Twentieth Century: The Historical Setting

At first glance, the events of World War I seemed to be a triumphant vindication of the spirit of 1848. It was the leading democratic great powers - Britain, France, and the United States - who had emerged the victors. In the political reconstruction of Europe, republics had replaces many monarchies. West of Russia, new and apparently democratic constitutions were established in Germany, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. Yet the sad truth was that by the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the majority of the once democratic states of central and eastern Europe …