MVZ210 The Western Balkans in Transition: Post-Conflict Transformation of BiH, Croatia and Serbia

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2014
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Vladimir Dordevic, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 9:45–11:15 U43
Prerequisites
This course is intended to provide students with comprehensive information concerning post-conflict transformation in three Western Balkans states: BiH, Croatia and Serbia. It is envisaged to be a specific case study and to present a comparative analysis in democratic transition of the three largest ex-Yugoslav republics. In that respect, the course is to instruct students into: 1- Explanatory approaches on disintegration of SFR Yugoslavia and its impact upon the successor states; 2- Theoretical and conceptual framework to the study of post-conflict transformation in the Western Balkans; 3- Democratic transition and current political and social realities in BiH, Croatia, and Serbia, and 4- International perspective in terms of the Euro-Atlantic integrations of the said states.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 40 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/40, only registered: 0/40
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Students attending the course will gain knowledge in post-conflict transformation in the Western Balkans. In that respect, they will be instructed into (1) analysis of factors that caused dissolution of Yugoslavia and its impact upon the successor states, (2) processes of democratization following the breakup of the joint Yugoslav state, (3) current politico-social realities in the three biggest and most war-affected republics, and (4) international perspectives vested in Euro-Atlantic integrations of the region. Consequently, students will be able to grasp changes that took place in the Western Balkans from the end of the Yugoslav wars to very recent times and be introduced into analysis of both international and domestic perspectives regarding the region in general and, more specifically, the said states.
Syllabus
  • Program: 1. Introduction (general info on the course) 2. Dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia: Review of Explanatory Approaches Required readings: - Jović, Dejan (2009). Yugoslavia: A State that Withered Away. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press *Introduction and Chapter 1, pp. 1-33. Optional information: - BBC documentary ‘The Death of Yugoslavia’ is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6MblImHjWI (please follow all six links for the complete documentary) 3. Democratization and Post-Communist Diversity: The Case of Yugoslav Successor States Required readings: - Zakošek, Nenad (2008). “Democratization, State-building and War: The Cases of Serbia and Croatia,” Democratization 15(3), pp. 588–610. - Zakošek, Nenad (2009). “The Dynamics of Changes: How different are the Transformation Results in Post-Yugoslav Countries,” pp. 159-166, in Proceedings from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung conference: 1989–2009 Years of Upheaval: Beginning of Inclusion or Exclusion?, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Sarajevo, 2009. Optional readings: - Schedler, Andreas. (1997). “Concepts of Democratic Consolidation,” Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna (Paper prepared for delivery at the 1997 meeting of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Continental Plaza Hotel, Guadalajara, Mexico, 17–19 April 1997) - Schedler, Andreas. (2001). “Measuring Democratic Consolidation,” Studies in Comparative International Development (SCID) 36, (1), pp. 66-92. - Schneider, C., Q., and Schmitter, P., C. (2004). “Liberalization, Transition and Consolidation: Measuring the Components of Democratization,” Democratization 11, (5), pp. 59-90. - Diamond, Larry and Morlino, Leonardo (ed.) (2005). Assessing the Quality of Democracy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press and the National Endowment for Democracy *Introduction, pp. ix-xliii - Diamond, Larry, Plattner, Marc, F. and Costopoulos, Philip, J. (2010). Debates on Democratization. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press and the National Endowment for Democracy *Chapter 6, pp. 77-94. 4. Legacy of Communist and Socialist Parties in the Western Balkans Required readings: - Emerson, Peter and Stojarova, Vera (ed.) (2009). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. New York: Routledge *Chapter 2, pp. 26-42. 5. Comparative Perspective I: Post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina Required readings: - Bieber, Florian (2006). Post-War Bosnia: Ethnicity, Inequality and Public Sector Governance. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave Macmillan *Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6, pp. 29-93 and 108-122. 6. Comparative Perspective II: Post-war Croatia Required readings: - Clewing, Konrad, Lukic, Reneo and Ramet, Sabrina, P. (ed.) (2008). Croatia since Independence: War, Politics, Society, Foreign Relations. München: Oldenbourg Verlagsgruppe *Chapter 2, pp. 31-51. - Dawisha, Karen and Parrott, Bruce (ed.) (1997). Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press *Chapter 3, pp. 100-113. 7. Comparative Perspective III: Post-conflict Serbia Required readings: - Gordy, Eric, D. (1997). “Investigating the Destruction of Alternatives,” Problems of Post-Communism 44 (4), pp. 12-22. - Dawisha, Karen and Parrott, Bruce (ed.) (1997). Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press *Chapter 5, pp. 179-184. - Thomas, Robert (1999). Serbia under Milosevic: Politics in the 1990s. London: C. Hurst and Co. Publishers *Conclusion, pp. 422-433. Optional readings: - Dawisha, Karen and Parrott, Bruce (ed.) (1997). Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press *Chapter 5, pp. 146-179. 8. Different Roads to Democracy I: Bosnia and Herzegovina-- Case of Failed Democratization? Required readings: - Bose, Sumantra (2005). “The Bosnian State Decade After Dayton,” International Peacekeeping 12 (3), pp. 322–335. - Belloni, Roberto (2009). “Bosnia: Dayton is Dead! Long Live Dayton!” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 15, pp. 355-375. - Policy Briefing: “Bosnia’s Gordian Knot: Constitutional Reform,” ICG Europe Briefing 68, July 2012, pp. 1-16. Optional readings: - Knaus, Gerald, and Martin, Felix (2003). “Travails of the European Raj,” Journal of Democracy 14 (3), pp. 60-74. - Marko, Joseph (2005). “Post-conflict Reconstruction through State- and Nation-Building: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” European Diversity and Autonomy Papers- EDAP 4 (EDAP papers are available at: www.eurac.edu/edap) - Chandler, David (2005). “From Dayton to Europe,” International Peacekeeping 12 (3), pp. 336–349. - Divjak, Boris and Pugh, Michael (2008). “The Political Economy of Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” International Peacekeeping 15 (3), pp. 373–386. 9. Different Roads to Democracy II: Croatia after Tudjman--A New Start? Required readings: - Bideleux Robert, and Jeffries, Ian (2007). The Balkans: a Post-Communist History. New York: Routledge *Chapter 5, pp. 216-233. - Clewing, Konrad, Lukic, Reneo and Ramet, Sabrina, P. (ed.) (2008). Croatia since Independence: War, Politics, Society, Foreign Relations. München: Oldenbourg Verlagsgruppe *Introduction, 11-31. - Freedom House Report “Freedom in the World: Croatia 2012,” pp. 1-3. Optional readings: - Bellamy, Alex, J. (2001). "Croatia after Tudjman," Problems of Post-Communism 48 (5), pp. 18-31. - Ramet, Sabrina, P. and Matić, Davorka (ed.) (2007). Democratic Transition in Croatia: Value Transformation, Education & Media. Texas A&M University Press *Conclusion, pp. 354-379. 10. Different Roads to Democracy III: Post-Milosevic Serbia-- Democracy Going Backwards? Required readings: - Ramet, Sabrina, P. (2007). “The Denial Syndrome and its Consequences: Serbian Political Culture since 2000,” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40, pp. 41- 58. - Listhaug, Ola, Ramet, Sabrina, P. and Dulić, Dragana (ed.) (2011). Civic and Uncivic Values: Serbia in the post-Milošević Era. Budapest: Central European University Press *Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 3- 41. Optional readings: - Ramet, Sabrina, P. and Pavlakovic, Vjeran (ed.) (2005). Serbia since 1989: Politics and Society under Milos̆ević and After. Washington: University of Washington Press *Chapters 3 and 4, pp. 55-125. - Ramet, Sabrina, P. (2010). “Serbia since July 2008: at the Doorstep of the EU,” Südosteuropa 58 (1), pp. 15-40. 11. Political Systems and Parties in BiH, Croatia and Serbia: Overview and Comparison Required readings: - Emerson, Peter and Stojarova, Vera (2009). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. New York: Routledge *Chapters 5, 6 and 7, pp. 73-119. Optional readings: - Ramet, Sabrina, P. (2011). “Croatia and Serbia since 1991: An Assessment of Their Similarities and Differences,” Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 27 (2), pp. 263-290. 12. International Perspective: Prospects of Euro-Atlantic Integrations/ Regional Overview and Relations/ *Course wrap-up (conclusions and final remarks) Required readings: - Aybet, Gülnur, Moore, Rebecca, R. and Freedman, Lawrence (2010). NATO in Search of a Vision. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press *Chapter 8, pp. 175-201. - Mylonas, Harris (2012). “The Future of Euro-Atlantic Integration in the Western Balkans,” PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 208, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, pp. 1-5. - Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe- United States Helsinki Commission Hearing: “The Western Balkans and the 2012 NATO Summit,” Testimony by Ivan Vejvoda, pp. 1-13. Optional readings: - Belloni, Roberto (2009). “European Integration and the Western Balkans: Lessons, Prospects and Obstacles,” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 11 (3), pp. 313-331.
Teaching methods
1) Students are expected to attend lectures and only those who have attended 60% of lectures (7 lectures) will be allowed to sit the Final exam. On the other hand, students are invited to contribute actively in discussions if they wish to do so. Active participation is recommended but not obligatory! Those actively contributing by asking questions, discussing issues at hand, and participating in group work (depending on a topic) will be granted additional points at the end of the course and will have a chance of achieving a better grade. 2) Students are expected to read all Required readings and it will be assumed that students have read them (37 pages per week). Optional readings are not compulsory (and also not added to certain seminars) for successful completion of the course, but are listed as important sources of additional information on topics at hand, thus those students interested in further explorations of respective topics may consult these readings. The first seminar has no readings assigned. 3) Students are required to write 6 short position papers (cca. 3600-4200 characters, i.e. 2-2.5 pages) for seminars of their choice. Position papers should include a Summary of main points of required readings, a Critique of these readings and Questions for discussion. Thus, position papers must have three clearly identified sections: 1. Summary, 2. Critique and 3. Questions. Position papers that do not meet this requirement will be rejected and no points will be awarded. It shall be noted that the second section, the one of Critique, is deemed the most important because it reflects one’s personal stance on issue(s) at hand, thus this section needs to be the longest one in a position paper (i.e. not less than one page and not more than page and a half long). Position papers should be inserted into a proper Folder in “Student Papers” (according to the seminar dates) in IS (Information System) not later than 30 hours (Tuesday at 10 a.m.) before designated lecture. Uploading papers into IS later than required will result in 3 points being deducted thus maximum points reached on that particular paper would be 7. 4) Final in-class exam is to be passed by students at the end of the course.
Assessment methods
The final grade will be calculated as a composite evaluation of two parts: 1) 6 position papers>> each max. 10 points, i.e. 6 x 10 points= total 60 points; 2) Final exam>> 2 questions x max. 7 points (2 x 7) +2 questions x max. 5 points (2 x 5) +1 question x max. 1 point (1 x 1) = 14+10+1= total 25 points. Maximum: 85 points. Pass: 55 points (65 %). **Points for activity during lectures (discussions) will be awarded only to the active students before the Final exam at the end of the course. Students active on or more than 50% of discussions= 12 points; those active on less than 50% of discussions= 6 points. *Grades: A> 80 – 85 points B> 74 – 79 points C> 68 – 73 points D> 62 – 67 points E> 55 – 61 points F> less than 55 points Workload: •6 position papers •Readings (37 pages per week) and discussions •Final exam
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2014/MVZ210