FOMOSO, 2021
*By Hristina Crenn
*This article has been published on the website of FOMOSO (Political Forum from Switzerland): https://www.fomoso.org/en/mosopedia/essays/the-politicisation-of-the-balkan-societal-structure-changing-historical-narratives/?fbclid=IwAR3xKn5j3iLkUszryD7G5f240yqZpMGE7dLqrpVaZI7WM57j7trKXXnCaEo
Introduction
The history of the Balkan region is the product of conflictual nationalistic rhetorics, especially since the break-up of Yugoslavia (1991). The Balkan region, an ethnically diverse geographical area, rich with cultural and linguistic heritage, could not manage the plethora of ethnic conflicts, social racism and multiple institutional rejections over time. The question of nationalism is the inevitable point in each Balkan country. Moreover, the fact that even though people speak almost the same language, ethnic hatred still exists among the diverse communities of Slavic origin. This was, and still, is a quite shocking episode of Balkan national history. The “Megali” idea depicts the willingness of each Balkan country to be greater. It’s a historical dimension born after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s. The Balkan countries depict the presence of the Ottoman Empire, which lasted for almost five centuries, as an occupation, however, none of the Balkan countries publicly admits that the Ottoman Empire preserved their cultural heritage, religion and local languages. From a historical point of view, the policies of the Ottoman Empire were more adequate for the development of the Balkan region than the current or the contemporary prevailing nationalistic thoughts, concepts and rules. In general, older people praise the heritage of the Ottoman past and the heroic deeds of Tito in the Yugoslavian era, while younger people prefer to leave abroad. The phenomenon of “brain drain” is unstoppable and is shaking the entire Balkan institutional structure.
2. The Deportation of the Balkan Jews: Failure of the Legal System
FOMOSO, 2021
*By Hristina Crenn
*This article has been published on the website of FOMOSO (Political Forum from Switzerland):https://www.fomoso.org/en/mosopedia/essays/the-deportation-of-the-balkan-jews-failure-of-the-legal-system/
Introduction
The Origin of the Balkan Jews
The history of the Balkan Jews lasts more than 500 years. The deportation of the Balkan Jews occurred in 1941 and lasted until 1945. Initially, the Jews were exiled in 1492 from Spain (a period known as the Spanish Inquisition). Later on, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Bayezid II, accepted and welcomed them as dhimmis (foreigners who lived in Muslim lands or territories). The Jews for the Ottomans were the “Ahl al-kitab”(the “People of the Book”). Christians and Muslims were holding the same religious status. The People of the Book are the members of the three monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) who believe in the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. The Ottomans implemented the policy of accommodation (istimalet) regarding foreigners (mainly for Jews and Christians) in order to preserve the cosmopolitan character of the empire. The names of some Balkan cities where the Jewish population was living for centuries were: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Monastir (Bitola – Macedonia), Belgrade (Serbia), Split and Dubrovnik (Croatia). Many Jewish people lived in Skopje (Macedonia) and Zagreb (Croatia) as well. However, it is crucial to mention that the Jewish community lived in the Balkan region since the 1st century CE (the era of the Roman Empire).
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3. The Balkan Investment Infrastructure: A forgotten framework of social implementation
FOMOSO, 2021
*By Hristina Crenn
**This article has been published on the website of FOMOSO (Political Forum from Switzerland): https://www.fomoso.org/en/mosopedia/essays/the-balkan-investment-infrastructure-a-forgotten-framework-of-social-implementation/
Introduction
Carol Elisabeth Moseley Braun, a former US senator and a diplomat shared the idea that investment infrastructure is the most sustainable factor of social growth:“We must invest in infrastructure development and rebuilding communities to create jobs”. It is important to denote that at each instant of history, investment was marked by the emergence of sudden financial crises. The infrastructural development of the Balkan region is stagnating for decades. There are numerous factors leading to stagnation: usurpation of the available funds (money – laundering), slow legal procedures (institutional approval for the realization of infrastructural projects, for example: construction of roads), absence of qualified teams of experts that will be charged to manage grandiose construction projects. The investment infrastructure of the Balkan region is a colourful political game where the spectrum of colours depicts the chaotic image of post-modern art ironically said. That is to say, chaotic policies create social revolts that to some extent depict the forgotten framework of social implementation i.e. ruthless infrastructural investment program.
4. The Case of ‘Hungry’ Venezuela: in comparison with the Holodomor crisis
FOMOSO, 2021
*By Hristina Crenn
*This article has been published on the website of FOMOSO (Political Forum from Switzerland): https://www.fomoso.org/en/mosopedia/essays/the-case-of-hungry-venezuela-in-comparaison-with-the-holodomor-crisis/
*Originally this paper was presented at the Student Law Symposium organised by the Law Faculty of Koç University in 2019
Abstract: The intrinsic character of the Venezuelan crisis resulted with several human rights shortages, particularly the food privation. Indeed, this crisis led to the emergence of the principle of forced migration that negatively influenced the people’s modes of life. Therefore, the intentional fabrication of Venezuelan crisis is actually the archetype of the Holodomor famine that occurred in the 1930s in Soviet Ukraine. Chiefly, the insightful, yet comprehensive PTS (Potential Taxable Surplus) theory of the American biologist Jared Diamond in his book ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’, is widely known as the embodiment of the regular crop-rotation stability of the society. Hence, William McNeil in his book ‘Plagues and Peoples’ stressed the paramount importance of the concept of successful macro-parasitism that enables the preservation of a regenerative food economy. The State ostensibly holds the prerogative of regulating the food economy. In case, the State increases the tax-value of the PTS more than the average, the whole food economy collapses and the period of unsuccessful macro-parasitism emerges. The negative consequences of the unsuccessful macro-parasitism lead up to food shortages and massive famines and starvation. The State, firmly is the parasite that attacks the host. The economy is no longer reproducible such as the one in Ukraine during the 1930s, in the aftermath of the disastrous food policy applied by Stalin. In Venezuela, due to hyperinflation the situation is deteriorating. There are massive violations of several major articles of Human Rights conventions such as the article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the articles 25 and 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All these articles guarantee the pre-eminence of the right to an adequate standard of living, especially the accessibility of food and health. There is a huge necessity to situate the source of the problem and propose a sustainable solution. Indeed the intentional shortage of food and health supplies is a breach of the legitimacy of international law. Therefore, the food shortage in Venezuela is condemnable by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and frequent, indeed intentional abuses of power of the presidential, yet legislative authority.
Keywords: crisis, famine, Venezuela, Ukraine (Holodomor), abuse of power, human rights violations
HRISTINA CRENN 