Academic literature on the topic 'Post-communism – Albania'

This article interrogates the mobilization of the Albanian national question in Albania in 2012. The two interrelated questions of the article are why the nationalist card is not used consistently and why it failed to trigger a policy debate, or lead to policy changes. The main argument of the article is that, more than a policy alternative, “national unification” is a discursive practice performing two functions: Externally, it signals sovereignty and subjectivity to the international community in Albania, primarily the European Union (EU) and the United States, and as such it is used for political leverage, particularly at critical moments. Internally, it aims at constructing national cohesion, while drawing identity lines between the main political parties. This is particularly the case in moments of political instability, juncture or pressure, as before elections. However, its limited ability to inform policy and mobilize political action results not only from the demobilizing power of international actors, for example, the EU and the United States, but also the dominant position that a specific discourse of “good Albanian nationalism” holds in the political debate in post-communist Albania.

This paper aims to analyze the contribution that the literature of memory is giving in the process of constructing the collective memory about the Albanian communism. The main work, which is the central part of our research, is about Father Zef Pllumi’s book “Live only to tell” which is considered as a monument of the collective memory regarding the Albanian experience during communism. Also, this paper aims to analyze the contribution of other Albanian Catholic clergy had in facing the communist regime in Albania and the legacy they left in creating the Albanian collective memory. The method of research used is a textual analysis of the narration and the relation between fiction and history, between the general historical myth and the personal truth, which is a very interesting type of literature that is written like history but, at the same time, it feels like fiction. After the fall of communism in Albania, the Albanians, especially those who were subjected to this extreme violence and oppression, felt the need to share their experience in various ways. One way was through the literature of memory, which is an important element in the process of the creation of collective memory for a very disturbing past for every post-communist country. Received: 3 November 2020 / Accepted: 19 December 2020 / Published: 5 March 2021

This article examines the revival of Islam in Albania through Tajdid (renewal) and Islah (reform) tendencies carried out by the Albanian Muslim Community and Muslim intellectuals, after the fall of the Communist System, in 1990s. The study intends to show the role of Tajdid and Islah activities in the restoration of Islam in the post-communist Albania. The significance of this research lies in its highlights of the renewal process of Islam in Albania within the first ten years after the fall of communism. This paper starts with a brief introduction on Albanians and their religious identity and continues with the discussion of: (1) the main factors leading to Tajdid and Islah in post-communist Albania, (2) the restoration of the Islamic educational institutions and the places of worship, and (3) the reformation of Muslim’s intellect, identity and belongingness. Descriptive and analytical methods are utilized. The analysis of this study adds new insights to the exiting literature on Tajdid and Islah tendencies for the revival of Islam in Albania.

The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which furniture products are designed, development and produced. This paper draws from my doctoral study which explored the transformation of furniture products from communism to post-communism. The doctoral study confirmed that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customization in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. In this light, this paper will zoom into the furniture designs during post communism in Albania by exploring two principle paradigms vintage and retro. First this paper argues that furniture design and production in the centralized economy, are introduced within the vintage paradigm in post-communist. The data collecting through observation demonstrate a high level of interest for the retro design in a free market economy. As the result the paper suggest the local actors, businesses and academia to use and persist nostalgia and retro design in furniture and their component.

The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which furniture products are designed, development and produced. This paper draws from my doctoral study which explored the transformation of furniture products from communism to post-communism. The doctoral study confirmed that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customization in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. In this light, this paper will zoom into the furniture designs during post communism in Albania by exploring two principle paradigms vintage and retro. First this paper argues that furniture design and production in the centralized economy, are introduced within the vintage paradigm in post-communist. The data collecting through observation demonstrate a high level of interest for the retro design in a free market economy. As the result the paper suggest the local actors, businesses and academia to use and persist nostalgia and retro design in furniture and their component.

Abstract The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which furniture products are designed, development and produced. This paper draws from my doctoral study which explored the transformation of furniture products from communism to post-communism. The doctoral study confirmed that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customization in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. In this light, this paper will zoom into the furniture designs during post communism in Albania by exploring two principle paradigms vintage and retro. First this paper argues that furniture design and production in the centralized economy, are introduced within the vintage paradigm in post-communist. The data collecting through observation demonstrate a high level of interest for the retro design in a free market economy. As the result the paper suggest the local actors, businesses and academia to use and persist nostalgia and retro design in furniture and their component.

Purpose: This study investigates the challenges that Albania faces in economic development, social changes, and media transparency in a democratic, post-communist society. The analysis draws on contemporary historical sources, human rights reports, academic studies, news articles, and official governmental and nongovernmental publications, correlating these findings with Albania’s journey toward democratization. Findings: The essay identifies the economic repercussions of communist governance, including prevalent unemployment and fragile market structures. It explores the social impact, linking them to issues like suppression, fear, and weakened trust in the contemporary government. Originality/Value: This article provides an analysis of the challenges in post-communist Albania, focusing on social and economic developments and media coverage. It suggests targeted strategies for the government to strengthen democratic institutions. Keywords: Albania, democracy, post-communism, development, media, freedom, transparency.

The purpose of the research is to solve the paradox of religion integration in education, by the new balance between religion, philosophy and science, during the post communism transition. In the field of thinking, the process is the transition from ideology to integral thinking. It is realized through the re-evaluation of the topics of the integration of religion, transitology and integral though, education, inclusiveness, solidarity, new laicity and new secularity. In the philosophical sense, integration is the objective process of being developed. This is understood as a return to identity towards a universal being. In the context of the social being, the process realizes the opening and cooperative development of all mental, spiritual-religious, scientific, creative-artistic, economic, cultural, material and non-material political fields. It includes the individual, the community, and all institutions of social life. The path of integration development is the transitive movement in a spiral form. In Albania, with the fall of communism, freedom of religion was legalized according to the standards of European democracy. The rehabilitation of religious figures that had been condemned and persecuted by the totalitarian regime began. The post-communist transition brought profound changes in the field of faith and religion such as the new dimension in the relationship of society with religion, new and unfamiliar attitudes of believers to religion, new relations between the state and religious institutions, new relations between education and religion in public institutions, opening of religious schools and increasing the influence of religion through the media and religious literature. What is considered tolerance in Europe, in the Albanian case is respect. Albanians are the best model for religious tolerance (respect). There has never been a religious clash in Albania for any reason. Respect for the religious affiliation and religious belief of the other in the Albanian case is modeled as the guiding value of their identity and appears in everyday life as the acceptance of the other. For this reason, they are the best model of respect and acceptance of the other, regardless of religious affiliation. This is an ontological value, built over the centuries and continues to this day. Albanians have not converted, but have adapted to a religious belief for economic and survival reasons. Marriages with different religions and keeping two names (Christian and Muslim) are natural phenomena among Albanians. In Albania, there are in the family and tribe people with Christian and Muslim religions individuals with two names, Christian and Muslim: Kristo and Muhamed. Albanians have lived in peaceful symbiosis with the Slavs in the centuries of the latter’s influx into Albanian lands. They have also lived peacefully with other neighbors, Greeks or Romans. This is even though the neighbors have not always been peaceful with the Albanians.

After the communist regime seized power in Albania in 1944, the vilification, humiliation, persecution and execution of clergy of all faiths, including Muslim, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, were conducted publicly. Religious estates were nationalized in 1946, and around the same time, religious institutions were closed or converted into warehouses, gymnasiums, workshops or cultural centers. In the communist constitution of 1976, Albania became the first constitutional atheist state in the world. In Article 37 of the Constitution was stated “the state does not recognize any religion”. Albanians were forced to deny their religion, change their belief system and adopt the new socialist way of life that praised secular gods such as the Communist Party and its leaders. The image of the party leader replaced religious icons. Young people were encouraged to follow worldly pursuits, including offering their life for communist deities. With the fall of communism, Albanian clerics and foreign missionaries encouraged the revival of religiosity in the country. Because in Albania, religious institutions and clergy did not exist for more than 3 decades, foreign actors played a major role in the return of religion to social life and among young people. Post-communist Albania represents a quintessential case study of importing religion into a formerly atheistic country that lacked qualified clergy, religious institutions and strong religious beliefs. In the permissive post-communist Albania, people, especially young people, attributed different meanings to religion and religiosity. Mere investigations and surveys of faith communities along traditional lines would fail to provide useful insights into the significant transformations that have impacted the religious field in Albania after the fall of the communist regime and the current challenges faced by new and “traditional” denominations. The post-communist religious context is dominated by two opposing currents: The first trend is marked by the legal organization of religious practice in the public space, which grants freedoms and equality to the “traditional” religions recognized by the state, but autonomous and independent from it. The other trend is shaped by the rituals and practices of believers from abroad who are pushing for the creation of new autonomous religious communities. This paper is not investigating religious “communitarianism” along traditional lines but rather examines salient religious identification and societal relationships and discusses their implications. This analysis rests on survey data and free-flowing and open-ended interviews conducted mainly with students of the Political Science Department of the University of Tirana and of the European University of Tirana, as well as research of different social networks. The article is divided into three parts, which present the following: literature insights, the historical background of Albania’s secularization and current religious trends and practices.

Subject area Public sector management, policy-making, sustainable development, post-Communism. Study level/applicability The case is designed to be used with undergraduate-level and MBA/MPA students. With undergraduate levels, the case can be used on the subject strategic management. In MBA/MPA programs, this case can be used in subjects such as strategic planning for public administration. Here, it can be stressed as being about the problems faced by a country on the long road toward democracy. Issues to be discussed in class include: environmental scanning, competitiveness, public policies and strategic agenda. Case overview At the most general level, the case allows for the analysis and evaluation of the strategy and performance of the Albania from 1928 to 2014 along economic, political and social dimensions, using the techniques of country analysis (see Country Analysis Framework, HBS No. 389-080). Depending on time limitations and the particular objectives of the individual instructor, the case can be used to explore all phases of the nation's development or, alternatively, to focus on a specific era, such as Albania, in the way toward a free market economy. The case provides a setting in which to explore the diamond model as a tool for analyzing competitiveness and setting the economic policy agenda. In the Albania case, we highlight diamond analysis in an emerging economy. Albania also highlights the transition from a planned economy to a market economy, and the importance of a cross-border regional integration in competitiveness. Expected learning outcomes The case is written to serve a number of purposes: Understanding the problems and challenges to sustainable development, especially in a post-communist emerging economy like Albania. The transition/changes that all policymakers have to go through in their efforts for sustainable development of the country. To discuss production factors and the importance of a growth model based on the production factors. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

La thèse explore les spatialités et les temporalités des projets de maisons chez les Albanais pendant les transformations postcommunistes de longue durée, libellés localement comme « tranzicion ». Elle apporte une contribution au domaine des études postcommunistes en examinant comment les processus de la construction matérielle, sociale et affective des maisons et du chez-soi au micro-niveau, se sont liés aux processus qui ont lieu aux niveaux plus larges des sociétés. Les résultats sont basés sur un travail de terrain mené dans un quartier suburbain d'une ville d’Albanie centrale, et sur une ethnographie multi-située en retraçant les réseaux familiaux dans la ville albanaise, les villages d'origine respectifs, et dans une ville de destination migratoire : Athènes.La thèse essaye d'expliquer pourquoi les Albanais faisaient référence à leurs maisons construites pendant la période postcommuniste, comme « les maisons de la transition ». D'un côté, le projet de la maison est entrepris au nom de la réussite individuelle, du progrès et du développement. Les significations locales de ces trois facteurs viennent des attentes utopiques de la transformation postcommuniste et de l’expérience migratoire « réussie » vers les pays considérés comme des « paradis capitalistes ». D'autre part, ces constructions sont profondément motivées par des raisons intimes et par des idéaux de ce que la « shtëpi » (maison) devrait fournir: la stabilité, la sécurité, le confort, la confiance, la protection, l'ordre, la continuité et la mémoire, l’effort de s’ancrer, un sens de l’ensemble familial et de l'appartenance aux lieux
This thesis explores the spatialities and temporalities of home making projects of Albanians during the long-lasting post-communist transformations, locally denominated as 'tranzicion' (transition). The thesis contributes to the field of post-socialist /postcommunist studies by showing how the micro-level intimacies which construct a house and a home, are connected with and challenged by processes which take place at higher and wider levels of societies. The results are based on extensive fieldwork primarily concentrated in a newly inhabited suburban quarter of a town in central Albania. Additional data was drawn from a multi-sited ethnography tracing family networks in the Albanian town, the respective villages of origin, and one emigration destination, Athens. The thesis investigates the lived experience of home construction in post-communist Albania. It aims to explain why Albanians were referring to their houses built during post-communist period, as 'the houses of transition'. On the one hand the process of home-making is undertaken in the name of individual achievement, progress and development. The local meanings of the later derive from utopian expectations of postcommunist transformations and of individual ‘successful' emigration experiences towards countries seen as ‘capitalist paradises'. On the other hand, home-making processes are deeply motivated by intimate and ideal qualities of what a 'shtëpi' (house, home) should provide: stability, security, comfort, trust, protection, order, continuance and memory, root and anchor, a sense of family togetherness and belonging

The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which home furniture products are designed, development and produced. This study is interested in exploring the development of the home furniture product design in Albania and its transformation from communism to post-communism and free market economy. Furthermore, the study looks into ‘Do-it-yourself’ (D-I-Y) product design as an emerging pattern in home furniture in Albania responding to both the consumers’ needs as well as global trends. This constitutes an under researched area in Albanian scholarship. First, a thorough and systematic study on the furniture design process and development in communism has not been conducted earlier. Second, a comparative framework of furniture design between two different main time period, i.e. communism and free market economy, has been missing in Albania. Third, studies on the ‘D-I-Y’ market in Albania has also been scarce. ‘D-I-Y’ market is recently established and currently attempting to catch-up with the regional and international advancements and respond to the Albanian customers’ needs, interests and demands. The central aim of the study is to explore in what ways and to what extent the home furniture design and development process has been transformed from communism to post-communism and free market economy by exploring dynamics of the political and socio-economic context. The cutting point for the analysis here is the early 1990s that represent major social, political, cultural and economic changes in Albania towards democratization. The chronological analysis is divided into three main segments: from 1950s to 1990s; from 1990s to 2010s and after 2010s. This doctoral study puts forward the hypothesis that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customisation in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of home furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. This is done through a qualitative research approach, which is flexible, inductive and exploratory. A single case study is analysed and archival research, interviews and systematic observations are the key data collection methods. The main merit in this case is that it allows for an in-depth analysis of the case study and provide data, insights and conclusions for a topic that has received almost no scientific attention before. The added value of this doctoral study lies in the historical analysis of furniture design process and products and the interrelated factors such as socio-economy, political and cultural. In addition, this doctoral study has produced an original database of furniture design from 1945 to 1990 as well as an original database of D-I-Y furniture designs after the first decade of post-communism. These databases could be used by academic for further studies. Also they could be used by business to bring back original furniture designs in the market, but also by the government.
The dynamics of the Albanian market in lieu of the multifaceted transformations following the collapse of the communist regime and moving towards the accession processes in the European Union as well as the demographics of the Albanian society as a whole, deeply impact the ways in which home furniture products are designed, development and produced. This study is interested in exploring the development of the home furniture product design in Albania and its transformation from communism to post-communism and free market economy. Furthermore, the study looks into ‘Do-it-yourself’ (D-I-Y) product design as an emerging pattern in home furniture in Albania responding to both the consumers’ needs as well as global trends. This constitutes an under researched area in Albanian scholarship. First, a thorough and systematic study on the furniture design process and development in communism has not been conducted earlier. Second, a comparative framework of furniture design between two different main time period, i.e. communism and free market economy, has been missing in Albania. Third, studies on the ‘D-I-Y’ market in Albania has also been scarce. ‘D-I-Y’ market is recently established and currently attempting to catch-up with the regional and international advancements and respond to the Albanian customers’ needs, interests and demands. The central aim of the study is to explore in what ways and to what extent the home furniture design and development process has been transformed from communism to post-communism and free market economy by exploring dynamics of the political and socio-economic context. The cutting point for the analysis here is the early 1990s that represent major social, political, cultural and economic changes in Albania towards democratization. The chronological analysis is divided into three main segments: from 1950s to 1990s; from 1990s to 2010s and after 2010s. This doctoral study puts forward the hypothesis that: the impact of moving from mass production in a centralized economy to free mass customisation in market economy has not radically transformed the fundamental properties of home furniture but has affected the design, development, delivery and materiality of products. This is done through a qualitative research approach, which is flexible, inductive and exploratory. A single case study is analysed and archival research, interviews and systematic observations are the key data collection methods. The main merit in this case is that it allows for an in-depth analysis of the case study and provide data, insights and conclusions for a topic that has received almost no scientific attention before. The added value of this doctoral study lies in the historical analysis of furniture design process and products and the interrelated factors such as socio-economy, political and cultural. In addition, this doctoral study has produced an original database of furniture design from 1945 to 1990 as well as an original database of D-I-Y furniture designs after the first decade of post-communism. These databases could be used by academic for further studies. Also they could be used by business to bring back original furniture designs in the market, but also by the government.

Defence date: 3 April 2007
Examining board: Prof. Donatella della Porta, EUI/Supervisor ; Prof. Philippe Schmitter, EUI ; Prof. Stefano Bianchini, Università di Bologna ; Prof. Helena Flam, Universität Leipzig
The thesis discusses whether the western aid policy of Civil Society Promotion (CSP) in postcommunist Albania constituted a policy of colonization with its direct penetration of the local public sphere or one of emancipation that pluralized the local and the international public spheres and created opportunities of transnational redistribution. It confronts the academic analysis of CSP with the debates emerged in the Albanian public sphere and looks at the reasons why the three different strands of denunciation of CSP as colonization identified (the problem of control, that of the technocracy and finally at the heuristic value of western categories) do not reflect the reception of the policy in the Albanian public sphere. The dissertation reconstructs the different phases of CSP’s policy making in Albania and discusses why, after the initial welcoming of the policy, its outcomes in terms of growth of local NGOs have been widely considered unsatisfactory. What emerged from my inquiry was that the main criticism towards CSP that was raised in the Albanian public sphere was that its real beneficiaries turned out to be local NGO representatives themselves while society at large did not really benefit from the foreign support in the field due to its standardized way of dealing with the recipient’s context. The thesis discusses the reformulation of the western policy making by local NGOs in connection to the post-communist troubled transformation. It confronts the different critiques to CSP with the efforts done by Albanian NGO to emerge and be recognized as civil society experts, civic innovators, and cultural mediators. The work concludes that CSP faces a circular problem: it requires a functioning local public sphere to be critically appropriated by the recipient public sphere but when it is mostly needed it is unlikely to work.

This thesis is an historical and ethnographic account of the postcommunist reconstitution of Albanian Bektashi Sufi practices and community life in the aftermath of a state-based program of radical atheistic secularism. The study is based on 12 months of intensive anthropological fieldwork (9 months in 2007 and shorter research trips between 2005 and 2011) and archival research. The Bektashi Muslims were once closely associated with and supported by the Ottoman state. Since then they have suffered many reversals in fortune. The most severe attack on the Bektashi occurred in communist Albania. Public manifestations of religion and its institutions were entirely dismantled and many spiritual leaders killed or exiled. Nonetheless, survivors now claim that Bektashi devotees secretly believed in and revered the sacred shrines despite efforts by the authoritarian state to do away with all expressions of religious life. Providing both historical and cultural context, the thesis uses ethnographic fieldwork data based on observation, interviews and life histories collected from within the Bektashi community. These document and explore the group's various efforts at community building and regaining legitimacy. In particular, it describes the rebuilding of devastated Bektashi lodges (tekke), the configuration and management of sacred spaces, the ways of becoming Bektashi as reflected in conversion narratives, and the emergence of new saintly authority figures. The penultimate chapter is about religious observance, investigating in depth how the present community of leaders, followers, and guests interact within sacred spaces during pilgrimages, paying special attention to the ambiguities of spiritual authority in the postcommunist setting. The study of present-day religious observance and community building shows that despite their efforts, the Bektashi today are experiencing difficulty establishing order within their own ranks and in winning real support in Albanian society as a whole. The small gains in reclaiming lost authority and access to their now lost economic estates reflects the legacy of atheist secularism and corruption, which coincides with wide spread suspicion of authority figures, including religious authorities. Albanian postcommunist religiosity coincides with a more "Western European" pattern of secularism that is generally characterized by a much diminished level of religious observance.
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The “blended” social and economic value created by social enterprises can, the authors argue in “Focus on the Balkans: Social Enterprise in Albania,” demonstrate a “middle way” between the excesses of both communism and capitalism. Focusing on the western Balkans region of Europe, which has transitioned from a communist past, this chapter considers whether social enterprises in this context have the potential to demonstrate such a “middle way” by challenging norms concerning how the economy is conceived by posing an alternative business framework to market fundamentalism while also contributing to more traditional non–market-focused “social goals” such as breaking down prejudices concerning marginalized groups. This chapter analyzes the discourses of key actors involved in the work of an Albanian social enterprise to examine various competing conceptualizations and uses of social enterprise. In contrast to the role of social enterprise as a “middle way” actor, the authors find that there is also potential for the concept to be employed in post-communist countries as a neoliberal adjustment instrument, promoting a particular form of market-oriented transition. The chapter explores how the actors involved negotiate these complex and multidirectional forces and attempt to navigate the socioeconomic terrain in which the social enterprise is situated.