Publications

This paper outlines how an agreement between Germany and Turkey could have an immediate and dramatic impact on the Syrian refugee crisis. It would restore control over Europe’s south-eastern border without sacrificing compassion for the refugees. But with the far right resurgent across Europe, the window of opportunity for decisive action is closing fast.

Elinizdeki çalışma, Almanya ve Türkiye arasında varılacak bir anlaşmanın, yaşanmakta olan Suriye kaynaklı mülteci krizinin çözümü açısından ne kadar çabuk ve önemli etkileri olacağını ortaya koyuyor. Böyle bir anlaşma, hem Avrupa'nın güneydoğu sınırlarında kontrolün yeniden sağlanmasını hem de mültecilere karşı merhametli bir yaklaşım gösterilebilmesini mümkün kılabilir. Ancak Avrupa genelinde aşırı sağın dirilişi nedeni ile, bu tür bir çözüme yönelik kararlı adımlar atma olasılığı hızla uzaklaşıyor.

It is essential that these 500,000 asylum seekers are accepted from Turkey, before they take to boats to cross the Aegean. As a quid pro quo, it is also essential that Turkey agrees to take back all the refugees that reach Greece, from the moment the deal is signed. It is the combination of these measures that will cut the ground from under the feet of the people smugglers. If Syrian refugees have a safe and realistic option for claiming asylum in the EU in Turkey, and if they face certain return back to Turkey if they cross illegally, the incentive to risk their lives on the Aegean will disappear.

Nacionalisti diljem svijeta vide ulogu povijesti u pogledu buđenja osjećaja lojalnosti. Osobito im je važno da se mlade ljude uči da vole svoju naciju i znaju prepoznati neprijatelja. Svrha učenja ratne povijesti u školama je usaditi patriotizam i prenijeti poruku da u opasnom svijetu opstanak bilo koje nacije ovisi o njenoj sposobnosti da dobije bitke. Nacionalisti ne prihvaćaju stav da je u demokraciji uloga povjesničara da preispituje sačuvane mitove; te da u otvorenom društvu obrazovanje treba pripremiti studente za državljanstvo u svijetu gdje su sve institucije nesavršene – svijet u kome, koliko god neugodno bilo, čak i oni kojima se divimo mogu biti odgovorni za zlodjela.

Nationalists around the world see the role of history in terms of awaking emotions of loyalty. They are particularly concerned that the young are taught to love their nation and to know its enemies. The point of teaching wartime history in school is to instil patriotism, and to convey that in a dangerous world the survival of any nation depends on its ability to win its battles. Nationalists do not accept the view that in a democracy a historian’s role is to challenge cherished myths; and that in an open society history education should prepare students for citizenship in a world where all institutions are imperfect – a world where, unnervingly, even those we admire may be responsible for crimes.

There is an obvious conceptual problem with the way countries are ranked in the Doing Business project. To better understand this central problem, imagine two very different economies from two hypothetical countries seeking to climb their way up in the World Bank’s rankings. The first country – let us call it Balkania – consists mainly of cafés, small shops, wedding parlours and subsistence farmers. The other – Danubia – is an industrial economy that produces high-value goods for export, with chemical plants, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and industrial agriculture.

The Statistical Roadmap for accession countries consists of three parts, based on the three categories used for many years in the progress reports for chapter 18: Block I: Statistical infrastructure; Block II: Classifications and registers; Block III: Sectoral Statistics. Every year Eurostat looks at compliance with EU standards concerning individual statistical benchmarks.

In 2005 ESI undertook research on rural poverty, migration and remittances in Kosovo. Our conclusions were published in 2006 in a report called “Cutting the Lifeline” that showed how migration had been a necessity for many generations of young men in particular. The report also examined how after 1999, the European doors to legal work migration closed, and only the lucky few with close family in the diaspora could migrate through family reunification schemes. In the report, we described in detail the economic realities of two villages that are representative of the wider social and economic situation in Kosovo: Cerrce, located in north-west Kosovo on the border with Albania, and Lubishte, situated in the mountainous southeast. Our findings clearly showed that economic development, without significant numbers of people leaving such villages to find work, skills and capital elsewhere, is simply inconceivable.

Në vitin 2005 dhe 2006, ESI bëri një studim mbi varfërinë rurale, migrimin dhe remitancat në Kosovë dhe botuam raportin e titulluar "Cutting the Lifeline." Raporti tregon që migrimi – veçanarisht i djemve të rinj – ka qenë i domosdoshëm për mbijetesën ekonomike të gjeneratave të tëra. Raporti nënvizon se mbyllja e dyerve evropiane për migrim të rregullt të punës pas vitit 1999, la bashkimin familjar si të vetmën rrugë ligjore për migrim.

Bugün Avrupa Birliği’nin Güneydoğu Avrupa’da yolsuzluğa dair hangi açıklamaları derinlik arz ediyor? Hangileri ciddi bir çalışma ve somut bulgulara dayanıyor? Bu husus önemli, çünkü AB sadece durumu tasvir ile yetinmemeli, bu alanda kuralları da koymalı… sadece olanın resmini çekmemeli, nasıl olması gerektiğini de söylemeli.

In this letter we would like to suggest how to change this situation within a very short period of time and without a huge effort. We carefully studied the astonishing rise in Doing Business rankings by Georgia and Macedonia. Here we outline how within one year Bosnia can reach a better rank than the Balkan average; and it will help you understand how within another year Bosnia could overtake the EU. The objective is to make Bosnia another global Wunderkind of Doing Business.

Which statements the European Union makes about corruption in South East Europe today have depth? Which are based on serious reflection and hard evidence? This matters because EU statements on corruption should be not only descriptive but also prescriptive not only pointing out how things are, but also how they ought to be.

He has always been a man of the left. He entered politics with the backing of the Communist Party in local elections in 2002. In his campaigns he promised liberation from a conservative status quo that had kept society “dwelling in darkness.” He assailed the corruption of his predecessor, who is now in jail. In 2010 he won the election for mayor by a mere 300 votes. He rejected his predecessor’s expensive limousine and is often seen on a bike. He never wears a tie. In 2014, he was re-elected as mayor of Greece’s second city by a huge margin.

For reformers anywhere time is the scarcest resource. Leaders everywhere today face the risk of drowning in information, being swamped by articles, conversations, emails and occasionally reports and books. Active people live on top of ever-growing mountains of words. And “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

BiH je jedina država u jugoistočnoj Europi za koju je moguće 2014. godine ponovno objaviti izvještaj koji je objavljen 2004. godine, a da i dalje bude relevantan. Niti jedna druga država nije izgubila čitavo desetljeće. Nadamo se kako će ovo pomoći vlastima u BiH, ali i međunarodnim akterima, da izbjegnu zamke u koje su upadali tokom zadnjih deset godina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in South East Europe were it is possible to publish a report first published in 2004 as relevant in 2014. No other country lost a full decade. We hope that this will help new governments in Bosnia – and international policy makers – to also avoid the traps into which they fell during the past ten years.

Kosova ka popullsinë më të re në Evropë, me gjysmën e saj nën moshën 26 vjeçare. Një e katërta popullsisë së Kosovës janë në shkollë. Në dhjetëvjeçarin e ardhshëm, këta nxënës do të përfundojnë shkollën dhe do të përballen me një të ardhme të pasigurt. Nëse gjithçka shkon mirë, nxënësit e sotëm do t’i ndihmojnë shtetit të tyre të arrijë nivelin e shteteve tjera Evropiane. Nëse gjërat nuk shkojnë mirë, nxënësit e sotëm do të mbesin pa perspektivë, punësim apo të ardhura, të shtyrë të emigrojnë apo do të dalin në rrugë të protestojnë.

Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, with half its population under the age of 26. A quarter of the population is in schools at any given time. In the coming decade, these students will be leaving schools and will face a most uncertain future. If things go well, today’s students will help their country catch up with the rest of Europe. If things go badly, they will be deprived of prospects, short of jobs and income, tempted to take to the streets in protest or to seek to emigrate.

Bulgarians are famously unhappy. A few years ago their pessimism came to international attention. A Gallup Poll discovered in 2009 that the citizens of this small Balkan nation had lower expectations for how their life would be five years later than Iraqis and Afghans. Bulgarians were not surprised by this discovery. A leading Sofia-based think tank, the Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS), had already published a paper in 2003 titled Optimistic Theory about the Pessimism of the Transition. The latest World Happiness Report confirmed this global reputation for morosity in 2013. Out of 156 nations it ranked Bulgarians 144th, behind Iraqis and Afghans, Congolese and Haitians.

Türkiye’de 2002 yılında 76 üniversite vardı. Bu rakam 2013 yılında 175’e ulaştı (104 devlet üniversitesi ve 71 vakıf üniversitesi). Bu süre içerisinde, Türkiye’nin 1,2 milyon olan üniversite öğrencisi sayısıda 4,4milyonun üzerine çıktı. Buna rağmen hâlâ çok az Türk öğrenci eğitim hayatının bir bölümünü yurtdışında geçiriyor. 2011 yılında yapılan bir ankete göre, 15-35 yaşları arasındaki Türklerin yalnızca yüzde üçü eğitim veya staj için yurtdışına gitmiş.Bu çok düşük bir oran. Almanya’da ve İsveç’te rakamlar sırasıyla yüzde 21 ve yüzde 24.

Elinizdeki rapor yukarıdaki rakamların arkasındaki bazı nedenleri inceleyerek, daha fazla Türk öğrencinin yurtdışına gitmesinin önündeki engelleri ortaya çıkarıyor: yabancı dil eksikliği; pek çok üniversitenin yabancı üniversitelerle işbirliği anlaşmaları imzalamalarını zorlaştıran, yabancı öğrenciler için Türkiye’de sunulan ilgi çekici derslerin azlığı; Türk Erasmus öğrencileri için maddî destek yetersizliği ve karmaşık vize başvuru işlemleri.