Balkan.Perspectives #20

Never Again …? Western Balkans and the War in Ukraine

The date of 24 February 2022 marks a major shift in Europe. Since the end of World War II, the “Never Again!” slogan has symbolised the political, economic, and cultural efforts to counter wars and violent conflicts, nationalistic narratives, holocaust, genocide, and gross human rights violations. It strongly emphasises the European diversity, celebrates inclusiveness, and holds all of us accountable to learn from the past.

However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the pictures from Kyiv, Bucha, Mariupol, and many other Ukrainian cities, the destruction, the number of casualties, and a stream of internally displaced persons and refugees, leads us to question the ability of the European and global communities to solve conflicts peacefully and to live up to their standard of “Never Again!”. Therefore, this Balkan.Perspectives edition frames “Never again …?” as a question. On the one hand, this edition seeks to reflect on the experiences made in the 1990s and early 2000s when this consensus fell short of its own standards with the violent dissolution of former Yugoslavia, with severe human rights violations in Europe since the end of World War II including the fall of Vukovar, the siege of Sarajevo, the massacres during the Kosovo war, and the genocide in Srebrenica.

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Balkan.Perspectives Podcast

The Balkan Perspectives podcast is forumZFD’s audio format on Dealing with the Past and Peace Education in the Western Balkans. The podcast is produced in four languages (Albanian, BHCS, Macedonian and English) by the forumZFD offices in Bosnia and Hercegovina, […]

Wе, during the War and beyond

When world wars happen, like the current one in Ukraine, it reminds us, the inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula, of our history and the misfortunes that every generation has had to endure for centuries. There are monuments all over the […]

Impressum 20 – 07/2022

Editor in Chief: Alexander Vojvoda

Editorial Team: Sunita Dautbegović-Bošnjaković, Martin Filipovski, Ana Pejović

Authors: Jasminko Halilović, Ivana Jakšić, Nenad Markovič, Stanislav Petkovski-Sasho, Marija Ratković, Feride Rushiti, Velma Šarić, Visar Xhambazi

Podcasts: Bosnia and Hercegovina: Đorđe Krajišnik, Oslobođenje KUN, Berina Bukva and Edvin Kanka Ćudić Kosovo: TILLT Radio, Serbeze Haxhiaj and Lulzim Peci North Macedonia: Radio MOF and Nenad Marković Serbia: radio show Ženergija on Radio Aparat and Sanja Radović

Design (Cover page): Envinion

Translation: LBG Communications (Albanian), Luna Đorđević (BHCS), Martina Kimovska (Macedonian)

Proofreading: LBG Communications (Albanian/English), Zinaida Lakić (BHCS), Zanet Ristoska (Macedonian)