ILIRIA International Review
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The fall of the Albanian - Chinese Relations 1971-1978
Get PDFThe Albanian - Chinese relations in the years of the Cold War were thrilling as much as dramatic. The age of their flourish in the '60-ies, unfortunately did not last for long. The Albanian sponsorship that China be admitted in the UN with full rights was a test that Enver Hoxha should exploit for the good of the Albanian people. It was a historic and unrepeated opportunity for little Albania to escape the political and economic impasse since the breakup of relations with the Soviet Union in 1961. The incompetence of the Albanian leadership to understand the trends of the age would mark the following political failure of Albania and would influent in the total isolation of the country. It's not difficult to understand that Albania had historic opportunities to join the Western side but chose to align with the Eastern bloc. The beginnings are with sensational approach with Tito's Yugoslavia. After that the Albanian political leadership kept Albania under the umbrella of the Soviet Union and at the end with China. After the end of the relations with China in 1978, Albania paved the way of the total isolation. The secret visit of the President Nixon's national security adviser Dr. Kissinger to China in July 1971 was interpreted by the Albanian communist leader as a betrayal of the Marxist ideology. Enver Hoxha responded with a harsh and rude letter on August 6th 1971 urging China to not accept the visit of President Nixon the following year. This was the first major break in the relations between the two countries. Since then, the help from China for the weak Albanian economy would decline till the unavoidable break of July 1978. The methodology used in this paper is strictly comparative history analyzing the way diplomacy and politics should work to achieve the set aim
The Role and Impact of Remittances on the Economic Growth - Kosovo Case Study
Get PDFIn this research paper the role and impact of remittances on the economic growth of Kosovo in the recent years (2008 - 2013) through remittances, inflation rate, real effective exchange rate (REER) as independent variables and economic growth as depend variable is analyzed. The secondary data are used which are taken from international and domestic institutions which are analyzed through STATA software (an econometric and statistical program).The reason for writing is that in 2013 the total value of remittances in Kosovo was 620.8 million € and in 2011 Kosovo was among the top 10 countries with the highest level of remittances. The main arguments used in this research paper are: how do remittances affect in overall the economy? What is the impact of remittances on businesses? How do we use it for family consumption? In the research methodology are used secondary data and all of them are analyzed by STATA software which helps in calculation of OLS method of regression, descriptive statistic and correlation matrix.Also this paper research findings show us that if we refer to the result of variables that are included in the paper though OLS methods, the remittances (β1= - 0.017) and the exchange rate (β3= - 0.322) have negative impact and nonsignificant (T 2) effect on economic growth and the coefficient of determination (R²) is 84% then the coefficient of Durbin Watson Statistic (DW) is 2.11, it means there is no autocorrelation
How affordable are the costs compared to benefits brought by the euro to the Kosovo’s economy
Get PDFSince January 1, 2002, pursuant to UNMIK Regulation[1] no. 1999/4, the EURO (‘’EUR’’) was adopted as the legal currency in Kosovo, and was made the factual currency of the country. All client accounts held by the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK) and commercial banks were converted from DEM into EURO, on an irreversible currency ex-change rate of DEM 1,95583 per 1 EURO. As a result, in practice, while the Euro is legal and while accounts are held in this currency, almost all transactions made in Kosovo are titled and made in Euro. The use of a sustainable currency was important to maintaining a macro-economic stability and played a decisive role in rebuilding the people’s trust on the financial sector. On the other hand, the CBK does not emit currency, and as such, it does not perform any monetary and exchange policies. The currency regime adopted by Kosovo may be rather challenging, given the absence of traditional monetary instruments and the exchange rates. Therefore, the main concern remains whether fair policies (both fiscal and regulations related to the financial sector) will support this regime. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate costs and benefit brought upon the Kosovar economy by the use of Euro as a main currency in circula-tion, and how affordable are the costs in comparison to benefits brought by the Europeanization of the Kosovo’s economy.[1] UNMIK - United Nations Mission Interim in Kosovo
Kosovo: A False Pretext for Russian Regional Paternalism
Get PDFThe Cold War, characterized by its bipolar ideological rivalry, did not resolve centuries-old hostilities between the West and Russia. In order to regain the lost influence and reincarnation of regional hegemony, President Putin wanted a casus-belli. The international humanitarian intervention in Kosovo and the latter’s declaration of independence were Russia’s weak justifications for resuming the old clashes. Interventions in the territories of the former Soviet Union inhabited by Russian speakers, the annexation of Crimea, and direct involvement in the interethnic disputes in the eastern part of Ukraine and the Syrian wars show that Russia is determined to challenge and test the Western commitment to the spread of democracy. The similarities between Kosovo and Crimea, loudly echoed by Russia and their supporters, cannot be academically binding, except in some aspects of tertiary nature.The brutal prevention of Chechnya’s independence in the 1990s and failure to recognize Kosovo while applauding the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia present Putin’s political inconsistency and Real politic orientation. The Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and threats to destabilize countries that “do not respect” the rights and interests of Russians wherever they are, exemplify Putin’s policy.The article aims to analyze the volatility of Russian foreign policy by comparing the case of Kosovo’s independence to the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s paternalist intentions abroad.
Government Participation in Bad Debts Resolution; Case of Kosovo and Albania
Get PDFBanks need to make thorough analysis and take into consideration all the potential risks that arise related to their lending, preventing bad loans mostly during economic slowdown. The Non-Performing Loans (now on referred as NPL) in Kosovo continued falling from 8.7% as it was in 2013 to 8.3% in 2014. While in 2014 NPL level decreased, the provisioning for loans continued to increase from 110.5% to 114.4%. This is a positive toward any unexpected situation. Lost loans have continued to increase in moderated way for the last four years. Banking Sector in Albania since the last economic recession entered into third period of development which shows huge problems with high NPL ratio, credit shrink, lower banks’ profitability and intensive attempts to introduce stabilizing mechanisms. NPL ratio was the highest in South East Europe Countries (now on referred as SEEC) region, number of outstanding loans tended to decrease such as profit in banking sectors. As a response to highest NPL ratio compared to world level, Kosovo authority has set only guidelines for restructuring and monitoring the process of regularity. This provides banks with a wide range of autonomy in the procedures of restructuring. Authority in Albania has been active in the process of normalizing the system. In 2013 has introduced the guideline on corporate loan restructuring. The guideline promotes 12 principles
The Development of Joint Stock Companies according to Kosovo’s Legislation and their Comparison with the Region
Get PDFJoint Stock companies or Corporations are the highest forms of business organization and are regulated by law. As the most organized business forms, they have special importance on economic development of a country and that their development and their regulation determine the economic and political stability of a country. To describe corporations and their regulation from the legal aspect, namely to use the descriptive technique, are used secondary data. In this paper has been implemented also the comparative method in order to compare the development of joint stock companies in Kosovo with those in the region. More specifically, the comparison is made with Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia and some other countries of the Western Balkans. The legal framework of all these countries is analyzed in detail and comparisons are based on those findings.From this comparison it is noted that while the joint stock companies in other countries have started to act very early, Kosovo as a country which has recently come out of war has managed to issue a law that does not differentiate greatly from any other legislation of neighbouring countries.From the conducted research, it is noted that Kosovo has made progress in terms of legislation in the field of commercial law, which has resulted in improving the investment climate and organization of joint stock companies
The transformative power of EU: an assessment of EU impact in the judicial system of Kosovo
Get PDFIn the process of EU integration, the aspiring candidate and potential candidate countries have undergone a major process of reforms. The Central European Countries accession process has been analyzed in details, using both rationalist and constructivist models. However, the South European Countries, in general, and Western Balkan countries, in particular, have a lot to be critically analyzed, studied and understood. Nevertheless, the purpose of this paper is not to analyze all Western Balkan countries, but to focus only on Kosovo, namely to study its judicial system. In this regard, to what extent the EU has had transformative power and impacted the internal judicial structures of Kosovo and under which conditions the EU is more effective? This article analyzes the findings of the Progress reports for a ten-year period (2005 – 2015) and the extent of the EU impact. It makes use of the conceptual and rational framework of external incentives model and argues that the EU impact in the judiciary system of Kosovo was crucial and transformative considering the starting low phase of reforms in Kosovo.
The impact of Euroization in Businesses’ Access to Finance in Kosovo
Get PDFThe research explores the impact of Euroization on Kosovo’s business access to finance. It attempts at answering the questions as to what extend has the Euroization impacted the business development by enabling the adequate access to finance. The research finds that the Euro adoption has brought about different benefits for the Kosovo economy in the context of enabling macroeconomic stability, which carries high importance. The macroeconomic stability and Euroization has been impacting the development of a sound financial sector and the development of business at large. The study concludes that there was a significant impact of Euroization in the core issue of business development satisfaction and access to finance for businesses. The data analyses show also that while there is a huge chance for the entrepreneurs to develop and expand their businesses, the scope of financing sources and the finance conditions requires improvemen
Promotion of Human Rights in the Republic of Kosovo
Get PDFFundamental rights and freedoms are constitutional category of democratic states whereas the standards for guaranteeing these rights have been determined in the highest international acts of the United Nations.Promotion of equality and compliance with human rights initially originated in social developments in antiquity period. The Greek philosophy represented by world class philosophers Plato and Aristotle, created the foundation for complying with these rights which still serve as principles in the modern times and democratic developments. In later stages of social developments, despite the progress, compliance with human rights in the slavery era but even in the medieval times was faced with many challenges. Meanwhile, the development of the modern world, as an enlightening historic moment, it is the French Revolution, which was of course preceded by important documents in the history of development and advancement of human rights such as: Magna Carta Libertatum and the US Constitution.The reason for addressing this topic consists in the fact that these fundamental rights and freedoms are parts of constitutions of many countries including Kosovo, which are proclaimed and protected by different acts and norms, however they continue to be infringed either by individuals or institutions. Thus, with the aim of promotion of human rights and legal basis related to them in the Republic of Kosovo, this paper will elaborate development of human rights and the legal infrastructure for protection and compliance of human rights in a chronological manner by providing conclusions on the promotion of human rights in the Republic of Kosovo.
Comparative Analysis of Promotion Strategies in the Industry of Energy Drinks in Kosovo
Get PDFEnergy drinks remain one of the most dynamic segments of soft drinks. Recent developments indicate that companies are extending their activities. The fact that the category of energy drinks is so successful is leading to a highly competitive environment. Therefore, to increase profit and to create a firm position in such a competitive market, promotion policies and its strategies and forms by companies should be properly understood and implemented. To this end, this part of the paper will review literature from various authors for purposes of understanding the role of drafting and implementing promotion strategies and marketing itself in companies in general. Data from theoretical aspect have served as guidance in conducting the practical part of this paper on the ground. In the second part of the paper, a practical research was conducted; a survey questionnaire with owners of two energy drink producers in Kosovo was carried out, i.e., “Golden Eagle” and “Red Rain”. As a result of primary data we have obtained from the survey, we established the extent of the basic knowledge of these companies. At first, regarding marketing in general, but also on promotion and promotion strategies in particular. Also, there were selected 30 customers of these two companies from the random sample to see whether there was an impact of promotion forms that these companies used on their choosing of products. Finally, from the data obtained from primary and secondary sources we managed to come to certain specific and meaningful conclusions both in terms of the companies we studied, but also about other companies of the same or other similar sectors.