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Since the fall of the communist regime in early ?90s,Albania has been through transition and long termreform processes until nowadays. All the on-goingprocesses of changes in the governmental reform(which are still rapidly occurring) have made it verydifficult to clearly evaluate the effectiveness andthe efficiency of these changes. In the 1990s, right after the collapse of thecommunist regime, the system began to shift to a moredecentralized Local Government system. Decentralization reform and local autonomy, are asecure lead to strengthening of the democracy andrule of law and the improvement of the quantity andquality of public services that meet local needs inthe most efficient and effective way possible, or inother words will contribute to achieve increasingstandards of good governance. ... Read more

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The History of Albania as a region began over threemillennia ago with certain tribes residing in the area.After being conquered by the Roman Empire and later theOttoman Empire, Albania became an independent state.Albania has recently started the conversion from communismto capitalism, and became a full member of NATO in 2009.The country is applying to join the European Union. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Albanian Anti-Communism
I have had a soft spot in my heart for Albania for many years. Ever since I heard Radio Tirana on my shortwave radio back in the 1980's, my fascination with this little, misunderstood country on the fringes of Europe has never ceased. One day I hope to do graduate work on Albania and its people. In the meantime, I read historical works and novels about the country and dream of visiting it one day.

Albania's conversion to democracy after the devastating regime of Enver Hoxha's Stalinist rule continues to be a rocky one. Too much damage from five centuries of Ottoman rule coupled with communist brutality remains to this day. Arshi Pipa, in "Albanian Stalinism," attempts to systematize the damage communist rule imposed on the country.

This book consists mainly of essays about communist Albania and the Kosova province. It also includes a book review of Jon Halliday's "The Artful Albanian," a poem about Mother Theresa visiting Enver Hoxha and Stalin in Hades, and some speeches. There is even a small fictional piece about a stay in a forced labor camp and a dedication to a Catholic archbishop who died in an Albanian prison. Pipa wrote these essays over a forty-year span, from the 1950's to 1990.

The primary thrust of Pipa's essays can be summed up in the word "Stalalbanianism," a concoction of Stalinist communism and Albanian communism. After Albania split with the Yugoslavs in 1948, they embraced Stalinist Russia. Albania's emphasis on collectivization, industrial development, gulags, and party purges not only can be traced to this dependence and adoption of Stalinism, but also lasted much longer than Stalinism did around the world. Pipa shows how Enver Hoxha adopted the personality cult of Stalinism, creating a sect around himself through purges and through his dense, convoluted writings. Hoxha became a sort of messiah figure, lauded even after his death as Albania's lone Marxist-Leninist theoretician (he had the other Marxist intellectuals killed). That Hoxha's elevation to a saint of Marxism required the execution and imprisonment of thousands magically eluded Albanian court historians. Pipa tries to set the record straight.

The essays on Kosova are informative, especially since Pipa wrote these essays before the wars and ethnic cleansings in Yugoslavia during the 1990's. In Pipa's writings, Kosova is a pawn between Albania and Yugoslavia. Albania promoted a pro-Stalinist government there in an effort to upset the Yugoslav government. Yugoslavia quashed efforts to elevate Kosova to a republic within the Yugoslav federation because the Serbs objected to Kosova's ethnic Albanian majority. Pipa argues that the Kosova problem might be overcome through economic solutions (a necessary solution, as Kosova had the highest unemployment and lowest income in the entire Yugoslav federation) based on an international outlook that would rise above regional hatreds. The NATO war against Serbia in 1999 showed that these developments never materialized.

This is not unbiased writing. Pipa is a vociferous anti-communist and despises Enver Hoxha. It's not hard to discover why; Pipa spent time in labor camps in the late 1940's and early 1950's, and found himself accused of collaboration with the CIA during the purge of Mehmet Shehu. Since this book isn't unbiased, care should be taken with some of Pipa's observations and conclusions. I'm glad to see that despite his hatred of Hoxha, Pipa did grudgingly admit that the Hoxhan reign raised literacy, improved industrial capacity, and increased medical care to the masses.

Go ahead and read this if you have a background in Albanian studies. If you don't have the necessary background, read a survey or two on Albania first. Pipa's analyses of events in Albania can get a bit sticky if you're not familiar with names and places. ... Read more

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"... a pioneering effort in English-language studies on Albania." -- Nicholas C. Pano

Albanian history is permeated by myths and mythical narratives that often serve political purposes, from the depiction of the legendary "founder of the nation," Skanderbeg, to the exploits of the KLA in the recent Kosovo War. The essays in Albanian Identities, by a multinational, multidisciplinary team of scholars and non-academic specialists, deconstruct prevalent political or historiographical myths about Albania's past and present, bringing to light the ways in which Albanian myths have served to justify and direct violence, buttress political power, and foster internal cohesion. Albanian Identities demonstrates the power of myths to this day, as they underpin political and social processes in crisis-ridden, post-totalitarian Albania.

Customer Reviews (2)

A waste of time for true history lovers
This book written and collected by professors of Slavonic studies Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers tries to ridicule the Albanian identity, one of the oldest ones in Europe. While it is true that today's Albania due to ottoman, slavic, roman, greek invasions is a remote image of what it used to be, it is still remarkable of how hard these authors along with some pseudo-Albanian critics enlisted in the same universities try to make the history of this country look almost "grotesque".

This is of course the result of the fact that in no school currently there is a Department of Albanian studies and most of such studies gets produced by Slavic or Greek departments and thus are extremely biased towards one or the other. The only ones who have managed at times some impartiality are the Italians, but overall the brave ones that ventured into the history of Albania, as Milan Shuflaj(killed by Serbs),George von Hahn, Fallmerayer etc etc are now gone and their huge amt of information and historical documents collected is sitting somewhere waiting to be picked up when a real department of Albanian-Illyrian studies will be established again.

History is of course written by the winners, but for those studying Albania this book is far from a guide to it's rich culture and unfortunately unless someone knows German, Italian or Croatian is extremely hard for the English-speaking world, which currently dominates in the field of education to get a glimpse of the beautiful history of this country. I guess my best bet would be to go and visit the place and it's people instead of reading slavic propaganda from Oxford's, Columbia's, Indiana's and other Slavo-Greek departments of propaganda, that would make the Propaganda Fide look like a first grade student of such school.

An Albania lover's delight
I have always been fascinated with Albania. With lots of other things on my plate nowadays I haven't really had the time to read many books about this little country on the Adriatic. Once part of the Ottoman Empire, Albania declared its independence in 1912 only to find itself immediately beset by Greek, Montenegrin, and Serbian soldiers who all wanted a slice of the country for their own purposes. The total collapse of the Sublime Porte left Albanians scrambling for support from the Western European powers, but a majority Muslim population (a relic of Ottoman occupation) left many European leaders wary of supporting Albanian claims. Otto Von Bismarck sneeringly referred to Albania as a mere "geographic expression," and other powers seemed to implicitly support this view. World War I led to more troubles, more border partitions, and more problems with Balkan neighbors. The interwar period saw Albania experiment with western style government and monarchy under the leadership of Fan Noli and Ahmed Zogu, respectively. The Italians occupied the country in the late 1930s, leading to King Zog's ouster and clandestine warfare between Albania, Italy, and Germany. As the war ended, Enver Hoxha and his communist partisan forces triumphed over other Albanian liberation factions and took over the country. What followed was nearly fifty years of brutal Stalinist style communism. Today, Albania is working hard at restructuring their country.

"Albanian Identities: Myth and History" is a selection of essays about Albania taken from an academic conference held a few years ago. Included is research from well known Albanian scholars Bernd Fischer, Noel Malcolm, and Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers along with contributions from a range of other researchers looking at Albanian myth through the eyes of the historian, sociologist, and anthropologist. As Schwandner-Sievers writes in her introductory essay to the collection, a central goal of this book is to "trace the context of their (myths) production and transformations, and to show how local and individual variations stand in contrast to the homogenous national claims of Albanian myths." Yes, if you cannot tell from the above quotation, the articles in this book are quite scholarly. It isn't as bad as it sounds, as the vast majority of the contributions to this effort are highly readable. You should have a background in Albanian history, however, because the writers assume you know about Enver Hoxha, Naim Frasheri, the Megali Idea, Bektashism, and the League of Prizren among many other people and places. In fact, if you don't understand the implications of using the term "Kosovo" versus "Kosova," you probably shouldn't read this book until you have a few survey texts under your belt.

My favorite essays in the book include Bernd Fischer's "Perceptions and Reality in Twentieth Century Albanian Military Prowess," M.J. Alex Standish's "Enver Hoxha's Role in the Development of Socialist Albanian Myths," Mariella Pandolfi's "Myths and New Forms of Governance in Albania," and "Youth NGOs in Albania: Civil Society Development, Local Cultural Constructions of Democracy, and Strategies of Survival at Work" by Nicola Mai. Another excellent article written by Roderick Bailey, "Smoke Without Fire? Albania, SOE, and the Communist 'Conspiracy Theory,'" attempts to explode the myths surrounding the role that British operatives played in Hoxha's rise to power after WWII. Mariella Pandolfi's research showing how western humanitarian organizations subvert Albanian political, economic, and social institutions through a type of "supra colonialism" not only resonates deeply with anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of Western European/Albanian relations, but should provide a dozen or so doctoral candidates with enough potential research topics to last the length of their scholarly careers. M.J. Alex Standish compares Enver Hoxha's self-promoting propagandistic emanations with descriptions of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and finds more similarities than differences. It is unfortunate I cannot summarize every article in this outstanding book, but hopefully the few I touched on will give you an idea of the types of topics covered in "Albanian Identities: Myth and History."

These are the cream of the crop, but every article is articulate, informative, and massively interesting. Other essays address themes of myth in the writings of Ismail Kadare, conspiracy theories in Albanian newspapers, the myths of religion in the formation of an Albanian national identity, and even how Albanian-Americans incorporated their homeland myths into their new lives in the United States. Nearly every article in this book was the equivalent of waking up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa left under the tree. The book takes great pains to emphasize that these articles are not attacking Albanian culture or attempting to denigrate the beliefs of various peoples. Instead, these scholars want to discover how myth manipulation can encourage violence, economically exploit people, and promote ultra nationalistic-expansionist ideas. In this respect, one hopes that a similar tome exploring Serbian and Greek myths is in the works since those two powers have caused much distress to the Albanians over the years. After all, by adopting the definitions about myth in this book we can see that Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic used the myths surrounding the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389 to launch an ethnic war against the Kosovar majority there in the 1990s.

"Albanian Identities: Myth and History" is an excellent addition to any Albania fan's library. About the only problem I had with the book as a whole is that the definition of myth is too narrow. Yes, myths do the things written about here, but they also fulfill a whole host of other important functions in people's lives. For example, many myths act as archetypes of virtuous behaviors such as bravery, honesty, charity, and the like. Is it possible to separate the various elements of myth? Can we look at only one, two, or three facets of myth while relegating the other parts into the background? Relevant questions, I think. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

If the uberpatriots hate it, it must be good
I haven't specifically read THIS title by this author, but I've seen other of her works.She strikes me as a serious and competent scholar with a wide and broad grasp of her subject.The fatuous remarks here by wild-eyed ethno-nationalists merely prove that she's on the right track, for when have such people ever allowed reality to intrude on their vanity.

Nothing but pure garbage
Well, the title says it all. This book is completely worthless. A pathetic work from a pathetic author.

Garbage
Miranda Vicker's book is worthless. I'd like to advise all my fellas to not waste money on this book. This book shows the author's apathy for the historical truth of the Albanian people. The author's narrative subject is based on very narrow sources highly embued with anti-Albanian sentiment. The Albanian culture is a very profound subject. It takes years, specific education and devotion to become a scholar of a such field. The title of the book is quite lucid, but unfortunately, Miranda Vickers has failed to deal with the genuine subjectivity of the Albanian people.

Advice: Read these books

1. Illyrians - Arthur Evans( a great scholar of ancient greek and ancient proto-albanian culture)

2. The Etruscans Begin to Speak - ZACHARIE MAYANI

3. The Albanian Studies - Eçrem Çabej

4. Vatican Holy Library

5. Ragusa(Dubrovnik) Diocesian' Library

6. Noel Malcom: Kosovo: A short history

and so on and so forth...

A poor job
I think that this book describes poorely the question of identity forming and the Albanian question in general. After reading the comments above, I find myself disgusted by some statements that Albanian Culture doesn't have much to offer. One cannot read Miranda Vickers in hope to find what the Albanian question really is, and when did their identity form. There are countless books written in Italian, German, Croatian, French and Greek about the Albanians, which are hard to find, but if one wants to really know what goes on, one must account for the origins of the Albanians, read more about the Pelasgians, Illyrians and the Epirots, the developing of Religion, the emperors and important figures this country has given to the world, from Alexander the Great to many others. Thus this book cannot be regarded as the absolute meter in the politics of the Balkans. We are not talking about the politics as people in US understand it today, we're talking about nations that have been fighting with each other for various reasons since the Trojan War and down to the present times. This is a modest work that can captivate as much as a visit of a tourist can, but like I said there's much more to the Albanians and their inestimable contribute to the culture of the west. In the end, the Albanians are the victims of the politics of 19-20 century, becouse if it weren't for some very wrong and immoral decisions, we would be here talking not about an Albanian nation with a so called "latin" alphabet, but for an Albanian nation with an Albanian alphabet(ie. Pelasgo-Etruscan which later was adopted by the Greeks). Books like this are enough for people who are curious of Albania as they might be curious for the next Saturday Night Live, but not for real serious people.

A thorough history on an ignored land
Albania's history is rich and Miranda Vickers has done an excellent job of documenting it.

I was pleasantly surprised that she discussed the Arberesh (the Albanese of Italy), even if it was briefly.

The book is an excellent resource tool and a great addition to any library. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Albania Joinsthe NATO Club
Albania's recent entry into NATO makes the reading of The Albanian Question a necessity if you want to understand Albania, Kosova and the Balkans.From the economic riots that almost destroyed Albania in 1997, through the NATO bombing of Serbia, and up to the Ramboulillet peace talks, James Pettifer and Miranda Vickers sweep the reader along with their deep, uncanny knowledge of Albania and the Balkans, and with their sharp writing skills. I cannot say enough about the importance of this book. It belongs on the desk of any serious student of the Balkans.

Well Destailed explanantion of the aftermath of communism and the role of Kosovo and Albania
For Americans many found just as they did with Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia confusion when it came to sorting out who was who and their role in the breakup and war in Yugoslavia - this book provides an excellent explanation of who the Albanians are in Kosovo and who they are in Albania and the relationships they have.It also provides an excellent understanding of the different political and military groups that have played a significant role in shaping the path of this region. For a country that was very closed to the West this book provides and excellent detailed account of actions leading to a new open Albania and the influence on the current questions of independence for Kosovo. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Catholic Insight on June 1, 1997. The length of the article is 1057 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Martyrdom today (38 years of torture and imprisonment of Albanian Jesuit Father Mikel Koliqi under the Communist government).
Publication: Catholic Insight (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1997
Publisher: Catholic Insight
Volume: 5Issue: 5Page: 21

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This important and timely collection of research papers on the Albanina-Serb struggle of the last thirty years focuses on the cultural, political, and socioeconomic factors that have led to the present Kosovo crisis. Wirtten by a leading student of Balkan international relations, Confrontation in Kosovo is an authoritative statement of the complex problems affecting the struggle. ... Read more

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The Albanian Journal of Politics (AJP) is a peer reviewed academic publication of the Albanian Political Science Association (ALPSA). The purpose of the Journal is to provide a publication venue and an academic forum for the study of Albanian politics and society. AJP seeks to provide political insight on important problems as it emerges from rigorous, broad-based research and integrative thought. AJP is published by Globic Press in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Volume V (2009) includes contributions from: Gezim Selaci, Zacharoula Karagiannopoulou, Dorjan Tozaj, Rene Mullen, Enis Sulstarova, Gëzim Alpion, Satoshi Machida, on subjects such as ethnic politics in Kosovo, causes of civil war onset, instrumentalization of Albanian religious cleavages by the Great Powers, relationship between globalization and peace, and recast of an anti-Oriental Albanian identity in order to fit the European identity, as well as book reviews by Michael Ardovino, Catherine Speiser, Elton Skëndaj, and Fatmir Haskaj. ... Read more

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This publication includes papers originally published in the Albanian Journal of Politics, Volume I (2005). The Albanian Journal of Politics is a peer reviewed, academic publication of the Albanian Political Science Association (ALPSA). This publication includes contributions from: Gezim Alpion (University of Birmingham, UK); Ridvan Peshkopia (University of Kentucky, USA); Judith Hoffmann (Humboldt University, Germany); Altin Ilirjani (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA); Arolda Elbasani (European University Institute, Italy); Shinasi A Rama (New York University, USA); Robert A Saunders (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA); Besnik Pula (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA). ... Read more

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Chapters: Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbs of the Republic of Macedonia, Aromanians in the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia, Greeks in the Republic of Macedonia, Radko Association, Croats of the Republic of Macedonia. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 47. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Albanians (Albanian: , Macedonian: , Albanci) are the largest ethnic minority in the Republic of Macedonia. The total number of the Albanians in Macedonia is 509,083 out of the country's total population of 2,022,547, thus making up 25% of the population. The Albanian minority lives mostly in the north-western part of the country. The largest Albanian communities are in the areas of Tetovo (70% of the total population), Gostivar (56%), Debar (58%), Struga (56%), Kievo (31%), Kumanovo (25%) and Skopje (20%). According to the official census data (held every 10 years), Albanians made up 19% of the total population in 1953. The population fell to 13% in 1961. It grew again in 1971 to 17%. They made up 19.7% in 1981 and 21% in 1991 . At the last census in 2002, the Albanian population was at 25.2%. Ethnologue in 2002 estimated some 500,000 people speaking the Albanian language in Republic of Macedonia. In the decade since the Republic declared independence from Yugoslavia, some Albanians have claimed to account for 30% of the population and demanded an appropriate share of power. On the other side, Ethnic Macedonians said Albanians were barely 20%. . However, the widely accepted number of Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia is according to the internationally monitored 2002 census. The census data estimated that Albanians account for about 25% of the total population. In the 2008 Macedonian parliamentary elections, Albanian political parties received 22.61%...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1256991 ... Read more

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Agricultural policy has addressed organic farming making it an inherent part of the Common Agricultural Policy. Researchers have turned their attention to the role of organic farming in the rural economy and specifically, the potential for organic farming to contribute to sustainable rural development. Contrary to the situation in Europe, there is no research on organic farming policies and on the potential implications of the latest on rural development in Albania. Considering the experience in EU, it can be argued than policy measures would foster the development of organic farming. Although the Albanian government has declared the willingness to support organic farming as well as to use it as a policy instrument for the development of rural areas, it has not analysed this sector and has no precise idea on what kind of policy measures to use for supporting it. That is what this research has attempted. Most of the recommendations of this research are already incorporated in three strategic documents: "Action Plan for Organic Farming in Albania", "Agriculture and Food Strategy 2007 - 2013" and "Rural Development Strategy". ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from U.S. Department of Defense Speeches, published by Thomson Gale on February 3, 2007. The length of the article is 1312 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: NATO in the 21st Century: Albanian and Macedonian Perspectives.
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: U.S. Department of Defense Speeches (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 3, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

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The Albanian Journal of Politics (AJP) is a peer reviewed academic publication of the Albanian Political Science Association (ALPSA).The purpose of the Journal is to provide a publication venue and an academic forum for the study of Albanian politics and society.AJP seeks to provide political insight on important problems as it emerges from rigorous, broad-based research and integrative thought.AJP is published by Globic Press in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.Volume IV (2008) includes contributions from: Luisa Chiodi, Gëzim Alpion, Fatmir Haskaj, Pinar Akçali and Enis Sulstarova on subjects such as civil society in Albania, on how brain drain has affected most countries in Central, South-East and Eastern Europe and especially Albania, Kosovo independence and sovereignty, and Albanian nationalist discourse in modern history of Albania, as well as book reviews by Ada Hyso, Henriette Riegler, Claire Smetherham, Dejan Stjepanović. ... Read more

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The strong kin and family connections of ethnic Albanians in Western Balkans, coupled with the low trust levels nurtured within such narrow traditional structures in the colonial and communist past, are key factors affecting economic performances of Albanians today. Furthermore, the levels of low trust that are maintained in the Albanian society directly affect the low number of associations outside the close circle of family, kin and acquaintances. This has a direct effect on social capital and therefore the robustness of the respective economic performances. Also, the treatment of ethnic Albanians by the institutions and ruling structures in the Albania, Kosova and Macedonia provides explanations for the social and economic behavior of the ethnic Albanian in contemporary times. Consequently, the main question that this book seeks to answer is: "Why do the different socio-political conditions that are imposed on the ethnic Albanian population in the Balkans not result in different levels of economic development beyond state boundaries?" ... Read more