Syndicate: Transitions August Reprint Syndicate

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This edition of TRANSITIONS includes a special focus on Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Top local and foreign analysts from within the
country and without take a close look at the situation three
years after Dayton and a few weeks before crucial September
general elections.

Below is a list and then summaries of the articles available for
reprint. All articles may be shortened to fit the needs of your
publication. If you are interested in reprinting any of the
articles, free of charge, please send an e-mail to:
syndicate@ijt.cz

SPECIAL REPORT: Bosnia and Herzegovina

1."Bosnian Tightrope"
2. "Voting for Fear"
3. "Electing to Change"
4. "On the Road Again"
5. "The Bosniaks' Second Coming"
6. "Srebrenica's Ghosts"

RUSSIA

7. "Condition the Cash"
8. "A Country Without a Ruble Left"
9. "Coal Fires Burning"
10. "Bringing the Money In"
11. "Showcase of Manipulated Democracy"

BALTICS

12. Lithuania: "Keeping an Eye on Politicians"
13. Lithuania: "The Great Word Purge"*

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

14. Azerbaijan: "Little Choice, Little Change"
15. Armenia: "Human Rights, the Commission, and the Helsinki
Association"*
16. Kyrgyzstan: "A Reflection of Post-Soviet Democracy"*

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

17. Czech Republic: "Stage Left"*
18. Czech Republic: "Spectacular Failure of Reform"+
19. Czech Republic: "Christian Democracy and the Czech
Republic"+
20. Czech Republic: "Jews Before the Holocaust"+
21. Czech Republic: "Justice or Lustration"+
22. Czech Republic: "Intolerant Czech Students"+
23. Czech Republic/Austria: "Austria Takes the Reins"+
24. Slovakia: "Slovaks Under Fire for Election Law Changes"
25. Slovakia: "Shifty Laws"*

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

26. Macedonia/Greece: "Greece and Macedonia Get Affectionate"
27. Former Yugoslavia: "When Soccer and Politics Collide"
28. Yugoslavia/Kosovo: "On the Precipice"
29. Yugoslavia/Kosovo: "Negotiation With OVK a Must"*
30. Yugoslavia/Kosovo: "Megalomania as a Boomerang"*
31. Bosnia and Herzegovina: "Bosnia's Chance"
32. Bosnia and Herzegovina: "Sarajevo Under Sanctions"*
33. Bulgaria: "Between a Rock and a Hard Place"*
34. Croatia: "Will of the People"*

GERMANY

35. "The Two Berlins"

MEDIA

36. Bosnia and Herzegovina: "Post-war Television"
37. Azerbaijan: "A Nation's Dignity"

BOOKS

38. Czech Republic/Slovakia: "Meciar and the Velvet Divorce"

GENERAL

39. "Investing in the Future"
40. "Anti-Semitism in Central European History"

Article Summaries:

1. "Bosnian Tightrope" by Michael Maclay (2139 words)

The international community, currently absorbed with the
crisis in Kosovo, must watch its back in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
and not take for granted the recent achievements under
Dayton. As elections approach, a level playing field must be
ensured for all candidates, especially by helping to create a
media devoid of ethnic programming and propaganda.

2. "Voting for Fear" by Christopher Bennett (2055 words)

The general elections in Bosnia offer some openings for
moderate parties. However, a fundamentally flawed electoral
system encourages nationalism, because candidates need only
seek votes from one ethnic group to win office.

3. "Electing to Change" by Nerzuk Curak (2581 words)

Factionalism continues to blight Bosnian politics in the run-up
to the elections, but cracks are appearing in the three
monolithic ethnic blocks, and a more pluralistic political scene
is developing. The piece is accompanied by a 500-word sidebar
(by Igor Gajic), which looks at the election campaign in
Republika Srpska.

4. "On the Road Again" by Tomas Miglierina (1692 words)

The bus route between Sarajevo and Banja Luka does more
than just facilitate movement: it helps Bosnians break out of
their own ethnically homogenous, "open-air prisons," which
they inhabited for so long. The politically sensitive joint
venture allows each entity to run its own buses once a day
between their respective capitals.

5. "The Bosniaks' Second Coming" by Ivan Lovrenovic (1660
words)

The Bosniak myth of the World War I battle at Mount Meletta
currently lies unchallenged in a region where heroic
mythologizing takes precedence over sober historical analysis.
The author suggests that Bosnia needs to move on after a
decade of militarism and raises the question: do we celebrate
past wars in order to have new ones?

6. "Srebrenica's Ghosts" by Jeremy Druker

After two years of research, a Dutch journalist has uncovered
evidence that suggests that the Dutch Ministry of Defense
covered up sensitive photographs by one of its soldiers taken
immediately after the fall of Srebrenica.

7. "Condition the Cash" by Grigorii Yavlinskii (699 words)

One of Russia's leading reformist politicians argues that the
West should link economic assistance to deep structural as well
as political reform. And matching this approach, Western policy
must move beyond its reliance on the single personality of the
president to build relationships with a far broader range of
politicians, parties, and information.

8. "A Country Without a Ruble Left" by Dmitri Volkov and
Mikhail Rogozhnikov (2663 words)

The Russian economy has now reached the brink of collapse,
setting up a range of possible scenarios for the future-
including the return to state-planning or the total breakdown
of central authority. A 600-word sidebar by Ludmila Telen
looks at the ways the government can tackle the crisis.

9. "Coal Fires Burning" by Matt Taibbi (1539 words)

A visit to the Russian mining town of Vorkuta reveals that the
daily routine of the local miners is virtually indistinguishable
from prison labor.

10. "Bringing the Money In" by Svetlana Mikhailova and Roza
Tsvetkova (1091 words)

A day in the life of a Moscow tax man shows the challenges to
increasing tax collection rates.

11. "Showcase of Manipulated Democracy" by Tomila Lankina
(1301 words)

Elections in Bashkortostan, an oil-rich autonomous republic
within the Russian Federation, have exposed some of the key
problems of Russia's nascent federal system. Although the
legality of the election was highly debatable, Moscow showed a
general reluctance to intervene in the affairs of one of its
resource-rich republics. The article is accompanied by a 200-
word sidebar by Vitali Vitaliev on Bashkortostan and its
history.

12. "Keeping an Eye on Politicians" by Howard Jarvis (637
words)

Panic erupted in Lithuania's corridors of power and a probe
was conducted after a newspaper revealed that a top-secret
surveillance unit was keeping an eye on top government
officials.

13. "The Great Word Purge" by Howard Jarvis (1115 words)

Because the government and linguists are too slow to invent
words of their own, English is used to explain new scientific and
social concepts. The article examines the current controversy
over language in Lithuania.

14. "Little Choice, Little Change" by Nair Aliev and Shahin
Abbasov (2166 words)

After the parliament in Azerbaijan passed a new election law in
June, even pessimists began to believe that the presidential
vote, now set for October, would actually take place. But the
leading opposition presidential candidates have announced that
they will boycott the poll unless the new law is amended. The
authors also take a close look at the issues likely to affect the
campaign.

15. "Human Rights, the Commission, and the Helsinki
Association" by Mikael Danielyan (2265 words)

A detailed look at recent human rights violations in Armenia,
including the sad cases of prisoners of conscience who refuse
military service.

16. "A Reflection of Post-Soviet Democracy" by Arkadij Dubnov
(1449 words)

Kyrgyzstan has been popularly called the "island of democracy"
in central Asia. The piece warns that this description has no
real basis and that the political atmosphere in the country is far
removed from any kind of democracy.

17. "Stage Left" by Petruska Sustrova (1364 words)

What can the new single-party Social Democratic government
offer after the recent crisis in Czech politics?

18. "Spectacular Failure of Reform" by Jan Culik (950 words)

A review of some of the events surrounding recent attempts to
reform Czech television by the publisher of the Internet daily
Britske listy.

19. "Christian Democracy and the Czech Republic" by Roger
Scruton (2,600 words)

An excerpt from a speech delivered to Czech Christian
Democratic leaders in Prague in May 1998 in which Scruton
outlines the history and pillars of Christian democracy in
Europe and examines its role in the Czech Republic.

20. "Jews Before the Holocaust" by Anna Lorencova and Anna
Hyndrakova (1,700 words)

Results of a study by the Prague Jewish Museum documenting
the experiences of Jews in the Czech Republic in the inter-war
period through a series of interviews with Holocaust survivors.

21. "Justice or Lustration" by Vaclav Zak (1,870 words)

The editor in chief of Listy  examines the post-revolution
process of lustration in light of the lack of a liberal tradition in
the history of the Czech Republic.

22. "Intolerant Czech Students" by Steven Saxonberg (1,900
words)

An article outlining the author's experiences with the intolerant
illiberalism of Czech students which he experienced while
teaching at Prague's Charles University.

23. "Austria Takes the Reins" by Kazi Stastnova (2,150 words)

An interview with Peter Niesner, the Austrian ambassador to
the Czech Republic, about his country's recent assumption of
the EU presidency.

24. "Slovaks Under Fire for Election Law Changes" by Juraj
Hrabko (570 words)

Only a few months before the September elections, the Slovak
parliament made controversial changes to the country's election
law that critics say limits media coverage and aids Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar.

25. "Shifty Laws" by Zoltan Mikes (536 words)

The Slovak government recently approved a law which allows
the parliamentary chairman to accept the resignation of the
government and name a new prime minister, a right previously
held by the president. But it is unclear whether this law is
intended to aid democracy or whether it is another one of
Meciar's games aimed at preserving the political status quo.

26. "Greece and Macedonia Get Affectionate" by Helena Smith
(654 words)

Greece and Macedonia, after years of acrimony, say they are on
the road to reconciliation.

27. "When Soccer and Politics Collide" by Neven Andjelic (789
words)

During the World Cup, soccer often took on political dimensions,
particularly for the nations of former Yugoslavia.

28. "On the Precipice" by Denisa Kostovic and Zoran Cirjakovic
(1577 words)

A vivid report from Pristina on the current lives of the Kosovo
Serbs, who for years have been at least tacit supporters of
Slobodan Milosevic's brutal attempts to solve "the Kosovo
problem." The article is accompanied by a 500-word sidebar by
Fabian Schmidt on the repercussions of the Kosovo fighting in
Albania.

29. "Negotiation With OVK a Must" by Branka Vujnovic (1516
words)

An interview with Azem Vlasi, former communist leader of
Kosovo. Vlasi, today a lawyer in Pristina, is one of the most
sought-after analysts and lecturers on the events in Kosovo.

30. "Megalomania as a Boomerang" by Slobodan Rackovic (837
words)

Analysis of the recent military and political developments in
Kosovo.

31. "Bosnia's Chance" by Christopher Cviic (639 words)

The virtual absence of Bosnia from much of the disaster-driven
Western media may provide grounds for modest optimism.
Now, political forces, from all three communities, are willing to
cooperate in the implementation of Dayton. Democracy it isn't,
but at least the virtual international protectorate appears to be
working-for the time being.

32. "Sarajevo Under Sanctions" by Darko Babic (534 words)

Analysts are predicting that Sarajevo will soon be hit with
economic sanctions because of the failure of refugee return. But
the main fault for not implementing the so-called "Sarajevo
Declaration" about refugees lies with the local authorities.

33. "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Kliment Trenkov
(1064 words)

During the last eight years, almost half a million mainly young
educated people have left Bulgaria seeking a better life abroad.

34. "Will of the People" by Zoran Krzelj (1183 words)

Against a background of a struggling economy and an unstable
social situation, the ruling party in Croatia voted for a law that
gives state officials an enormous salary raise. After the level of
public disgust became clear, the president ordered that the
decision be withdrawn.

35. "The Two Berlins" by Peter Schneider

A long-time resident of Berlin finds that the fall of the Wall
was not accompanied by a similar destruction of psychological
walls. Many West Germans still think they have more in
common with a Ghanaian or a Tamil refugee than with an East
Berliner. Only the Wall maintained the illusion that it was a
wall that separated the Germans.

36. "Post-war Television" by Zoran Udovicic

A house that has no clear owner and no caretaker can easily
fall apart, a fate that now threatens Radio-Television Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Recent events highlight the difficulties in
creating a new national television company.

37. "A Nation's Dignity" by Arif Aliev

After a bizarre trial in Baku, a judge ruled that an Azerbaijani
journalist had "insulted" the entire Azeri nation and ordered
him to pay an exorbitant fine. The decision was the culmination
of a state-media led campaign against "Monitor," an
independent monthly, and its editor.

38. "Meciar and the Velvet Divorce" by Daniel Butora

A review of Karol Wolf's "Podruhe a naposled, aneb mirove
deleni Ceskoslovenska" ("For the Second and Last Time, or the
Peaceful Division of Czechoslovakia"). Using new sources, Wolf
offers glimpses behind the scenes and re-examines the main
clich�©s regarding the divorce.

39. "Investing in the Future" by Mary Kaldor

Non-governmental organizations, largely funded by foreign
donors, appear to have had an impact on the process of
democratization in Central and Eastern Europe. There is a
danger that disruptions to the European Union's democracy
assistance programs may stall this progress-especially in
fragile situations such as Serbia, Slovakia, or Belarus.

40. "Anti-Semitism in Central European History" (1,650 words)

Excerpts from a discussion broadcast on Prague's Radio Vltava
in June 1998, which examined the origins and development of
anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism in Christian Europe from the
Middle Ages to the present. Participants included historians,
theologians, the director of Prague Jewish Museum Leo Pavlat,
and former Czech ambassador to Israel Milos Pojar.

































Jeremy Druker
Staff Writer/Syndicate Coordinator
Transitions magazine
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