Perspectives On Albania

Since the demise of Communism, Albanians have been extremely exposed to the forces of the liberal market economy and the turbulence of globalization. No other country in this region of Europe has experienced such tremendous social and economic transformations. The contributions in this book tackle important areas of change in Albania, from both contemporary and historical perspectives. The book focuses on the political, legal, and administrative dimensions; on various effects of migration; on changing family and kinship relations; and on the transformation of gender positions. (Series: Studies on South East Europe - Vol. 15) [Subject: Sociology, European Studies, Albania Studies, Politics]

This book is the first to give a comprehensive and detailed overview of the complete geography of Albania in English. It highlights the most important and manifold potentials of nature, society and economy of Albania as well as development problems during different time periods. One focus lies on Albania's perspectives and challenges for the future.Beside natural aspects also topics such as migration, poverty, social situation, economy, urban development, regional disparities among others are discussed.This book appeals to academics and researchers of geography, regional development and related disciplines as well as teachers and students of geography, geology, natural sciences, social sciences, economics. The book is also attractive for media representatives, tourists and other interested individuals travelling to Albania.

The edited collection is a fresh contribution to the anthropological, sociological, and geographical explorations of time-space in Southeast Europe and Albania in particular. By delving into various levels of people's daily lives, such as literature, relation to the environment, the urbanization process, art, photography, trauma and remembering, processes of modernity, the volume vividly portrays various realms that are lived and perceived. It largely builds on the premise that structural resemblances of the past continuously reappear in particular social and cultural moments and seek to restore and build the individual and collective lives in contemporary Albania. Nataša Gregorič Bon is a social anthropologist and Research Fellow at the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU). Since 2016, she has been an Assistant Professor at the Postgraduate School, ZRC SAZU. Her long-standing research in Albania revolves around spatial anthropology, (non)movements and (im)mobility, border dynamic, anthropology of water and environmental anthropology. She is the author of the Spaces of Discordance: Ethnhnography of Space and Place in Dhërmi/Drimades in Southern Albania (2008) and co-editor of the volume Moving Places: Relations, Return and Belonging (2016). Smoki Musaraj is Associate Professor in Anthropology at Ohio University, USA. She is a cultural anthropologist with a specialization in economic and legal anthropology. Her research focuses on the anthropology of money and value; informal economies; speculative bubbles; anthropology of corruption; postsocialist transformations; and societies of South Europe and the Mediterranean. She is author of Tales from Albarado: Ponzi Logics of Accumulation in Postsocialist Albania (2020) and co-editor of Money at the Margins: Global Perspectives on Technology, Inclusion, and Design (2018).

This book is one of the first to give a comprehensive and detailed overview of the complete geography of Albania in English. It highlights the most important and manifold potentials of nature, society and economy of Albania as well as development problems during different time periods. One focus lies on Albania's perspectives and challenges for the future. Beside natural aspects also topics such as migration, poverty, social situation, economy, urban development, regional disparities among others are discussed. This book appeals to academics and researchers of geography, regional development and related disciplines as well as teachers and students of geography, geology, natural sciences, social sciences, economics. The book is also attractive for media representatives, tourists and other interested individuals travelling to Albania.

From the late 19th century to the post-communist period, Albanian and Georgian political and intellectual elites have attributed hopes to 'Europe,' yet have also exhibited ambivalent attitudes that do not appear likely to vanish any time soon. A systematic account of how Albanians and Georgians view Europe, this book offers a fresh perspective on the vast East/West literature and, more broadly, on European intellectual, cultural, and political history.

This is the first full account of a country that, following decades of isolation, has undergone unprecedented changes to its political system: the collapse of communism, the progression to multi-party elections and the upheaval that followed the March 1997 uprising. Miranda Vickers traces the history of the Albanian people from the Ottoman period to the formation of the Albanian Communist Party. She considers the charismatic leadership of Enver Hoxha; Albania's relationship with Tito and the alliance with the Soviet Union and then China; and the long period of isolation. Newly revised for this paperback edition, The Albanians considers the gradual process of reform and the fragility of the Albanian experiment with democracy, and includes a dramatic account of the days leading up to Sali Berisha's resignation of the presidency. It has now been updated to cover the fight for independence in Kosovo and the progress of Albania's application to join the EU.