Our initiative/series Young Generations for the new Balkans 2030: Towards Alternative Horizons sets the spotlight on youth, their progressive stances and hopes for the future.

On December 3rd 2018, the Embassy of Austria in The Hague/Netherlands invited to a panel discussion with the title “New Horizons for the Young Generations in the Balkans” where first results of our initiative have been presented by representatives of the IIP, Karl-Renner-Institut and the International Institute for Peace, as well as the Austrian Institute for International Affairs and the Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe, based on a recent conference in Vienna. In addition, young experts from the region, who are participating in our long-term initiatives, have been discussing their visions how to overcome old-fashioned politics and nationalisms and the lack of perspective for younger generations. They sketched alternative horizons and have been debating the look for alternatives for South-Eastern Europe’s way beyond emigration. Den Haag was the first place in Europe after Vienna where the results of the mentioned initiative have been presented to the public.

On November 27 the International Institute for Peace in cooperation with the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute Vienna and the Forum of Journalism and Media invited to discuss the development of right-wing populism in Europe by contrasting the situation in Denmark and Hungary and also considering events in Austria. Susi Meret from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Aalborg University represented András Bozoki is a political scientist from the Central European University, Budapest, and former Minister of Culture of Hungary. He analysed the Hungarian perspective. Hannes Swoboda, president of the International Institute for Peace was referring to the Austrian context in the light of right-wing populism. The discussion was moderated by Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the International Institute for Peace. Leopold Radauer, Sir Peter Ustinov Institute, Vienna, gave an introduction speech in which he briefly outlined todays presence of populist issues, such as exclusion of and intolerance towards `the other’. 

Am 20 November 2018 diskutierten am IIP  ANGELA KANE, ehem. Hohe Repräsentantin der UNO für Abrüstungsfragen, Vizepräsidentin, International Institute for Peace, MARKUS REISNER, Oberstleutnant des Generalstabsdienstes der Landesverteidigungsakademie Wien, THOMAS HAJNOCZI, Botschafter, Direktor für Abrüstung, BMEIA unter der Moderation von STEPHANIE FENKART, Direktorin, International Institute for Peace (IIP) das hochaktuelle Thema die Legitimität und Legalität von sogenannten Robotic Wars.

Report of the Panel Discussion that featured Joonhyung Kim, Angela Kane, Heinz Gärtner, and Markus Kornprobst

Caught in a vicious circle between old-fashioned backwards oriented politics and nationalisms on the one hand and the lack of economic, educational and social perspectives on the other, young generations in the Balkans seem to be losing patience and when possible emigrating to the West in search for a better life. UN agencies and experts speak about a massive demographic revolution in Eastern and Southeast Europe that is changing society more than a majority of developments in the past. Meanwhile, democracies in the region are vulnerable and the EU integration process is not delivering fast results. 2018 was frequently described as the “Year of Hope” for EU enlargement and for a better future for the Balkans. The EU Commission presented a new enlargement strategy, only to be followed by the Balkan’s Summit in May 2018. As the EU presidency country of the second half of 2018, Austria worked towards keeping the region a high priority on the EU agenda. Yet, the question remains whether enthusiasm for EU enlargement can be restored. Pressured by the looming democratic and socioeconomic crisis in the Western Balkans as well as the return of a geopolitical power struggle to the region, it is obvious that a new momentum for enlargement and the overall political and socio-economic development of the region is much needed. Societies in the region are in dire need of alternatives and alternative progressive engagement and action.

Report from the event

Sehen Sie hier das vollständige Video zur Buchvorstellung.

Heinz Gärtner visited Teheran and gave lectures at the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), the School of International Studies, and the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Teheran. Below there is a summary of his remarks on the future of the Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and possible US-Iran talks.