On 8 February and 21 February 2022, the students of the College of Europe in Natolin met and discussed with Ms Marta SZPALA, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Poland, about the process of Europeanisation in the Balkan.
The transformation processes in the region of former Yugoslavia is regarded as complex and uncertain especially in comparison to Central and Eastern Europe. This transformation under specific post-war conditions was not only influenced by the specific historic legacies but also by extreme impact of international actors on peacebuilding process, state formation and internal development (in the context of Europeanisation).
This academic event explored the specific regional conditions which have defined and hindered transformation and democratization in the region and led to currently observed rise of authoritarianism and growing disillusionment with EU.
The conversation was based on the following papers:
- D. Chandler. From Dayton to Europe
- G. Knaus and F.Martin: Travails of the European Raj
- N. Tzifakis. The Bosnian Peace Process: The Power-Sharing Approach Revisited
- D. Phinnemore: The Stabilization and Association Process: a framework for European Union enlargement?
About the speaker:
Marta SZPALA is a graduate of the Warsaw University and a staff member of the Center for Eastern Studies since 2008.
As an analyst she cooperates with state administration bodies, a number of international foundations active in Poland (including the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation) and numerous think-tanks from the Western Balkan countries. Lecturer at the University of Warsaw, the Diplomatic Academy and the College of Europe in Natolin. Her comments on international relations are broadcasted (Polskie Radio, Radio Tok FM), and published in foreign policy periodicals.
In 2014 in cooperation with the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland she organized the seminar „The Freedom Challenge in Southeastern Europe - Implications for Poland", and co-authored the final report.
She has participated in numerous international research projects: she was the main coordinator of the project Current state of stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina - co-financed by the International Visegrad Fund (2015 -2016), represented Poland in the project „European integration in the Western Balkans: Can the Visegrad Group countries serve as role models? ” (2015), and a year later in the project „V4 - Backing the Advocacy Strategy for the European Integration of the Western Balkans”. In 2017, she participated in a seminar organized by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly „The Western Balkans: Transition challenges, European aspiration and Links to Mena region”, during which she presented a report on the official relations between Belgrade and Pristina.