By Albert Rakipi
(Continued from the previous issue)
Albanian democracy: a work in progress
Two decades after the fall of the communist regime, Albania appears to have been unable to produce a fully functioning democratic system. Although all institutions of a liberal democracy and the formal procedures for their operation exist, the level of their functionality is far from that of a consolidated democracy.
If after twenty years Albania has still not finished its post-communist transition, the fundamental reason is to be found in the low level of democratic functioning in the country. If we agree with the definition that first and foremost, transition has been completed when sufficient agreement has been reached on political procedures to produce an elected government, and when a government power as a direct result of a free and popular vote8, then the Albania of 2010 would still not qualify as a country that has completed the transition process. Contested elections are still the norm, regardless of progress made in meeting international standards for free and fair elections.9
The culture of a zero sum game, permanent political conflict and lack of consensus unfortunately continue to remain the basic features of Albania’s post-communist political reality.10 In that sense, Albania is more similar to a liberal regime than to a fully functioning democracy.
Twenty years after the collapse of the totalitarian regime, the Albanian public believes that Albania is more democratic than undemocratic – with 56.8 percent of Albanians believing Albania in 2010 is more democratic than undemocratic, and 22.8 percent thinking that it is a fully democratic country. On the other hand, 6.5 percent of respondents think that Albania is currently completely undemocratic.
The AIIS study also confirms a different characteristic of the Albanian transition – that of cultivating a culture of dependency on the international factor when it comes to post-communist democratization and transformation of the political and economic systems. So, 48.9 percent of Albanians believe the International Community is the main factor influencing the country’s democratization.11 The country’s citizens are listed as the second most important factor with 28.2 percent, while the government ranks third with 9.1 percent. This data support the argument that the importance of the public in the Albanian democracy is still low, and as long as the participation rate remains in these levels, the functioning of democracy will also continue to be insufficient for a viable democratic system.
The study confirms the remarkable progress Albania has made in terms of fundamental freedoms and human rights. In 2010, only 2.1 percent of Albanians believe there is little freedom of speech, versus 70 percent who think freedom of speech and expression absolutely did not exist in Albania under communism. The communist regime banned religion by law, and even ordered the destruction of religious institutions in Albania. The youngest generation in Albania today may view this to be absurd, but 89 percent of Albanians polled agree that freedom of religion was nonexistent in communist Albania.
The comparison of the current state of the country with communist Albania in terms of freedoms and human rights is virtually impossible, given the enormous progress made. The reason why the respondents were even asked about human rights during the communist regime as compared to the past two decades was to observe the knowledge and understanding that Albanians have about human rights.
Most Albanians, over 80 percent, believe human rights in communist Albania were brutally violated. But Albanians’ perceptions on the status of rights and freedoms during the past twenty years suggest the need for further studies and observations since 29 percent think the state continues to violate human rights.
There is no doubt that democracy in Albania today is “the only game in town” but the quality of this “game” even twenty years after the collapse of the communist dictatorship is weak.
The rule of law has yet to be fully established
Currently, only 38 percent of Albanians believe laws are fully implemented; 24.8 percent believe laws are not fully implemented and 37.3 percent think laws are somewhat implemented. Initially, Albanians identified the regime and the government with its laws12. In the first three or four years following the collapse of communist regime, disrespect for the state, institutions and laws was explained by the fact that some Albanians still disrespected the government and the state, and as a result, the laws, which had previously been so extreme in oppressing the people. But unfortunately, what was believed to be a transitory phenomenon has now almost become part of the general culture.13Currently, the public thinks the degree of law enforcement under communism was very high. In fact, 78 percent of citizens believe laws under the former regime were implemented to the highest degree possible. This is not a surprising finding. One needs to bear in mind that the communist state had a high degree of law enforcement through entities that used all possible methods, including extreme instruments of violence and terror.
The AIIS study confirms the public’s concern about illegal activities in Albania. Forty-seven percent of Albanians believe illegal activities are very widespread. The level of corruption in the twenty years of transition is viewed as high. A 57 percent of respondents admit they have given bribes and nearly 70 percent think that giving bribes is important to complete a transaction or to receive a service from public institutions and agencies.
Corruption is also perceived as the main negative factor that has adversely affected the country’s economic transformation, particularly in property and wealth distribution. About 68 percent of respondents are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with Albania’s redistribution of ownership. The dominant reason for that dissatisfaction is corruption. Corruption is also seen as the main way to become rich in the last twenty years in Albania.
All are equal, but some are more equals than others
The AIIS study confirms a widespread phenomenon seen in transition countries or in unconsolidated democracies: the selective implementation of laws. All should be equal under the law, regardless of the public position they hold or the degree of wealth they possess. But in Albania’s case, this resembles a slogan one would see under communism. Currently, the general public in Albania believes there are some people who stand above the law. Asked which groups they have in mind, 89 percent selected politicians. They were followed by the police forces, criminals and the rich. These findings about rule of law in Albania are consistent with previous AIIS studies.14
The economy counts
The AIIS study confirms that economic issues are the main concerns of Albanian citizens. Data reveal that respondents think Albanian living and economic conditions have improved in 2010 compared to the period before 1990. Yet, most respondents are not satisfied with the direction the Albanian economy has taken since 1991.
Data show that there is a great difference in living standards prior to 1990 and in 2010. About 71 percent of respondents describe living conditions prior to 1990 as bad or very bad. Only 2 percent of respondents think that living conditions in the same period were good or very good. Albanians regard the living conditions in 2010 to have considerably improved in comparison with the period before 1990. A little over 32 percent of respondents view their living conditions as good or very good, while 41 percent view them as moderate. Only 24 percent of the respondents said that their living conditions are bad in 2010.
Although respondents recognize that living standards and the overall economic situation in Albania have considerably improved since 1990, they are mostly dissatisfied with the direction that the economy has followed since 1991. Thus, 33.4 percent of respondents are dissatisfied, and 27 percent are very dissatisfied with that direction. Almost 30 percent of respondents view the course Albania’s economy has taken as moderately satisfying or dissatisfying.
But the fact that 60.4 percent of respondents say they are not satisfied with the economic direction taken by Albania since the fall of communism should not be interpreted as a rejection of the economic system – of the free market economy and entrepreneurship. Albanians are mainly dissatisfied with the way the free market economy has been implemented over the past twenty years in Albania rather than the system itself. The lack of competition and absence of clear rules in the economic and political realms in post-communist Albania raise serious questions about the degree of the implementation of a capitalist economy in the country.15 The same argument is supported by other findings of the survey. For example, 67 percent of the respondents say they are not happy with how the distribution of ownership was done in Albania.
Religion is welcomed but not a big deal
The findings about freedom of religion mirror the findings on freedom of speech. Freedom of religion is highly or very highly enjoyed in 2010, but very little or little prior to 1990. The practice of religion was outlawed by the communist government in 1967, making Albania the world’s first officially atheist state. Almost 90 percent of the respondents said Albanians had little and/or very little freedom of religion before 1990. After the collapse of the one-party state in 1991, the ban on religion was lifted, resulting in a gradual revival of religious practice. Over 79 percent of the respondents stated that they enjoy freedom of religion in 2010. The study’s interesting and unexpected data relates to the practice of religion in Albania. It finds 30 percent of Albanian citizens do not practice any religious rites, while 48 percent say they do so several times a year, or only on special occasions. The survey also finds 44 percent of respondents consider themselves Muslim, 30 percent Christian Orthodox and 19 percent Catholic, while nine percent say they do not belong to any faith. Of course this data cannot be translated into the official separation of Albanians in the different religions. However a trend is certain: Albanian Muslims, who practice their faith to a degree or another, make up the majority of Albanians, but their dominance does not lie in the high percentages that are generally perceived or accepted.
Foreign policy and international relations see great achievements
There is no doubt that there have been great achievements in the twenty years of transition in post-Communist Albania’s foreign policy and international relations. Within two decades, what was one of the world’s most isolated countries has turned into a reliable partner for the West and the Euro-Atlantic community, while at the regional level Albania is currently an important stabilizing factor that cannot be ignored.
The role of foreign policy and international relations success in Albania must not be seen as an end goal in itself. But in reality, the entire political, economic and social transition of Albania was widely based on emergence from international isolation and orientation towards cooperation. NATO membership marks a high point in Albania’s foreign policy objectives, as efforts continue to prepare the country for EU membership, which has served and continues to serve as a driving force in the state-building process.
While it is understandable that a small country like Albania can only have a modest contribution in international politics, its role and contribution at the regional level has been and continues to be critically important. In this context, as Gabriel Partos observes, one big achievement is replacing the earlier hostility towards neighbouring countries with good and often friendly relations.16
Looking into foreign policy and international relations, the AIIS study focused on two basic issues, which are important and have not been observed previously: the perception of the Albanian society on relations with neighbours and within that relationship, perceptions of policies in relation to Kosovo.
Focusing the study on these two issues is very important for at least two reasons. The first is to investigate whether the official foreign policy of the country goes in harmony with citizen perceptions about relations with neighbouring countries at a time that the Balkan political map has changed after the independence of Kosovo. Secondly, it seeks to observe the society’s perceptions and expectations about the country’s relations with Kosovo and the future of this relationship in light of the idea of the existence of a Greater Albania project.
Italy as best friend, Greece second threat after Serbia
The AIIS study affirms that the Albanian public follows Albania’s relations with neighbouring countries closely, and that a high value is in fact placed on these relations.17
Despite Tirana’s official policy attempts to strengthen relations with Serbia18, Albanian citizens perceive Serbia as the biggest threat to the national security of the country. According to the AIIS survey, 51.6 percent of Albanians consider Serbia the biggest threat to Albania’s security.
The reasons behind that finding should be sought primarily in the historical conflict and hostility that has dominated the two countries’ relationship in general. The most important hurdles in the relations between the two countries and the two societies are Serbia’s traditional behaviour against Albanians in Kosovo, and currently, the new state of Kosovo. There will certainly be a need for further study to understand all the factors that have influenced and continue to influence the perceptions of Albanian society toward Serbia. For example, how much does Kosovo really affect Albania’s relations with Serbia? Or, aside from the political will of the Albanian government, are Albanians willing to support their government in strengthening relations with Serbia regardless of Serbia’s relations with Kosovo? On the other hand – maybe not so much for the public as much as for those who draft policies for decision-makers – what is the likelihood of developing strong Albanian-Serbian relations, if Serbia continues to follow the current hostile attitude toward the new state of Kosovo?
Surprisingly enough, Greece is also perceived by the Albanian public as a threat to national security almost as much as Serbia. Albanians see their neighbour – an EU member – as a threat to their national security. The survey finds that 46.7 percent of
Albanians who see their country as threatened by its neighbours, place Greece in second place, trailing Serbia by few points only. This can be explained by the hostility that in some way has often been present in the historical relationship between the two countries. But perhaps beyond that historical memory, the perception is based in the conflicting relations that at times have existed between the two countries during the past two decades. In addition, notwithstanding the will of the governments of both countries to develop and strengthen bilateral relations, a number of controversial issues have risen from time to time, including issues concerning the Greek minority in Albania, which seem to keep alive a sense of doubt in bilateral relations.
The perception of Greece as a potential threat to national security can be motivated to a considerable extent by a number of incidents and issues last year, including an agreement on the division of the Continental Shelf ,19 the situation with the graveyards of Greek soldiers in Albania, minority concerns, or even flagrant anti-Albanian gestures such asthe marching of regular units of the Greek army to songs filled with a language of hatred towards Albanians, Macedonians and Turks . However, the survey is surprising and suggests the need for further study to properly interpret and understand all factors that lead the Albanian society to perceive Greece to be a threat to national security.
Likewise, it is important to note that while Serbia and Greece are perceived as threats to national security, Albanian citizens do not view this as a threat from armed conflict. According to the same study, only 1.6 percent of the Albanians think a war would be the biggest threat to national security. It appears this perception is consistent with previous AIIS studies where danger of aggression from another country is almost unimaginable for Albanians.20
The analysis and interpretation of findings according to which the Albanian public sees notably Serbia and Greece as threats to national security should be seen in a different but very important aspect. Relations with these countries, Greece in particular, but in the long term Serbia as well, are very important for Albania.
This is not just a view of the Albanian political elite or the country’s government and state institutions. Even the Albanian society as a whole perceives relations between Albania and Greece, but Albania and Serbia too, to be strategic and valuable. So the fact that almost half the Albanians surveyed see Greece and Serbia as a threat does not mean that the Albanian society refuses to support a closer relationship with both these countries. On the contrary, from the strategic point of view Greece, but Serbia as well, are important countries for Albania – with which the government should develop proper relations.Thus, 79 percent of Albanians think relations with Greece are important or very important, and 49 percent of Albanians think relations with Serbia are important or very important. And only 15 percent think that these are not important at all and the government should pay them no attention. 21Previous AIIS studies also confirm that the Albanian society sees Albania’s relations with its neighbours as very important.
The AIIS study reaffirms previous AIIS findings about the perception Albanian citizens have about relations with another neighbouring state, Italy, which is seen as having the most influence in Albania. More than 44 percent of Albanians view Italy as the country that has had the most influence in Albania over the last two decades. Greece is perceived as the second most important country to have influenced Albania in the last twenty years. Differently from Greece, which is viewed by 46 percent of the Albanians to constitute a threat to national security, in the case of Italy the sentiment is shared by only 0.5 percent of respondents. The perception of Italy and its role in Albania remain consistent with previous studies22 where Italy is viewed as a strategic partner almost uncontested in its top spot. So, 93 percent of the respondents think relations with Italy are strategically important and that the Albanian government should give them top priority.23
Kosovo loved, but no unification
Relations of Albania with Kosovo and the public’s perception about the future of this relationship were important components of the AIIS survey. Previous AIIS studies have clearly shown that the Albanian society looks with great interest to the relations with the new neighbouring country of Kosovo. So, 88 percent of Albanians in Albania view relations with Kosovo as strategically important versus the 93 percent who see Italy, 94 percent who view the European Union, and 90 percent who see the United States as strategic partners.
However, notwithstanding the fact that Italy, the European Union and the United States are seen as key partners, Albanians overwhelmingly believe their government should pay particular strategic attention to Kosovo. Despite the support the Albanian public has for strong relations between Albania and Kosovo, following Kosovo’s independence, little substance has developed to this relationship.24 Societies, markets, economies and political elites have functioned separately from each other. Kosovo’s markets have for a long time been part of the former Yugoslav federation and two decades after the violent break-up of that Yugoslavia, as Tim Judah of The Economist points out, a similar common market has started to resurface. But while there is no doubt about the importance of strengthening the relationship between Albania and the new state of Kosovo, the Albanian public does not seem to support the idea of unification of Kosovo and Albania. The so-called Greater Albania thesis seems to be far from the mind of the majority of the Albanian public. Thus, only nine percent of Albanians believe unification of Kosovo with Albania is positive, versus 35 percent who believe that such a union is negative, or the 37 percent who are indifferent to this issue. These results are not unexpected, if we keep in mind that there is currently no political party or organization of any influence, including the academic world, which supports the idea of unification of Kosovo and Albania. But these results also raise serious questions about the findings of the Gallup Balkan Monitor, which in its latest survey finds that Albanians in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania support the idea of a natural Albania- a greater Albania. According to those findings, the idea has the support of 63 percent of people in Albania versus 81 percent in Kosovo25 and 53 percent in Macedonia.26
8 See Juan J. Linz & Alfred Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, Southern Europe, South America and Post Communist Europe. p 23 John Hopkins University Press 1996. p 21.
9 Although the last parliamentary elections of June 28, 2009 marked a substantial improvement in fulfilling international standards, the Albanian political elites repeated almost the same trend as the previous electoral processes, contesting the election results. The opposition Socialist Party for almost two years after these elections, is still seeking transparency in the electoral process which it says was rigged.
10 The events of January 21 st with the violence at the opposition protest that ended with the tragic deaths of four protesters are the culmination of a bitter political conflict between the government and the opposition following the last parliamentary elections
11 In 2011, even though Albania is a NATO member and has applied for EU membership, it suddenly finds itself in another crisis for which Brussels and Washington need to be directly involved. See: Stopping The Spiral To The Abyss at Tirana Times February 2011,vol.7 no 400 or at www.tiranatimes.com
12 See Albert Rakipi, Weak States and Rethinking Security, Post Cold War Balkans, Security Agenda, AIIS 2008, Tirana.
13 See Clarissa De Waal, Post-communist Albania, AIIS, 2009.
14 See Human Security in Albania, Early Warning Report, Albanian Institute for International Studies, UNDP, Tirana 2004
15 See Is Albania a capitalist state?, Tirana Times at www.tiranatimes.com
16 See Gabriel Partos, TransitionŠbroadly completed, but the process of change still continues, Tirana Times 2010 at www. tiranatimes.com
17 It the annual surveys AIIS conducts to mainly observe Albania’s relations with the EU, there is a lot of foucs on the regional cooperation componenet. According to these surveys, it is clear that regardles the current level of relations of Albana with the neigboring countries, the Albanian public sees these relations as important and wants to government to pay close attention the them. Visit aiis.albania.org for more.
18 In particular, in the last five to six years, Albanian diplomacy has been active in building a dialogue at the political level. In the spring of 2010, Albania’s deputy prime minister and foreing minister visited Belgrade, marking the highest level political exchanges. But there is more. It seems Tirana is determine to increase relations with Serbia, notwithstanding the latter’s relations with the Republic of Kosovo. In the meantime, despite Tirana’s insistance, Belgrade seems reluctant to offer the same spirit and interest level.
19 The agreement for the sea border was approved by the Albanian parliament but declared invalid by Albania’s constitutitutional court not due to the rules not being followed, but mainly due to the substabce of such agreement.
20 See Human Security in Albania, Albanian Institute for International Studies, UNDP, Tirana 2004. According to the study, only 0.1 percent see was with another country as a main threat.
21 See Albania – EU, In search of local ownership. Albanian Institute for International Studies, Tirana 2009
22 See European Perspective for Albania, AIIS 2010, Albania and the European Union, Perceptions and Realities Tirana 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, Also consult previous similar studies
23 Ibid Respective AIIS studies on European Integrations 2003-2010 at www.aiis-albania.org
24 See Albert Rakipi Albania and Kosovo – the centrality of economics. April 2010, Tirana Times, www.tiranatimes.com
25 The support for a natural Albania seems spectacular in Kosovo where it has 81 percent support, but this number seems disputable for example if we keep in mind the fact that the Vetvendosja (Self-determination) Movement is the only serious political organization advocating for the idea of Albania-Kosovo unification. It recently became a political party in the parliamentary elections there, receiving only 12 percent of the support.
26 See latest Gallup-Balkan survey, conducted in June-July 2010 at eu.gallup.com/File/Brussels/…/20101206_EastWest-Institute_Gallup.pdf
