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Conference 4^th and 5^th April 2024, University of Tirana, Europa Hall, 1st floor, Faculty of History and Philology, Elbasanit Street, Tirana, 1001

The Left in Southeast Europe: Identities and Discourses

The Department of Journalism and Communication of the Faculty of History and Philology at the University of Tirana and CEVIPOL (Centre d’Etude de la vie politique) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) are organizing an international conference on 4 and 5 April on “The Left in Southeast Europe: Identities and Discourses”. It will bring together a number of researchers from the region. The discourse of these political parties, their organization and their relationship to civil society will be analyzed from a comparative perspective.

The Left in Southeast Europe: Identities and Discourses

4th of April, 2024

09h00 Opening Speech

 09h15 Session 1 – Party Politics in Southeast Europe (11h00 Coffee Break)

Bekim Baliqi (University of Prishtina) – Transformation from Social Movement to the Left Party: A study of ‘Vetëvendosje’ in Kosovo

Zoran Stojiljković (University of Belgrade) – Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS): Decades of wandering in crises

Jorgji Kote (independent Researcher) – Successor parties’ identity formation and change: Albanian case.

Liutauras Gudžinskas (University of Vilnius) – Searching for a recipe to organize a party successfully: application of Ostrom-Wilson ‘polycentric governance’ theory to describe and prescribe evolution of the post-communist democratic left

Jordan Jorgji (University of Korçë) – A comparative approach on the Albanian Socialist Party and the Greek Syriza

 

13h00 Lunch Break

 13h45 Session 2 – The Left and the Others

Ivaylo Dinev (Centre for East European and International Studies, Berlin) – The political left in moments of crisis

Ervin Goci (University of Tirana) – Grassroots movements, excluded public, as representatives of the leftist discourse in the Albanian public space

15h Conclusions

Following: Tour of Tirana and Social Dinner

 

5th of April, 2024

09h00 Session 3 – Political Discourses of the Left (11h00 Coffee Break)

Berina Beširović (University of Sarajevo) – The Discourse of the Left in The Context of The Union Movement-Case Study of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mark Marku (University of Tirana) – The discourse of change of the new Albanian left: from utopia to dystopia

Amer Kurtović (Social Sciences Research Center, Sarajevo) – The Bosnia and Herzegovina Social Democratic Party’s “Yugoslavia” Discourse(s): An Analysis of its Performative Structures

Emilija Celakoska and Ana Chupeska (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) – Employing equal-opportunity models in analysis of some egalitarian values regarding pre- and post-transition Left in North Macedonia

Nemanja Stanimirović (University of Belgrade) – Marxist-humanism in the service of nationalism. Mihailo Marković and SPS 1990-1995

13h00 Lunch Break

13h45 Session 4 – The Left in Southeast Europe from a Historical Perspective

Artan Fuga (University of Tirana) – Transitions in Albania marked by conflicts between ex-Communist political actors

Entela Baci Hoxhaj (University of Shkodër) – Tracking constitutional reforms in Southeast Europe under the influence of communist successor parties

Božica Slavković Mirić (Institute for recent history of Serbia, Belgrade) – The issue of Kosovo and Metohija in the establishment of good relations between the Yugoslav and Albanian communist parties after the Second World War

Gabriele Leone (University of Lapland, Rovaniemi) – Beyond Borders: Unraveling the Kurdish Left in Turkey’s Post-Democratic Transition

 

15h45 Discussion and Concluding Remarks

Scientific Committee:

Jean-Michel De Waele – CEVIPOL, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Mark Marku – Communication and Journalism Department, University of Tirana

Artan Fuga – Academy of Sciences of Albania, Communication and Journalism Department, University of Tirana

Gianmarco Bucci – Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa (SNS)