ALBANIA’S COLLAPSE AND RECONSTRUCTION

Authors : Paul KUBICEK

Pages : 0-0

View : 19 | Download : 13

Publication Date : 1998-03-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In the first months of 1997, just as the world celebrated one year of peace in Bosnia, another Balkan state, Albania, plunged into crisis. The mayhem in Albania was triggered by a collapse in shady pyramid investment schemes, but its root causes were decades of economic mismanagement and political corruption. These continued to plague the country even after the collapse of communism in 1991-1992. Many Albanians targeted their wrath on President Sali Berisha, who was held by many to be responsible for the country’s slide into the abyss. Despite his efforts to restore order, government authority collapsed, and the state fell into anarchy as marauding gangs took control of several cities. International forces were eventually called in to help provide humanitarian assistance, control lawlessness, and prepare for new elections. The elections were held in June, and a new government was formed and quickly garnered much-needed international support. However, questions remain over what it and the international community can further do to foster reconciliation and stability in the country. In this paper I will focus on the role of international actors—the UN, OSCE, EU, IMF, non-governmental organisations and interested states—in putting Albania back together. All parties recognise that their effort will be crucial simply because Albania itself lacks the wherewithal to recover on its own. In order to assess whether and how international actors will succeed in their efforts I will extend the analysis beyond the immediate crisis in Albania and look for lessons and parallels with other international efforts to reconstruct or preserve troubled states. In so doing, I hope we will be better able to understand what can be done in Albania.
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