Essays

Course Participant: Anastas Vangeli

Introduction: Ubleha as a reference point

If there is an adequate explanation of the state of the civil society in the Post-Yugoslav (Western) Balkans, then it is the one offered by the authors on the topic of the Ubleha. The essence of the concept, is the deconstruction of the distorted self-centrism and the lack of purpose the civil society actors are facing; at the same time it is a very accurate observation of a failed translation of a western ideal into a post-communist context.

From the reflections on Ubleha by the original authors Šavija and Milanovi?, and from the further analysis offered by Stubbs, one clearly has in mind what the Ubleha means -  it is a cause for itself far from any known system of values and ideals. Its soul is humane, but it smells like clientelism; it declares a sincere quest for a better world, but the real driving force behind it is the quest for an immediately better life of its actors.

However, the point of this paper is to argue that even though the image of the civil society in the region can be described as Ubleha, it still is a progressive phenomenon that plays mostly a constructive role in the peace-building processes. The Ubleha of the Western Balkans may be considered to be not even close to the ideal of civil society, but at the same time, it is an inevitable and a major step towards a western liberal-democratic type of civil society that is proclaimed to be the goal all the Post-Yugoslav countries pursue.

Course participant: Kaja Haelbich (Hamburg, Germany)

In our course "Understanding Internal Dynamics of Societies in Conflict" we started to engage in the topic of Israel Palestine conflict by talking about memories.

We discussed different kinds of memory like autobiographical and family memory, historical memory and collective memory. We concentrated on the different narratives about the 48th war ("war of independence" or "Nakba") and we continued by talking about Israel's Occupation, Palestinian Resistance and alternative voices inside Israel and we ended by discussing about the events of the last years.

According to the idea of the course to relate parts of the things we dealt with to the history of our own countries I would like to focus my essay on the subject of memories and dealing with the past, more precisely how the National Socialism is commemorated in Germany. I would like to discuss the difficulties of dealing with family stories and the fact that the grandparents of my generation have been perpetrators.

Course participant: Marina Vasilj

"Nothing is more unworthy of a civilized people than to allow itself to be "governed" by an irresponsible ruling clique motivated by the darkest instincts"

(The White Rose leaflet, summer 1942)[1]

The country I grew up in no longer exists. The city I was brought up in no longer represents what it used to stand for. Over the past sixteen years, societies in the region have suffered through the gruesome civil war and continue to struggle through even more gruesome post-war transition. Yet, throughout these turbulent times I have encountered stories of people whose persistent faith in human principles such as personal integrity, moral courage, accountability, honesty, and love for their neighbor has seen them through the darkest hours and grown even stronger in time; it is the kind of faith immanent to those who confronted the adversity in self and others and embraced their vulnerability realizing they have the power to convert it into a source of enormous personal strength. This essay examines the accounts of some of the resolute men and women who, at different points in time and in different political contexts, chose to exercise the highest human quality - their free will - by taking non-violent actions and being at variance with the dominant social thought of the time, how effective were their actions and what lessons can be drawn from their successes or failures.