Post by radovic on May 15, 2008 11:57:11 GMT -5
b-info.com/places/Macedonia/republic/news/95-11/nov29.mak
MAK-NEWS 15/11/95 (Miscellaneous)
__________________________________________________________
Contents:
1. THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
================================== MAK-NEWS =================================
THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
Dear Sir,
the following text, on the subject of the former Yugoslavia, is being sent
to a number of private addresses, research centers and other institutions.
We would be grateful if you could foreward this to any one who might be
interested, even if you are not personally interested in participating.
LIMES is conducting a "geopolitical survey" on the future of the former
Yugoslavia, through the Internet, as a first step toward the elaboration of
specific proposals for a lasting and geopolitically sound settlement to the
conflict in the ex-Yugoslavia.
The five-page statement that follows is not just something for you to read:
your active participation is most important to our project. Please refer to
the brief questionnaire at the bottom of the text, which will make it very
easy and fast for you to reply to our proposal with minimal effort. The
proposal is also intended as a broad framework for discussion. Our goal is
primarily to engage the peoples of the former Yugoslavia in a pragmatic
discussion, but also to encourage other European and American friends to
speak their mind on this complex issue.
We hope that practical, far-sighted and yet realistic geopolitical projects
will fill the numerous blanks we left in our tentative framework. We
welcome any contribution and comments either by experts, practitioners or
common citizens.
Thank you for your kind attention.
The survey is conducted by LOGOI - an electronic journal/conference of
International politics and Italian foreign policy on the Internet
- ------------------------
THE EUROSLAVIA PROJECT
by Lucio Caracciolo and Michel Korinman
(editors of the Italian Geopolitical Review "LIMES")
Peace in the former Yugoslavia requires a concerted geopolitical project.
Otherwise, what will result at the very best is a state of non-war poised
for the slaughter to begin once again. What has been evolving over the past
few months is perhaps the premise for a state of non-war, but it is
certainly not anything resembling real peace.
American mediation is managing to turn the trenches dug by soldiers into
national borders. Today this partition sanctions the emergence of a small
Greater Croatia and of an even smaller Greater Serbia (smaller than what
the most rabid nationalists had hoped for), while the fate of the Moslem
mini-State is entrusted to the Croats. Thus, from the ruins of the former
Yugoslavia there have arisen a number of mono-ethnic states and "statelets"
(except in the case of Serbia- Montenegro, where a third of the population
is allogenous). Ethnic homogeneity may be a prerequisite for there to be an
armistice, but it certainly does not augur well for a future of liberty,
democracy and development. Rather, what we could very well end up with here
is a hotbed for the seeds of newer and even more terrible wars.
It is this conviction that has given rise to the idea of Euroslavia. What
we mean by this is a proposal for pacification and development in the
post-Yugoslav states and in South-Eastern Europe, based on a sort of
geopolitical exchange: the gradual reintegration of the southern Slavs and
other peoples of the region, while continuing to respect the established
national borders, as a necessary precondition to their integration within
Europe.
This is a plan for the medium term which will inevitably come up against
the hatred that has accumulated after four years of "ethnic cleansing". But
it is the only possibility for real peace because it will act to transform
trench-boundaries into European borders. And that means borders open and
permeable to the flow of goods, persons and ideas. This would indeed be an
enlargement of Europe!
What other alternative is there? A Wall, or rather a series of Walls, in
the heart of Bosnia, with some ex-Yugoslavs permanently excluded from
Europe and others waiting indefinitely to latch on like a kind of
troublesome appendage. For both, the Wall mentality would end up by
strangling economic development as well as fostering the growth of
hard-line groups and criminal organizations. It would actually provide the
fuel for further wars.
The driving idea behind Euroslavia is a geopolitical one, which attempts to
reconcile our interests with those of all the states of the former
Yugoslavia (and in a larger sense, with South-Eastern Europe, starting with
Albania). So what is this project for? Let us first take a look at the
advantages for us here in Western Europe.
A) Euroslavia, by stabilizing the Balkans, would also serve to heal the
divisions that have arisen in Western Europe over the Yugoslav war. As a
player on the international political stage Europe was shown up as a
non-entity. Euroslavia would mean the end of the infra-European "Cold War"
about the Balkans.
B) If we stop new Walls from being built in the Balkans we will keep Serbia
from sliding into the Russian camp. It would not be wise for western
Europeans to let Moscow establish a foothold in the biggest state in the
region. This is especially true if neo-imperialist factions in Russia
manage to gain the upper hand.
C) Euroslavia is meant to help constructing a geopolitical alternative to
Maastricht. That treaty is long dead and buried but European governments
haven't had the courage to admit it yet. Should the ill will it generated
be allowed to float around indefinitely until it ends up by utterly
wrecking the prospects for European integration that two generations have
laboured to achieve? Euroslavia can help to pull us out of the bog of
economicism - or, even worse, monetarism. As things stand nowadays there is
hardly any idea more unpopular in Europe than that of Europe. Relations
between nations are being influenced by the revival of irrational factors
like stereotypes depicting "national characters", and above all an
insidious germanophobia. Projects like this can serve to "demonetarize"
european issues and make them more accessible to the public precisely
because they emphasize the fact of a common destiny. Either we manage to
europeanize the Balkans or Europe will itself become balkanised.
But Euroslavia would be in the interests of all the countries and peoples
on the far side of the Adriatic as well.
A) Slovenes and Croats stepped out of Yugoslavia four years ago in order to
join Europe. But they are still far from achieving this, and they are
beginning to realize that the work of integration into Europe is not as
easy as it once may have seemed. Above all it means giving up a large
measure of their national sovereignty. But it was the question of the
sovereignty that they were fighting over in the first place and it was for
sovereignty that they suffered important damages, especially the Croats.
Integration also means respecting the patterns of western democracy. Thus
the waiting period risks dragging on indefinitely, a situation which might
also stir up anti-European feelings. As a matter of fact, we are already
seeing the initial symptoms of this. B) As for Bosnian Moslems partition
would mean that they would inevitably come to be dominated by either the
Serbs or the Croats. In a Euroslavia they would enjoy the advantages of an
integration guaranteed and supported by Europe. Their borders would remain
unchanged but they would be open. This would certainly be preferable to a
"sovereign" Bosnia-Herzegovina which would in reality amount to nothing
more than a Moslem ghetto ever threatened by the military superiority of
its neighbours.
C) The hour of reckoning has finally come for the Serbs. They let
themselves get dragged into a war of conquest by a group of unscrupulous
nationalist leaders - the result of which being that at least half a
million Serbs have been forced to flee their homes following an operation
of "ethnic cleansing" at their expense. The Serbian economy has been set
back at least fifteen years. Euroslavia is the only way for them to make up
for the lost ground. It certainly won't be the Slav-Orthodox brotherhood
that will save them just as Islamic solidarity will do little for the
Moslems of Central Bosnia.
The Project Euroslavia is open to anybody who wishes to contribute. In the
next few months, we will be exploring all the components involved in the
project humanitarian, economic, political and cultural. In February we will
see just how much progress has been made during an international
geopolitical conference to be held in Italy. It won't be an easy task.
Nevertheless, we are sure that ideas will give way to action, for the sake
of real peace and reconstruction in the Balkans.
- ----------------------
We would be grateful if you could briefly answer the following questions
before expanding on the subject as you wish. Please note that rour answers
will make a real contribution to our project even if you decide not to add
any proposal of your own.
1) Do you agree with the philosophy of the proposal we put forth ? If not, why ?
2) What crucial issue/issues should be addressed first, in order to
increase the chances of a lasting solution to the problem of the former
Yugoslavia ?
3) On what specific geopolitical arrangements should a lasting settlement rest ?
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ELABORATE MORE FULLY ON YOUR OWN PROPOSAL OR ADD
COMMENTS, CRITIQUES, SUGGESTIONS.
- ----------------
Replies, or requests for further information, should be E-mailed to the
sender (logoi@mix.it), or sent to :
LIMES - Rivista Italiana di Geopolitica, via Castro Pretorio 116, Rome, Italy
FAX:+39-6-6864450
- --------------------------
THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
in collaboration with LOGOI - an electronic journal/conference of
International politics and Italian foreign policy on the Internet
MAK-NEWS 15/11/95 (Miscellaneous)
__________________________________________________________
Contents:
1. THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
================================== MAK-NEWS =================================
THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
Dear Sir,
the following text, on the subject of the former Yugoslavia, is being sent
to a number of private addresses, research centers and other institutions.
We would be grateful if you could foreward this to any one who might be
interested, even if you are not personally interested in participating.
LIMES is conducting a "geopolitical survey" on the future of the former
Yugoslavia, through the Internet, as a first step toward the elaboration of
specific proposals for a lasting and geopolitically sound settlement to the
conflict in the ex-Yugoslavia.
The five-page statement that follows is not just something for you to read:
your active participation is most important to our project. Please refer to
the brief questionnaire at the bottom of the text, which will make it very
easy and fast for you to reply to our proposal with minimal effort. The
proposal is also intended as a broad framework for discussion. Our goal is
primarily to engage the peoples of the former Yugoslavia in a pragmatic
discussion, but also to encourage other European and American friends to
speak their mind on this complex issue.
We hope that practical, far-sighted and yet realistic geopolitical projects
will fill the numerous blanks we left in our tentative framework. We
welcome any contribution and comments either by experts, practitioners or
common citizens.
Thank you for your kind attention.
The survey is conducted by LOGOI - an electronic journal/conference of
International politics and Italian foreign policy on the Internet
- ------------------------
THE EUROSLAVIA PROJECT
by Lucio Caracciolo and Michel Korinman
(editors of the Italian Geopolitical Review "LIMES")
Peace in the former Yugoslavia requires a concerted geopolitical project.
Otherwise, what will result at the very best is a state of non-war poised
for the slaughter to begin once again. What has been evolving over the past
few months is perhaps the premise for a state of non-war, but it is
certainly not anything resembling real peace.
American mediation is managing to turn the trenches dug by soldiers into
national borders. Today this partition sanctions the emergence of a small
Greater Croatia and of an even smaller Greater Serbia (smaller than what
the most rabid nationalists had hoped for), while the fate of the Moslem
mini-State is entrusted to the Croats. Thus, from the ruins of the former
Yugoslavia there have arisen a number of mono-ethnic states and "statelets"
(except in the case of Serbia- Montenegro, where a third of the population
is allogenous). Ethnic homogeneity may be a prerequisite for there to be an
armistice, but it certainly does not augur well for a future of liberty,
democracy and development. Rather, what we could very well end up with here
is a hotbed for the seeds of newer and even more terrible wars.
It is this conviction that has given rise to the idea of Euroslavia. What
we mean by this is a proposal for pacification and development in the
post-Yugoslav states and in South-Eastern Europe, based on a sort of
geopolitical exchange: the gradual reintegration of the southern Slavs and
other peoples of the region, while continuing to respect the established
national borders, as a necessary precondition to their integration within
Europe.
This is a plan for the medium term which will inevitably come up against
the hatred that has accumulated after four years of "ethnic cleansing". But
it is the only possibility for real peace because it will act to transform
trench-boundaries into European borders. And that means borders open and
permeable to the flow of goods, persons and ideas. This would indeed be an
enlargement of Europe!
What other alternative is there? A Wall, or rather a series of Walls, in
the heart of Bosnia, with some ex-Yugoslavs permanently excluded from
Europe and others waiting indefinitely to latch on like a kind of
troublesome appendage. For both, the Wall mentality would end up by
strangling economic development as well as fostering the growth of
hard-line groups and criminal organizations. It would actually provide the
fuel for further wars.
The driving idea behind Euroslavia is a geopolitical one, which attempts to
reconcile our interests with those of all the states of the former
Yugoslavia (and in a larger sense, with South-Eastern Europe, starting with
Albania). So what is this project for? Let us first take a look at the
advantages for us here in Western Europe.
A) Euroslavia, by stabilizing the Balkans, would also serve to heal the
divisions that have arisen in Western Europe over the Yugoslav war. As a
player on the international political stage Europe was shown up as a
non-entity. Euroslavia would mean the end of the infra-European "Cold War"
about the Balkans.
B) If we stop new Walls from being built in the Balkans we will keep Serbia
from sliding into the Russian camp. It would not be wise for western
Europeans to let Moscow establish a foothold in the biggest state in the
region. This is especially true if neo-imperialist factions in Russia
manage to gain the upper hand.
C) Euroslavia is meant to help constructing a geopolitical alternative to
Maastricht. That treaty is long dead and buried but European governments
haven't had the courage to admit it yet. Should the ill will it generated
be allowed to float around indefinitely until it ends up by utterly
wrecking the prospects for European integration that two generations have
laboured to achieve? Euroslavia can help to pull us out of the bog of
economicism - or, even worse, monetarism. As things stand nowadays there is
hardly any idea more unpopular in Europe than that of Europe. Relations
between nations are being influenced by the revival of irrational factors
like stereotypes depicting "national characters", and above all an
insidious germanophobia. Projects like this can serve to "demonetarize"
european issues and make them more accessible to the public precisely
because they emphasize the fact of a common destiny. Either we manage to
europeanize the Balkans or Europe will itself become balkanised.
But Euroslavia would be in the interests of all the countries and peoples
on the far side of the Adriatic as well.
A) Slovenes and Croats stepped out of Yugoslavia four years ago in order to
join Europe. But they are still far from achieving this, and they are
beginning to realize that the work of integration into Europe is not as
easy as it once may have seemed. Above all it means giving up a large
measure of their national sovereignty. But it was the question of the
sovereignty that they were fighting over in the first place and it was for
sovereignty that they suffered important damages, especially the Croats.
Integration also means respecting the patterns of western democracy. Thus
the waiting period risks dragging on indefinitely, a situation which might
also stir up anti-European feelings. As a matter of fact, we are already
seeing the initial symptoms of this. B) As for Bosnian Moslems partition
would mean that they would inevitably come to be dominated by either the
Serbs or the Croats. In a Euroslavia they would enjoy the advantages of an
integration guaranteed and supported by Europe. Their borders would remain
unchanged but they would be open. This would certainly be preferable to a
"sovereign" Bosnia-Herzegovina which would in reality amount to nothing
more than a Moslem ghetto ever threatened by the military superiority of
its neighbours.
C) The hour of reckoning has finally come for the Serbs. They let
themselves get dragged into a war of conquest by a group of unscrupulous
nationalist leaders - the result of which being that at least half a
million Serbs have been forced to flee their homes following an operation
of "ethnic cleansing" at their expense. The Serbian economy has been set
back at least fifteen years. Euroslavia is the only way for them to make up
for the lost ground. It certainly won't be the Slav-Orthodox brotherhood
that will save them just as Islamic solidarity will do little for the
Moslems of Central Bosnia.
The Project Euroslavia is open to anybody who wishes to contribute. In the
next few months, we will be exploring all the components involved in the
project humanitarian, economic, political and cultural. In February we will
see just how much progress has been made during an international
geopolitical conference to be held in Italy. It won't be an easy task.
Nevertheless, we are sure that ideas will give way to action, for the sake
of real peace and reconstruction in the Balkans.
- ----------------------
We would be grateful if you could briefly answer the following questions
before expanding on the subject as you wish. Please note that rour answers
will make a real contribution to our project even if you decide not to add
any proposal of your own.
1) Do you agree with the philosophy of the proposal we put forth ? If not, why ?
2) What crucial issue/issues should be addressed first, in order to
increase the chances of a lasting solution to the problem of the former
Yugoslavia ?
3) On what specific geopolitical arrangements should a lasting settlement rest ?
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ELABORATE MORE FULLY ON YOUR OWN PROPOSAL OR ADD
COMMENTS, CRITIQUES, SUGGESTIONS.
- ----------------
Replies, or requests for further information, should be E-mailed to the
sender (logoi@mix.it), or sent to :
LIMES - Rivista Italiana di Geopolitica, via Castro Pretorio 116, Rome, Italy
FAX:+39-6-6864450
- --------------------------
THE "EUROSLAVIA" PROJECT
by LIMES - Italian Journal of Geopolitics
in collaboration with LOGOI - an electronic journal/conference of
International politics and Italian foreign policy on the Internet