ALBANIA’S COLLAPSE AND RECONSTRUCTION

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.

References

1. 1 World Bank Development Report 1996, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 173.
2. 2 The best reports are Glenny, Misha (1997), ‘Heart of Darkness’, New York Review of Books, 14 August, pp. 32-36, and Pashko, Gramoz (1997), ‘The new Albanian dictatorship’, New Europe, 16-22 February, p. 6.
3. 3 Schmidt, Fabian (1997), ‘Is There a Link Between the Albanian Government and Organised Crime?’, Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) Analytical Brief, No. 553, 17 February. 4 Reuters, 3 March 1997.
4. 5 ‘What common foreign policy?’, The Economist, 22 March 1997.
5. 6 Reuters, 15 March 1997.
6. 7 UN Security Council Resolution 1101 (1997), 28 March 1997.
7. 8 In particular, DP candidates avoided southern cities while Socialist candidates were sometimes less than welcome in the north. In Vlore, Albert Shyti, leader of the Vlore Public Salvation Committee, said, “Berisha does not have the moral right to come to the towns where he has caused a real blood bath. If he decides to come to Vlore, we shall not let him.” See ‘Albania: One Way or Another’, Transitions, 4 (2), July 1997, p. 13.
8. 9 In particular, see letter by Jonathan Sunley of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group, ‘Disorderin Albania’, New York Review of Books, 4 December 1997, p. 65. He reports several cases of intimidation against DP candidates.

9. 10 ‘Hold your breath: Albania’s election’, The Economist, 5 July 1997.
10. 11 Hibbert, Reginald (1997), ‘Dealing with the Dispossessed’, World Today, 53 (5), May, p. 120.
11. 12 Pieterse, Jan N. (1997), ‘Sociology of Humanitarian Intervention: Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia Compared’, 8 (1), January, pp. 71-93.
12. 13 For a nice review of the events in Somalia and the lessons learned from the experience, see Diehl, Paul (1996), ‘With the Best of Intentions: Lessons from UNOSOM I and II’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 19, April/June, pp. 153-177, and The Comprehensive Report on Lessons Learned from United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), New York: United Nations, 1996.
13. 14 For two reviews of this case, see Kaufman, Stuart (1996), ‘Preventive Peacekeeping, Ethnic Violence, and Macedonia’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 19, July/September, pp. 229-246, and Ackermann, Alice and Pala, Antonio (1996), ‘From Peacekeeping to Preventive Deployment: A Study of the UN in the Republic of Macedonia’, European Security, 5 (1), Spring, pp. 83-97.
14. 15 New Europe, 21-27 December 1997, p. 34.
15. 16 Koha Jone cited in the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Daily Report, 8 January 1998.
16. 17 New Europe, 7-13 December 1997, p.34.
17. 18 New Europe, 9-15 November 1997, p.34.
18. 19 RFE Daily Report, 15 January 1998