Wilson Center Experts

Nida Gelazis

Former Senior Associate

European Studies

Expertise:

Democracy

;

Gender

;

Global Governance

;

United Nations

;

Governance

;

Human Rights

;

Women's Rights

;

International Development

;

Migration

;

NATO

;

Society and Culture

;

U.S. Foreign Policy

;

Europe

;

Albania

;

Bosnia and Herzegovina

;

Bulgaria

;

Croatia

;

Czech Republic

;

Eastern Europe

;

Estonia

;

European Union

;

Hungary

;

Kosovo

;

Latvia

;

Lithuania

;

Macedonia

;

Montenegro

;

Poland

;

Romania

;

Serbia

;

Slovakia

;

Slovenia

;

Turkey

;

Western Balkans

;

Belarus

Education

M.A., Comparative European and International Law (LLM), European University Institute, Florence, Italy; B.A., Political Science, University of Chicago

Subjects

Balkan Region,Constitutionalism,Democratization,East Europe,European Union,Human Rights,International Law

Experience

Managing editor, East European Constitutional Review, University of Chicago Law School and the Constitutional and Legislative Policy Institute, Budapest, Hungary (1994-96); research associate, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, Italy (1997-2000)

Expertise

East Europe; European Union (especially enlargement); constitutionalism; democratization; human rights; international law

Major Publications

Cities after the Fall of Communism: Reshaping Cultural Landscapes and European Identity, co-editor with John J. Czaplicka and Blair A. Ruble (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009)
"The Tenth Anniversary of the Dayton Accords and Afterwards: Reflections on Post-Conflict State- and Nation-Building," editor, EES Special Report, April 2007
"An Evaluation of International Instruments that Address the Condition of Statelessness: A Case Study of Estonia and Latvia," in International Migration Law: Developing Paradigms and Key Challenges, ed. Ryszard Cholewinski, Richard Perruchoud and Euan MacDonald (Asser Press, 2007)
"Fighting Poverty and Reforming Social Security: What Can Post-Soviet States Learn from the New Democracies of Central Europe?," co-editor with Michael Cain and Tomazs Inglot, EES Special Report, February 2007
"Kosovo: Mission Not Yet Accomplished," co-author with Martin Sletzinger, The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005
"Women in East European Politics," editor, EES Special Report, September 2005
"Statelessness in the Baltic States: Ramifications for European Citizenship and Social Stratification after EU Enlargement," European Journal of Migration and Law 6: 225-242, 2004.
"East Europe's New Role in the Middle East," editor, EES News Special Report, January 2004
"Defending Order and Freedom: The Lithuanian Constitutional Court in its First Decade," in Constitutional Justice: East and West, ed. Wojciech Sadurski (Kluwer International, 2003)
"Institutional Engineering in Lithuania: Stability through Compromise," in Consolidation of Democracy in Eastern Europe: Institutional Engineering, ed. Jan Zielonka (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)
"The Effects of EU Conditionality on Citizenship Policies and Protection of National Minorities in the Baltic States," in The Road to the European Union - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, ed. Jan Zielonka and Vello Pettai (Manchester University Press, 2003); also published as a Working Paper of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, No. 2000/68

Related Content for this Expert

Stability and Democracy in Albania: Clearing the Path towards European Integration

March 04, 2011 // 12:30pm — 1:30pm

The recent January events in Albania have proved once again that more needs to be done in order to strengthen democracy, democratic institutions and rule of law. As a NATO member country Albania was expected to radiate stability in the still fragile region and to behave as a proper candidate for the EU integration status. However the recent events and the sudden damage these events brought to Albania's image, after years of stability, moderate foreign policy, economic and social developments, have once again put forward the idea that democracy or stability alone can not be a paradigm for a country's or regional development, but only a combination of both well-harmonised by social development and reforms which will make possible a clear separation from the communist past, would guarantee a steady development to the country which until not long ago was considered a regional hub. more

Challenges for Romania's Democratic Consolidation: Assessing the 2009 Presidential Elections

January 27, 2010 // 11:00am — 12:00pm

The Romanian presidential elections held last fall provoked accusations of mudslinging, electoral fraud and, most recently, even interference by the occult. Vladimir Tismaneanu offered to bring this debate back to solid ground by presenting his assessment of Romania's path to democracy. Although he found no evidence of the occult, Tismaneanu did point to some idiosyncrasies of the party system in the country as well as what he called the "baroque" coalitions that are characteristic not only of Romanian politics but also of other post-communist European democracies. more

Offsite Event: Film Screening and Discussion: Where Does Europe End?

June 11, 2009 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm

Where Europe Ends, a 50-minute documentary directed by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi and her team, shows the condition of Europeans living beyond the Eastern border of the European Union since Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. more

The Evolution of NATO: the 2010 Strategic Concept and Beyond

May 21, 2010 // 9:00am — 5:00pm

Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has grown in size, but in many other ways has not fully adapted to the post-Cold War world. The 2010 Strategic Concept attempts to address the increasingly complex threats facing the allies, including nuclear terrorism, cyber crime, and global climate change, as well as the institutional changes necessary to maintain NATO's relevance in the 21st Century. This conference explored this new security environment. Participants offered assessments of the new Strategic Concept, which was released on May 17, 2010. more

Why There Is (Almost) No Post-Communist Christian Democracy

March 23, 2011 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

Compared to their West European cousins, post-communist Christian Democratic parties are notable for their lack of success. more

Human Rights in Post-Communist Transitions: Fulfillment or Betrayal?

February 22, 2010 // 11:00am — 12:00pm

The book "Human Rights and Their Limits" shows that the concept of human rights has developed in waves: each call for rights served the purpose of social groups that tried to stop further proliferation of rights once their own goals were reached. While defending the universality of human rights as norms of behavior, Osiatynski admits that the philosophy on human rights does not need to be universal. more

Assimilation, Accommodation, and Exclusion in the Balkans: Serbian Nation-Building Policies Toward Kosovo Albanians, 1912-1940

October 27, 2010 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

In the process of nation-building, states attempt to make the state and the demographic nation overlap. In this process, national minorities become a problem and European nation states have a checkered past in terms of dealing with them, with variable policies reflecting ethnic antipathy at one moment and cooperation at another. Conventional wisdom holds that ethnic antipathy is the result of cultural distance or "age-old ethnic hatreds." However, according to Harris Mylonas, these theories neither predict outcomes nor account for variation in minority policy over time. His research focuses on the relationship between minority treatment and interstate relations, in an effort to gain a broader understanding the complexity of state-building and minority policies in Europe. more

Reaching Out at a Time of Economic Crisis: External Anchors and Internal Dynamics in the Western Balkans

October 21, 2009 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

The celebration of two anniversaries that are being held in Europe this—the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago and the first EU enlargement to postcommunist Europe five years ago—is being tempered by a deep and widespread economic recession. This recession has been disproportionately felt in the Western Balkans, Jens Bastian argued, which has obscured the path these countries are working hard to follow into the EU. more

The Variable Impact of EU Conditionality: Differentiated Reforms in the Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina

April 20, 2011 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

Since the Dayton Peace Accord was signed 16 years ago, the European Union (EU) has been actively involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina in various capacities and has created a number of local institutions to support its four current missions. At the same time, the complicated state institutional structure in Bosnia means that the EU must simultaneously interact with a number of local and state-level institutions. Mujo Hadzic discussed a central puzzle: Does EU conditionality work in such a complex environment? Given this institutional complexity, Hadzic argued, both the Bosnian government and the EU struggle to speak with one voice, which dilutes the EU's impact and diffuses the energies of Bosnian institutions. more

Extreme Politics: Nationalism, Violence, and the End of Eastern Europe

March 03, 2010 // 11:00am — 12:00pm

Charles King's new book Extreme Politics declares an end to the period of "post-communism," both as a period of European History and in terms of the conduct of US foreign policy. The book offers a critique of the way in which academics and policy makers have viewed this period, which began with the fall of the Berlin Wall on 11/9/1989 and ended with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. King argues that this period should be viewed as a unique interlude, rather than as a postscript to the Cold War. more

Pages

Can Intervention Work? Lessons From Bosnia and the Balkans

May 09, 2011 // 2:00pm — 3:30pm

Support for international interventions around the world is more often driven by the relative success of the most recent experience of intervention, rather than on the merits and context of each specific case, according to Gerald Knaus. With the current debate about NATO's intervention in Libya in the news, Knaus evaluated the methods recently employed to assess and plan interventions, and offered his own framework for how to conduct international interventions, based on lessons learned in the ongoing intervention in Bosnia.

Threats to the Free Press in the Baltic States: Assessing the Impact of Government Policies and the Financial Crisis

May 05, 2011 // 1:00pm — 2:30pm

The 2008 economic crisis had a dramatic impact on the societies and economies of the Baltic States. To give a sense of the scale: in Latvia, GDP plummeted from 11.9 percent in 1996 to -19 percent in 2009. Two journalists from the region, Inga Springe and Dainius Radzevicius, asserted that among the many other consequences of the crisis, it has had a significant impact on the quality of the media. The panelists discussed the impact that these developments may have on democracy in the region.

Islam at the EU Border: Muslim Minorities in Greece and Bulgaria

February 23, 2010 // 1:00pm — 2:30pm

Over the last 20 years, Bulgaria and Greece have pursued variable and divergent policies toward their Muslim minorities. During a brief period near the end of the Communist regime, Bulgaria forced Turks to assimilate. This policy was abandoned by the democratic government that took power in the 1990s. At the same time, Greece recognized its Muslim minority and facilitated the "Turkification" of its Muslim citizens throughout the 1980s, but then abandoned that policy by blocking minority rights in the 1990s. Harris Mylonas suggested that these policy shifts are commonly explained by assumptions or models that link minority treatment, regime type, ideology and leadership personalities. Rejecting these hypotheses, Mylonas argued that the structure of the international system was the most salient indicator influencing the treatment of Muslim minorities in both countries.

Hungary Under FIDESZ: A Retreat from Democracy?

January 25, 2011 // 10:30am — 12:00pm

The economic crisis in Hungary has evolved into a political crisis, as Viktor Orban's FIDESZ government has passed a number of laws and initiatives that severely thwart democracy. Orban's populism has led his government to restrict press freedoms, undermine the balance of powers and silence opponents in the arts and academia by cutting institutional budgets, while claiming austerity. According to Attila Mesterházy, leader of the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party, the FIDESZ government's reforms do not serve the national interest and have harmed Hungary's reputation abroad during this crucial period when it holds the rotating EU presidency.

From Recipient to Donor: New Europe Promotes Democracy in the Neighborhood

November 18, 2009 // 11:00am — 12:00pm

During his first official trip to Europe representing the new administration, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden highlighted the importance of re-energizing democracy promotion efforts in East Europe. Yet, since the postcommunist transition began 20 years ago, not only the methods but also the actors involved in democracy promotion have changed considerably. Most strikingly, postcommunist countries that have been relatively successful in their own transitions to democracy have emerged as key players in democracy promotion in the Western Balkans and former Soviet states. Tsveta Petrova identified these new actors, analyzed their motivations, and characterized the methods they use to promote democracy beyond their own borders.

Book Launch: How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace

November 04, 2010 // 3:30pm — 5:00pm

Imminent violence and war make news headlines, while longstanding peace and good inter-state relations hardly seem newsworthy. By contrast, Charles Kupchan's new book, How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace, focuses on the origins of peace rather than war. While war is certainly big news, he posits that the bigger news is that the US-Canada border has been consistently peaceful for more than a century, or that only 68 years after France and Germany fought two world wars, people can now drive across the border as though it does not exist. His new book seeks to identify the dynamics that lead countries to achieve lasting peace.

The Impact of Global Crisis on Transition Countries With Special Regard to the Western Balkans

November 17, 2009 // 11:00am — 12:00pm

While the economic crisis that began in 2008 has had a global reach, the pain of the crisis has been disproportionately felt in the postcommunist transition countries generally, and in the Western Balkans in particular. Former WWICS public policy scholar Franjo Stiblar offered the simple explanation that poor countries, with their higher income inequality and high unemployment, are fated to feel the effects of the economic crisis more strongly. In addition to being relatively poor, the countries of the Western Balkans were particularly vulnerable to the crisis due to extremely high external debt to GDP ratios and high foreign currency reserves. Their economic performance also contributed to the countries' vulnerability to the crisis, since as Stiblar indicated, the region performs elastically in reaction to the global market, such that a global downturn spurred an even deeper downturn in the Western Balkans.

Assimilation, Accommodation, and Exclusion in the Balkans: Serbian Nation-Building Policies Toward Kosovo Albanians, 1912-1940

October 27, 2010 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

Reaching Out at a Time of Economic Crisis: External Anchors and Internal Dynamics in the Western Balkans

October 21, 2009 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

Webcast

Contested Narratives, Controversial Rituals: Recent Debates over World War Two Commemorations and the Politics of History in Croatia

September 14, 2010 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm

Commemorations (and counter-commemorations) of the World War Two antifascist resistance movement in Croatia continue to be a source of debates over both political and ethnic identities. This talk examines the transformation of several memorial days in Croatia during the post-communist transition, in particular focusing on the content of the commemorative speeches given at these political rituals.

Pages

Reaching out to the Balkans in Times of Crisis

Jul 07, 2011

The following policy brief stems from a meeting of the Working Group on the Western Balkans which took place on November 12-14, 2010 in Athens, Greece.

The Working Group on the Western Balkans: Enhancing Civil Society Participation in EU Enlargement

Jul 07, 2011

This is the publication of the second meeting of the Working Group on the Western Balkans which took place on October 19, 2010.

The Working Group on the Western Balkans

Jul 07, 2011

The following publication stems from the inaugural meeting of the Working Group on the Western Balkans which took place on June 29, 2010.

Women in East European Politics

Jul 07, 2011

This conference aimed at exploring the experiences and the political goals of women elected to parliament in the postcommunist countries of East Central Europe and Russia. Since 1989, the political scene in Eastern Europe and Russia has changed swiftly. In many countries, women participated in the drive to transform the communist system through demonstrations, civil activism and roundtables.Yet, in the immediate transition period, civic participation of the population in general has declined and the social and political participation of women seems to have declined more than that of men. This difference is attributed in part to the fact that women have been more burdened by the complex adjustments to the social and economic transformations of their societies. In the last few years, however, women with good qualifications and professional experience are slowly gaining political power and influence in several countries.

342. Greece, the Western Balkans and the European Union

Jul 07, 2011

November 2007 - The Wilson Center's East European Studies program, in cooperation with the American College of Thessaloniki, the University division of Anatolia College, held a workshop November 30-December 1, 2007, which aimed at trouble-shooting the complex process of European integration of the Western Balkans. This meeting was sponsored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Discussions built upon the dual premise that EU accession holds the best hope for overcoming stagnation in the Western Balkans and that the traditional enlargement process is not working in the region. The US, the EU and neighboring countries, such as Greece, certainly have much to contribute in reinvigorating this process, and coordinating their policies seems to be of paramount importance.

338. Institutionalized Ethnic Division in Bosnia: A Way Forward for Iraq?

Jul 07, 2011

September 2007 - Over the past few months, the Biden-Gelb plan has been widely discussed as a solution for the faltering policy in Iraq. A major component of the plan is to decentralize power in Iraq—Bosnian style—to the three main ethnic and religious groups in an effort to end the civil war. While the applicability of the Bosnian model has been challenged in the press based on the differences in the circumstances under which the Dayton Agreement was signed in Bosnia and the current environment in Iraq, the desirability of the Bosnian model has largely gone unchallenged. This meeting aimed at bringing up some of the rather uncomfortable realities that the Dayton model created in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The debate on what to do in Iraq should not ignore the fact that-although the fighting in Bosnia has ended-inter-ethnic cooperation and dialogue have languished. Twelve years after Dayton, Bosnia is still far from the effective, sovereign and democratic state that the agreement had envisioned. In the end the Bosnian model may serve up more questions than answers for Iraq.

334. Ending the State-Building Impasse: What Can Be Learned from Previous EU Enlargements that Might Offer Solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Jul 07, 2011

February 2007 - Over the last two years, the international community's policy has been to accelerate the process of state-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so that a strong, unified state can "plug into" European institutions. Certainly, the United States hopes that the European Union (EU) can replicate the strong and positive impact it has had on its 10 member states from postcommunist Europe. At the same time, the EU is eager to test the capacity of its Common Foreign and Security Policy in the Western Balkans and therefore has taken up the challenge to play a larger role in Bosnia and, hopefully, lead it through the accession process.

The Tenth Anniversary of the Dayton Accords and Afterwards: Reflections on Post-Conflict State- and Nation-Building

Jul 07, 2011

This publication stemmed from the December 7, 2005 conference, co-sponsored by East European Studies, West European Studies, and the Southeast Europe Project. The 1995 Dayton Accords ended the violent conflict that raged in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. Yet, while the fighting has ended, ten years afterwards the Dayton Accords have not been replaced by a more permanent legal foundation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. More than simply commemorating the end of a war, East European Studies proposes holding a conference to reflect on what the Dayton Accords achieved over the last decade, what remains to be done in terms of creating a cohesive and self-sustaining state in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and what role the international community can play to promote state-building there. A better understanding of the Dayton Accords will add to the knowledge of peace brokering and state-building, which has become highly relevant in terms of U.S. Security Policy towards the wider world.

Fighting Poverty and Reforming Social Security: What Can Post-Soviet States Learn From the New Democracies of Central Europe?

Jul 07, 2011

Conference proceedings from a meeting held in Washington, DC, June 10, 2005. After decades of communist rule, reforming social policies and welfare state institutions turned out to be much more difficult and complex than previously anticipated. Regional trends emerged. Most Central European democracies introduced significant institutional reforms in social security, while changing social assistance programs to fight risks associated with poverty. In contrast, many post-Soviet states are still struggling to provide modernized and reliable welfare state protections to the elderly, the disabled and the poor during the prolonged era of political and economic transformation. This one-day conference convened international scholars and policy practitioners to examine patterns of welfare state development in select post-communist states and to analyze how national histories, international actors, domestic institutional contexts and the interdependence of recent social, economic and political reforms have contributed to differences in social policies and welfare state provision. Conference participants explored major similarities and differences in social protection reform in various countries with special attention to practical and theoretical lessons of transition that can enhance our understanding of present and future problems and challenges facing the evolving post-Soviet welfare states in Russia and the neighboring states.

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Nida Gelazis

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