Reclaiming Statehood in Republika Srpska: The Recent Outcomes of Dodik’s Protracted Politics The Bosnian Serbs’ Day of the Republic reveals unconstitutional character and its celebration has been considered a provocation since 2015 by the Constitutional Court. This year, the commemoration took place in an even tenser atmosphere. Throughout 2021, the … #Blog Posts 07.03.2022
Notes from Cyprus: Observing the Known, Learning from Unknown It was August 30th, 1994. After only having spent three days in Cyprus I already figured out that although traffic signs might direct you to Famagusta, the place itself remained unreachable due to the Turkish military, already … #Blog Posts 06.02.2022
Overview of 2021: Elections, Strife, and Suspense As last year, the De Facto States Research Unit is again highlighting the developments and major events in the lesser recognised world. 2021 was a year of contradictions in international relations. The unrelenting waves of the Covid-19 pandemic … #Blog Posts 24.01.2022
Transnistrian Presidential Elections 2021: Democratic Legitimacy Strangled by the Oligarchy Prelude On December 12th, Transnistrian citizens are invited to the polls to elect their next president. If last year’s parliamentary elections are any precursor, then we’re in for no surprises. Sheriff, the break-away region’s largest company, has … #Blog Posts 09.12.2021
FC Sheriff: Moldova’s Club with Foreign Players on Transnistrian Ground Who beat Real Madrid? On the 28th of September 2021, the reigning Moldovan football champion Sheriff Tiraspol won their away match at Real Madrid in their first-ever Champions League season. Undoubtedly, this was a historic result and … #Blog Posts 11.10.2021
Derecognitions, Dialogue and External Mediation in Kosovo-Serbia Strained Relations On September 4th 2020, Kosovan and Serbian representatives signed the Economic Normalization Agreements, often referred to as the ‘Washington Agreements’, under the custody of the then-United States of America (U.S.) President Donald Trump. These documents encompassed a … #Blog Posts 19.09.2021
The Moldovan Enclaves at the Whims of Transnistrian Secessionists On the second of September 2021, Transnistria (TMR) celebrated 31 years of independence. This de facto independence from Moldova has seemingly been at a standstill since active fighting subsided in the early 1990’s. Although most experts would … #Blog Posts 05.09.2021
Observing Somaliland’s 2021 Parliamentary and Local Council Elections Somaliland has been open and receptive to international election observers since its constitutional or independence referendum in 2001. International election observation reports have been issued on its 2010 presidential election, its 2012 local council elections and its … #Blog Posts 13.06.2021
Palestine Perceived as a Hypothetical Twin of the Irish Republicans On May 26th Ireland became the first European Union member state to officially declare that when Israel is building settlements in Palestinian territories, it is committing a de facto annexation. European countries are quite willing to criticise … #Blog Posts 10.06.2021
SNP: National But Not Quite Pro-European Elections in Scotland last week were declared by the winning Scottish National Party, which secured the fourth victory in a row, as a historic. Even though one seat short of an absolute majority, together with the Scottish … #Blog Posts 11.05.2021