Calling

Balkan Leaders: Milorad Dodik

callingpod@protonmail.com (Aleksandar Brezar) — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Thought by many to be the most openly nationalist politician in the Balkans, Milorad Dodik is a staunch supporter of Bosnian Serb separatism and continues to threaten with seceding the entity of the Republika Srpska, or what amounts to about half of Bosnia’s territory.

For years, the president of the Serb-dominated entity has been instrumental in institutionalising genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals. Things got so bad that Bosnia needed its foreign peace envoy to circumvent institutions and pass a law banning the practice.

And then there’s his friendship with the Kremlin. Although a two-bit player on the global scene, Dodik has made international headlines by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin twice since the February invasion of Ukraine. And he was Bosnia’s head of state at the time.

Who is Milorad Dodik, and how did he become the alpha and omega of Serb nationalism?

We called Florian Bieber, a professor of Southeast European History and Politics and the director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz to help us untangle it.

Supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V. – Ured u Bosni i Hercegovini with funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Calling Podcast and does not necessarily reflect the position of RLS.

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Halid Bešlić - Romanija

Balkan Leaders: Albin Kurti

callingpod@protonmail.com (Aleksandar Brezar) — Mon, 5 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti was enthusiastically voted into power two years ago after pushing out entrenched establishment parties, winning by the highest margin in Kosovo's democratic history.

Since then, he's become a persistent thorn in the side of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in the dialogue between the two countries in Brussels.

Kurti went from being perhaps the most famous political protester in the Western Balkans, whose party was known for stunts ranging from turning over UN cars, setting the government building on fire and smuggling tear gas into parliament.

Now, he's translated the same take-no-prisoners attitude towards protesting to politics, and some believe that he might be hurting Kosovo in the process.

Aleksandar calls journalist Una Hajdari to talk about the enigmatic leader of Kosovo, especially as Prishtina and Belgrade are rumored to be close to signing a final agreement to solve the ongoing issues between the two.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Calling Podcast and does not necessarily reflect the position of RLS.

All music used for educational and informative purposes, and rights retained by its respective owners:

Era Istrefi - Bonbon

Balkan Leaders: Edi Rama

callingpod@protonmail.com (Aleksandar Brezar) — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Who better to start the new series off with than the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama? Charming and colorful, sometimes literally, direct yet eloquent, Rama has captured the imagination of those less in the know by telling Brussels like it is, and wearing sneakers while doing it.

In the eyes of those with a soft spot for the talented artist, towering basketball player and expert at showboating, Rama is perhaps the most charismatic of the Western Balkan leaders.

Yet, some in Albania would disagree.

Domestically, Rama has been accused of everything from corruption to nepotism and is said to have an abrasive public personality to boot.

From his time as the mayor of Tirana to his third stint as the most powerful official in the country, we will be taking a closer look at how Rama came to politics, what his ambitions are and whether he intends to rule Albania — and possibly the region — forever.

Guest: Gjergji Vurmo, senior researcher at IDM Tirana.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of Calling Podcast and does not necessarily reflect the position of RLS.

All music used for educational and informative purposes, and rights retained by its respective owners:

Aurela Gaçe - Hape Veten

What's in the Pandora Papers?

callingpod@protonmail.com (Aleksandar Brezar) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Earlier in October, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) began releasing information gathered from the Pandora Papers, the largest leak of financial documents ever made available to journalists. It exposed the secret offshore accounts of hundreds of current and former world leaders, billionaires, and assorted celebrities. A whopping 11,9 million documents examined by more than 600 journalists from around the world are proof of unprecedented financial secrecy.

The list of those who kept their money outside of the country they earned it includes former British prime minister Tony Blair, Montenegrin president Milo Đukanović, family members of former Argentine president Mauricio Macri, Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš and the prime minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.

Aubrey Belford, an investigative journalist and editor with the OCCRP who worked on unpacking the Pandora Papers leak, answers our call.

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"The Loco-Motion", performed by Kylie Minogue

It's Only the First Hot Summer of the Rest of Your Life

callingpod@protonmail.com (Aleksandar Brezar) — Sat, 21 Aug 2021 11:28:53 +0000

In the first episode of Calling, we are going to go to Greece, where almost 600 forest fires destroyed more than 250 thousand acres of land, more than half of which is on the island of Evia and immensely affecting people, their lives and livelihoods. 40 towns and villages have been completely destroyed, making it the worst ecological disaster in Greece of all time.

Greece isn’t the only country that’s seen the worst wildfire season in its history. In Turkey, over two hundred wildfires burnt through 1,600 square kilometers in July and August. On top of that, the Black Sea region was affected by catastrophic flooding in mid-August, which again amounted to worst in Turkey’s history.

Finally, we will go live to Belgrade, where we’ll talk about why this summer is not some sort of a fluke, and why in the next decade, four out of ten summers will be just like this one -- if not worse.

All this in conversation with our guests: Marcos Moschovidis, Hamdi Firat Buyuk and Viktor Berishaj.

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"My Friend The Wind", performed by Demis Roussos
"Simarik", performed by Tarkan
"Beograde", performed by Đorđe Marjanović