Author Archives: Irena Baboi
Irena Baboi is a PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow, researching the future of European Union involvement in the Western Balkans. She also obtained both of her previous degrees from the same university, having completed an MA in Politics and Central and East European Studies and an MSc in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. Irena’s previous work experience includes internships with AKE Intelligence Group in London, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United Nations Information Centre in her hometown of Bucharest, Romania, fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support, freelance writing and editing for Oxford University Press. She has also been a volunteer with the British Red Cross since 2013. Irena’s research interests include human rights, peacebuilding and statebuilding, conflict prevention, management and resolution, transitional justice, and post-conflict development.
Irena Baboi
April 13, 2020
Europe, HSC in the Media, Latest Articles
The suspension of normal life across the Balkans as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak has been forcing governments to take quick action, and political elites across the region are being presented with unprecedented opportunities to show their true intentions.
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Irena Baboi
February 8, 2020
Europe, Global Governance and Human Rights, Latest Articles
If 2020 is to be marked by change and progress, the drive for this needs to come from within – and there will be plenty of opportunities for the international community to start paying attention to the region again.
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Irena Baboi
November 11, 2019
Europe, Latest Articles
On 18 October, the European Council failed to agree on starting membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The vote showed that, when all is said and done, it is the vision of what the European Union should look like rather than its impact that matters most to some of its member states.
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Irena Baboi
July 22, 2019
Europe, Latest Articles, Uncategorized
In the short-term, Turkish politics are unlikely to experience radical change, as Erdoğan has created a system for himself that will not be easily pried from his grasp. In the long-term, however, the cracks in his grand design will become too numerous to handle.
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Irena Baboi
May 27, 2019
Asia and Pacific, Europe, Latest Articles
While the European Union worried about Russian involvement in the Western Balkans, China has been taking advantage of the last few years to quietly become one of the big players in the region.
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Irena Baboi
March 25, 2019
Europe, Latest Articles
Regardless of whether or not an event of Balkan Spring proportions is coming to the region, it is beyond evident that continuity is no longer an option – and that, one way or another, the present state of affairs will be coming to an end.
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Irena Baboi
February 7, 2019
Europe, Global Governance and Human Rights, Latest Articles
Even if the current protests fail to achieve their goals in the short-term, they are yet another signal that the status quo is unfeasible in the long-term. With European Union candidate status come Western-level demands and expectations – and the Serbian people's tolerance for a self-serving leadership has reached its limit.
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Irena Baboi
December 14, 2018
Europe, Latest Articles, Uncategorized
When it comes to the Western Balkan countries, the essentials from the point of view of the European Union seem to have become having a West-oriented government, and not declaring war against one of their neighbours. Every step forward is rewarded with a distant promise, and every step back is reacted to with a vague warning.
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Irena Baboi
October 24, 2018
Europe, Latest Articles
Bosnia's October election cast a light on all of the country's weaknesses, dysfunctions and inefficiencies. The political system seems fixed in a form that only benefits its elite, and Bosnia-Herzegovina is moving sideways rather than with a look towards the future.
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Irena Baboi
September 11, 2018
Europe, Global Governance and Human Rights, Latest Articles
In the past two years in particular, Romanians have seen what their taking to the streets can achieve. It is time, however, that the mobilisation that has been so successful in bringing temporary changes about goes further, and aims for something more permanent.
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