FLASH
Shkruar nga Ben Andoni
On the ground, things are quite different, far from the concept of democracy. Albania faces one of the highest levels of corruption on the continent, with irreparable problems and with the terrible alienation of property, its victims, electoral problems, a problematic policy with the public and the administration, which has more than once shown that it is makute for benefits.
Albania was one of the last countries in Eastern Europe that was involved in the democratic movements of the late 80s. As the irreversible disintegration of the former Yugoslav Federation began next to it, followed year after year by the bloody wars that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Albanians articulated democratic slogans for the first time. Among them, the most popular is the one that serves as a kind of motto for Albanian democracy: "Let's make Albania like all of Europe!" Albanians fell precisely into the 'trap' of this motto, since the conception of Europe presupposed a kind of El Dorado.
Already in the first months, which followed the terrible poverty of the late 80's followed by a failed regime and then with the events of 1991, 1992, until the eve of the Civil War of 1997, Albanians would see that the denunciation of authoritarianism and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat had been insufficient for what they expected from democracy. In the years that followed, the example of our country will be one of the most bitter in terms of the definition of property and unbridled murders, terrible thefts and great corruption. The confusing economic and cynical political reforms have only the SP and the DP as protagonists, the two parties that rule the country with a strong hand in the interests of the people, whose individuals are already loyal to SPAK. The various institutions that were supposed to bring trust have brought immense disappointment.
Therefore, people are indifferent to what Berisha says every day from the balcony, as well as the successes that the people of the SP convey and then have terrible bills behind them. There is a need for studies to see why on the ground Albanian democracy was so disappointing, perhaps already in the judgment for the anthropological part related to the assessment of the long Ottoman occupation; the little period of political upheaval after the 20s; Nationalization and the Anti-Fascist War; successive dictatorship. However, this cannot reject the changes after '90, which could not even be thought of: the Rise of the Market Economy, Party Elections, the Free Movement of Citizens, the Right to Property, Freedom of Speech, etc., where the effort stands out interstate to integrate with all rights in the EU.
On the ground, things are quite different, far from the concept of democracy. Albania faces one of the highest levels of corruption on the continent, with irreparable problems and with the terrible alienation of property, its victims, electoral problems, a problematic policy with the public and the administration, which has more than once shown that it is makute for benefits. Two political scientists Kiran Auerbach and Bilyana Petrova show that the low support of post-communist citizens for democracy is related to dissatisfaction with the way democracy is being practiced in their countries.
In the article they co-authored with the title: "Dissatisfaction drives democratic skepticism in Eastern Europe" (Dissatisfaction drives democratic skepticism in Eastern Europe) they find that: dissatisfaction with the way democracy is practiced on the ground drives people's skepticism towards it as a ideal form of government. "During the last three decades, attitudes towards democracy have hardened. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe have celebrated notable successes over the past thirty years. These include the creation of functioning market economies, the adoption of competitive elections and, ultimately, membership of the European Union. However, the region still struggles with corruption, electoral instability, party system instability, and low political participation” (Auerbach & Petrova, 2022).
If it was only the Albanian case, then there could be a narrow field of study, but now the paradox is that the democracy that the Albanians dreamed of is turning out to be a disappointing democratic regime, so the commitment of the citizen is fading. The corruption that SPAK is revealing is frightening; the way socialists lack Mea Culpa is disappointing; the corrupt image of the opposition in many cases adds to the disappointment, so that in the end I leave the question, which has been clearly defined by the above researchers with two hypotheses: "Is democratic skepticism a product of deep-rooted communist socialization in a authoritarian mentality? Or is it about people's negative experiences with democratic performance?” Time is running out, but the Albanians who lived through the two periods are left with the findings. And, they are bitter, cynically drawing skepticism in their eyes and not only.
Lini një Përgjigje