To evaluate the role of donor assistance in security sector reform in Serbia, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) has commissioned a report that has been drafted by a group of experts, under the guidance of Dr. Amadeo Watkins. Recognising the need to strengthen public dialogue in Serbia, and in order to disseminate the report more widely among stakeholders, the Balkan Fund for Democracy and ELIAMEP organized a workshop in Belgrade on February 2, 2010, on Security Sector Reform in Serbia, with the participation of high-level government officials, experts and representatives of donor organisations in Serbia. The workshop was conducted in the context of the IfP’s Security Cluster by the BTD in collaboration with ELIAMEP. The Initiative for Peacebuilding (IfP) is supported financially by the EU and draws together the complementary geographic and thematic expertise of 10 civil society organisations (and their networks) with offices across the EU and in conflict-affected countries. IfP partners have joined together to develop and promote international knowledge and expertise in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. [more..]

‘Identities and Modernities in Europe’ (IME), funded by the European Commission’s Framework Programme 7,  investigates various expressions of European identities in nine countries in and across Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Turkey and the UK). Anna Triandafyllidou and Ruby Gropas tried to tackle the question of how Greek identity continues to be affected by modernity and tradition and what role Europe plays in this.

Scholars and academics have long debated Greece’s relationship with modernity and how Greek identity relates to notions of Europe. Is modernity inherent to the core of Greek identity that draws from classical universalistic Hellenism? Or is it in confrontation with another core pillar of Greek identity, namely its religious particularism and the strong traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church? And while there appears to be no contradiction between the fundamental principles and values of Greek national and European identity, Greece has been undergoing a perpetual ‘Westernisation’/ ‘Europeanisation’ process since the 19^th century, as there has been a pressing need to ‘catch up’ with the rest of Europe and cover much ground in terms of its industrialization, modernization, and democratic consolidation. So, how is Europe perceived in relation to modern Greek identity today? [more..]