Please join us for a two-day workshop exploring the latest academic and practitioner trends in researching and addressing corruption in the Western Balkans. This event will bring together academics working on corruption, think-tankers and activists from the region, and investigative journalists, who play an increasingly important role in exposing corruption and holding governments to account. The overall aim of the workshop is to explore new strategies for fighting corruption in the Western Balkans.
This is particularly necessary in a context such as the Western Balkans, where progress towards good governance and stronger rule of law cannot be taken for granted, given a number of international and local challenges. These include the slow progress of the region’s accession to the European Union, the troubled legacies of conflict and of the transition towards the market economy, the increasing authoritarianism, and the growing economic influence of more autocratic regimes from Russia, China and the Middle East.
The public portion of this event consists of a film screening & discussion the evening of Thursday, November 7, and an afternoon program on Friday, November 8.
Co-Covenors: Adjunct Professor Tanya Domi, SIPA/Harriman Institute, Columbia University; Liz David-Barrett, Director, Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex; and Tena Prelec, PhD candidate, University of Sussex and Research Fellow, University of Oxford.
Participate on Twitter under the hashtag #CorruptionWB
PROGRAM
DAY 1: Thursday, November 7, 2019, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Welcome by Tanya Domi, Adjunct Professor, Harriman Institute
6:05 p.m. Film Screening & Discussion. The Highway: Silk Road or Silken Rope
Directed by Milka Tadić-Mijović. Produced by the Montenegrin Centre for Investigative Journalism & TV Vijesti, with the support of the US embassy in Montenegro. Discussion with the director to follow. Running time is 35 minutes.
DAY 2: Friday, November 8, 2019, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Afternoon opening remarks
Remarks by Alexander Cooley, Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College and Director of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University.
2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Conclusions from the morning session
Co-convenors Tanya Domi, Liz David-Barrett and Tena Prelec identify the main takeaways from the morning proceedings (a private workshop).
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Panel Discussion: "Looking Ahead—New Actors and Strategies for Fighting and Investigating Corruption in the Western Balkans"
Speakers TBD
CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS
Rosemary Armao, Associate Professor, State University of New York, Albany
Ivan Angelovski, investigative journalist, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Robert Benjamin, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and Eastern European Programs
Dimitar Bechev, Research Fellow, University of Caroline at Chapel Hill and Atlantic Council
Aida Cerkez, investigative journalist, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Bosnia and Herzegovina
Slobodan Georgiev, Editor, Javno.rs and Programme Coordinator, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Serbia
Andi Hoxhaj, Fellow, School of Law, University of Warwick
Martina Hrvolova, Program Officer for Europe, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)
Dino Jahic, reporter, Washington, D.C.
Jovana Marović, Executive Director, Politikon Network, Montenegro
Misha Popovikj, Research Coordinator, Institute for Democracy Societies Civilis Skopje (IDSCS), North Macedonia
Marija Sajkas, Reporter, Media analyst, New York
Milka Tadić-Mijović, Director, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Montenegro
Jeta Xharra, Country Director, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Kosovo
