Spring 2013 Issue of New Eastern Europe Provides Special Focus on Balkans

    KRAKOW, POLAND, March 27, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- New Eastern Europe (www.neweasterneurope.eu), the quarterly English language news magazine that covers Central and Eastern Europe, announces its spring 2013 issue. This issue, titled "Painful Past, Fragile Future" features special coverage of the western Balkans region. The issue is available to download via the New Eastern Europe application on Apple's AppStore and on Google Play for androids. The print issue will be available on newsstands worldwide starting early April 2013.

The special feature opens with an original poem by Vesna Goldsworthy, a Serbian writer and poet. Acclaimed writer and journalist Miljenko Jergovic analyses Croatia's entry into the European Union by comparing the countries of the region to a bazaar. Polish journalist Ziemowit Szczerek draws attention to the remaining conflict-prone areas and shows that borders still matter - even on a continent that is so proud of having broken them. Skopje-based Artan Sadiku and Katerina Kolozova show their city as divided to the point of being schizophrenic. While Blerim Reka, former Macedonian Ambassador to the EU, argues for a new approach in the region by opening up the borders and creating a Balkan Benelux. Other articles in the issue explore the promises and challenges of Serbia's new government, the slow process of reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Yugo-nostalgia, a phenomenon of longing for the old system.

In addition to the feature on the Balkans, the issue opens with an essay by philosopher and sociologist, Zygmunt Bauman - who asks whether the idea of Solidarity, so important in the 20th century, is relevant today? Ukrainian People's Deputy, Volodymyr Ariev, writes on how the elections in the fall of 2012 do not reflect the will of the Ukrainian people. While Pawel Kowal, a member of the European Parliament, argues that it is high time to consider a way to work with Ukraine's oligarchs instead of disregarding them as part of the problem.

This issue also gives an insightful look at Azerbaijan with an interview with opposition writers Arzu Geybullayeva and Emin Milli as well as a discussion on Azeri-Iranian relations and a report from Gadabay - a city built on gold.

The issue closes with reviews of books from the region, along with a special review of a recent exhibit of Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer.

More information on the issue and where it is available can be found at our web site: www.neweasterneurope.eu

Journalists and media representatives interested in receiving a free review copy should contact us at: [email protected]

New Eastern Europe is a quarterly news journal which focuses on Central and Eastern European affairs. The editorial team is based in Krakow, Poland and is co-published by the Jan Nowak-Jezioranski College of Eastern Europe in Wroclaw as well as the European Solidarity Center in Gdansk. The journal provides commentary and analysis from journalists, experts, analysts, writers, historians, as well as leaders and political figures from the region. New Eastern Europe was nominated for the European Press Prize 2012.

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