Invalid ballots and the “crisis of representative democracy”:re-inventing protest at the 2012 Serbian elections

This article examines the ways in which invalidated electoral ballots may be articulated as acts of protest. We argue that some instances of ballot invalidation can be understood as protest and as a reaction to the broader “crises of democracy” which have also spurred on movements such as Occupy. We focus on Serbia’s 2012 elections as a case study, given the high increases in invalid ballots and calls for collective action calling for ballot invalidation. We discuss protest movements which coalesced around this election, calling for electoral ballot invalidation and using social media to frame this activity as protest. Through our case study, we explore the ways in which the ballot can become a tool of contention, and how protest can be expressed through an engagement with extant structures and institutions.

Ethnic conflict and war crimes in the Balkans:the narratives of denial in post-conflict Serbia

In the years following the fall of Slobodan Milo evic, Serbian social, cultural and political responses to the wars of the 1990s have fallen under intense international scrutiny. But is this scrutiny justfied, and how can these responses be better understood? Jelena Obradovic engages with ideas about post-conflict societies, memory, cultural trauma, and national myths of victimhood and justified war to shed light upon Serbian denial and justification of war crimes - for example, Serbia's reluctant cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Rather than treating denial as a failure to come to terms with the past or as resurgent nationalism, Obradovic argues that the justification of atrocities are often the result of a societal need to understand and incorporate violent events within culturally acceptable boundaries.

Europeanising the 'Kosovo question'?:Serbia's policies in the context of EU integration

The issues of Kosovo intependence and European Union membership have dominated Serbian domestic politics and foreign policy since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Despite the lack of formal conditionality on the Kosovo issue, Serbia's isnsitence on its uncompromising 'no recognition' Kosovo policy has been detrimental to its EU candidacy aspirations. This article examines Serbia's Kosovo policies in the context of EU integration, examining in particular the divergence between SErbia's stance towards Kosovo and its aspirations towards EU candidacy.

Extreme weather events and construction SMEs:vulnerability, impacts and responses

Purpose – The UK experienced a number of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) during recent years and a significant number of businesses were affected as a result. With the intensity and frequency of weather extremes predicted in the future, enhancing the resilience of businesses, especially of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), who are considered as highly vulnerable, has become a necessity. However, little research has been undertaken on how construction SMEs respond to the risk of EWEs. In seeking to help address this dearth of research, this investigation sought to identify how construction SMEs were being affected by EWEs and the coping strategies being used. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods research design was adopted to elicit information from construction SMEs, involving a questionnaire survey and case study approach. Findings – Results indicate a lack of coping strategies among the construction SMEs studied. Where the coping strategies have been implemented, these were found to be extensions of their existing risk management strategies rather than radical measures specifically addressing EWEs. Research limitations/implications – The exploratory survey focused on the Greater London area and was limited to a relatively small sample size. This limitation is overcome by conducting detailed case studies utilising two SMEs whose projects were located in EWE prone localities. The mixed method research design adopted benefits the research by presenting more robust findings. Practical implications – A better way of integrating the potential of EWEs into the initial project planning stage is required by the SMEs. This could possibly be achieved through a better risk assessment model supported by better EWE prediction data. Originality/value – The paper provides an original contribution towards the overarching agenda of resilience of SMEs and policy making in the area of EWE risk management. It informs both policy makers and practitioners on issues of planning and preparedness against EWEs.

Adaptation to flood risk:the case of businesses in the UK

Despite Government investment in flood defence schemes, many properties remain at high risk of flooding. A substantial portion of these properties are business establishments. Flooding can create serious consequences for businesses, including damage to property and stocks, being out of business for a considerable period and ultimately business failure. Recent flood events such as those in 2007 and 2009 that affected many parts of the UK have helped to establish the true costs of flooding to businesses. This greater understanding of the risks to businesses has heightened the need for business owners to adapt their businesses to the threat of future flooding. Government policy has now shifted away from investment in engineered flood defences, towards encouraging the uptake of property level flood resistance and resilience measures by businesses. However, implementing such adaptation strategies remains a challenge due a range of reasons. A review of the current state of property level flood risk adaptation of UK businesses is presented, drawing from extant literature. Barriers that may hinder the uptake of property level adaptation by businesses are revealed and drivers that may enhance uptake and effectively overcome these barriers are also discussed. It is concluded that the professions from the construction sector have the potential to contribute towards the adaptation of business properties and thereby the flood resilience of businesses at risk of flooding.

Small businesses and flood impacts:the case of the 2009 flood event in Cockermouth

Flooding can have a devastating impact on businesses, especially on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who may be unprepared and vulnerable to the range of both direct and indirect impacts. SMEs may tend to focus on the direct tangible impacts of flooding, limiting their ability to realise the true costs of flooding. Greater understanding of the impacts of flooding is likely to contribute towards increased uptake of flood protection measures by SMEs, particularly during post-flood property reinstatement. This study sought to investigate the full range of impacts experienced by SMEs located in Cockermouth following the floods of 2009. The findings of a questionnaire survey of SMEs revealed that businesses not directly affected by the flooding experienced a range of impacts and that short-term impacts were given a higher significance. A strong correlation was observed between direct, physical flood impacts and post-flood costs of insurance. Significant increases in the costs of property insurance and excesses were noted, meaning that SMEs will be exposed to increased losses in the event of a future flood event. The findings from the research will enable policy makers and professional bodies to make informed decisions to improve the status of advice given to SMEs. The study also adds weight to the case for SMEs to consider investing in property-level flood risk adaptation measures, especially during the post flood reinstatement process. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

Impacts of flood hazards on small and medium companies:strategies for property level protection and business continuity

Worldwide floods have become one of the costliest weather-related hazards, causing large-scale human, economic, and environmental damage during the recent past. Recent years have seen a large number of such flood events around the globe, with Europe and the United Kingdom being no exception. Currently, about one in six properties in England is at risk of flooding (EA, 2009), and the risk is expected to further increase in the future (Evans et al., 2004). Although public spending on community-level flood protection has increased and some properties are protected by such protection schemes, many properties at risk of flooding may still be left without adequate protection. As far as businesses are concerned, this has led to an increased need for implementing strategies for property-level flood protection and business continuity, in order to improve their capacity to survive a flood hazard. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute a significant portion of the UK business community. In the United Kingdom, more than 99% of private sector enterprises fall within the category of SMEs (BERR, 2008). They account for more than half of employment creation (59%) and turnover generation (52%) (BERR, 2008), and are thus considered the backbone of the UK economy. However, they are often affected disproportionately by natural hazards when compared with their larger counterparts (Tierney and Dahlhamer, 1996; Webb, Tierney, and Dahlhamer, 2000; Alesch et al., 2001) due to their increased vulnerability. Previous research reveals that small businesses are not adequately prepared to cope with the risk of natural hazards and to recover following such events (Tierney and Dahlhamer, 1996; Alesch et al., 2001; Yoshida and Deyle, 2005; Crichton, 2006; Dlugolecki, 2008). For instance, 90% of small businesses do not have adequate insurance coverage for their property (AXA Insurance UK, 2008) and only about 30% have a business continuity plan (Woodman, 2008). Not being adequately protected by community-level flood protection measures as well as property- and business-level protection measures threatens the survival of SMEs, especially those located in flood risk areas. This chapter discusses the potential effects of flood hazards on SMEs and the coping strategies that the SMEs can undertake to ensure the continuity of their business activities amid flood events. It contextualizes this discussion within a survey conducted under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded research project entitled “Community Resilience to Extreme Weather — CREW”.

Reinstatement of flood affected properties:experiences of SMEs affected by the 2009 Cockermouth flood event

Recent policy changes in the UK encourage at-risk communities to learn to live with and adapt to flooding. Adaptation of individual properties by embracing resilient and resistant measures is an important aspect endorsed therein. Uptake of such protection measures by property owners, including that of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), has traditionally been low. A post-flood situation offers an opportunity to reinstate / reconstruct by integrating flood protection measures, in such a way that reduce damage and enhance the ability to recover in the event of a future flood incidence. In order to investigate the reinstatement / reconstruction experiences of flood affected SMEs, those affected by the 2009 Cockermouth flood event were studied. The results of a questionnaire survey revealed that many SMEs have opted for traditional reinstatement rather than resilient reinstatement. A detailed case study revealed requirements of getting the business back and running as soon as possible, a lack of guidance and advice from professionals and financial concerns as some of the barriers faced by SMEs. It is important that SMEs are provided with necessary guidance during the post-flood reinstatement stage, in order to make sure that the opportunity to build back better, integrating flood-protection measures is grasped by the SME owners. Stakeholders related to the construction industry, who are actively involved with post-flood reinstatement work, have an important role to play in this regard, providing necessary guidance and expertise to flooded SMEs.

Impacts of flooding on SMEs and their relevance to chartered surveyors:

This is the final report of the RICS Education Trust funded “Developing Flood Expert Knowledge in Chartered Surveyors – DEFENCES” research project. The UK has endured a number of major flood events in recent years, and the UK Environment Agency (2009a) identified that about 5.2million properties in England, amounting to one in six, are at risk of flooding. The impacts of flooding include direct and indirect impacts and can be particularly devastating for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are generally more vulnerable to such events than larger business organisations. Recent flood events have established how costly flooding can be to the SME sector (Pitt, 2008, ABI, 2010), which has given greater impetus to the need to improve the resilience of at-risk SMEs. A lack of professional advice on flood protection and adaptation measures represents a potential barrier to the uptake of such interventions by SMEs. A recent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey, as quoted in Defra (2008) notes that, although a majority of chartered surveyors would like to work in this area of practice (flood risk assessment and adaptation), they are conscious of gaps in their competency, knowledge and understanding. The research project sought to contextualise this broader issue and investigate how chartered surveyors can bridge the gap in providing professional flood advice to SMEs. Further, a shift in the UK government policy on flood risk management is evident, where at-risk communities are urged to adapt to flooding. This places greater emphasis on property-level flood adaptation, providing further impetus for Chartered Surveyors to be involved. Findings of the research will be of interest to the RICS, the RICS Flood steering Group, practicing surveyors generally, SMEs, business support and policy making organisations.

Orthodox Christianity and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Southeastern Europe

Nation-building processes in the Orthodox commonwealth brought together political institutions and religious communities in their shared aims of achieving national sovereignty. Chronicling how the churches of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia acquired independence from the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the wake of the Ottoman Empire’s decline, Orthodox Christianity and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Southeastern Europe examines the role of Orthodox churches in the construction of national identities. Drawing on archival material available after the fall of communism in southeastern Europe and Russia, as well as material published in Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Russian, Orthodox Christianity and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Southeastern Europe analyzes the challenges posed by nationalism to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the ways in which Orthodox churches engaged in the nationalist ideology.

Knowledge and acknowledgement in Serbia's response to Srebrenica

This article considers some post-Milosevic Serbian responses to the Srebrenica massacre. The focus is on responses which contain strategies of denial or which broadly attempt to explain or justify the massacre without engaging critically with the atrocity itself. These responses are by no means uniform, nor are they the only ones which are available in Serbia. They provide the focus of this article because their presence has usually been misinterpreted as Serbia's failure to come to terms with the past. As this article argues, the existence of denial strategies in politics is predominantly pragmatic, whilst in the media and in private individual narratives are part of a larger process of starting to re-examine the past. This article will focus on several illustrative instances from politics and the media, as well as an individual witness responses, in order to demonstrate the extent to which Srebrenica is still in the process of being understood.

Effects of solid poly (ethylene glycols) addition to the solutions of aniline or N,N-dimethylaniline with water:experimental measurements and modelling

In this work, the liquid-liquid and solid-liquid phase behaviour of ten aqueous pseudo-binary and three binary systems containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) 2050, polyethylene glycol 35000, aniline, N,N-dimethylaniline and water, in the temperature range 298.15-350.15 K and at ambient pressure of 0.1 MPa, was studied. The obtained temperature-composition phase diagrams showed that the only functional co-solvent was PEG2050 for aniline in water, while PEG35000 even showed a clear anti-solvent effect in the N,N-dimethylaniline aqueous system. The experimental solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) data have been correlated by the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) model, and the correlation results are in accordance with the experimental results.