Factors of Reconfiguration

Albania has made remarkable progress during the past three decades. Due to the strong
growth performance, Albania grew from one of the poorest nations in Europe to a middle-
income country, with poverty declining by half during that period.
In this chapter we will analyze the factors of reconsideration of Albania, first if all the
notion of reconsideration can be defined as the act of thinking again about a decision or opinion
and deciding if you want to change it, or to rearrange (something) into an altered form, figure,
shape, or layout : to configure (something) again or in a new way.1 In international relations we
can emphasize geographical factors, territorial, economic, cultural and political reconfiguration
factors.
When analyzing the geographic and territorial factors of reconfiguration we should
mention that because of its location on the Adriatic and Ionian seas, Albania has long served as a
bridgehead for various nations and empires seeking conquest abroad. In the 2nd century BCE the
Illyrians were conquered by the Romans, and from the end of the 4th century CE they were ruled
by the Byzantine Empire. After suffering centuries of invasion by Visigoths, Huns, Bulgars, and
Slavs, the Albanians were finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. Ottoman
rule cut off Albania from Western civilization for more than four centuries, but in the late 19th
century the country began to remove itself from Ottoman influence and to rediscover old affinities
and common interests with the West.
Here as well is very important to mention the historic factors, Albania was declared
independent in 1912, but the following year the demarcation of its boundaries by the great powers
of Europe (Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia) assigned about half its
territory and people to neighbouring states. Ruled as a monarchy between the World Wars, Albania
emerged from the violence of World War II as a communist state that fiercely protected its
sovereignty and in which almost all aspects of life were controlled by the ruling party. But with
the collapse of other communist regimes beginning in 1989, new social forces and democratic
political parties emerged in Albania. That shift reflected the country’s continuing orientation
toward the West, and it accorded with the Albanian people’s long-standing appreciation of

1
Merriam Dictionary - https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Western technology and cultural achievements—even while retaining their own ethnic identity,
cultural heritage, and individuality.2
Another important factor of reconfiguration is the economic and historic it is seen before
1991 when the ruling communist party directed the country’s entire economy through a series of
five-year plans. All means of production were under state control, agriculture was fully
collectivized, industry was nationalized, and private enterprise was strictly forbidden. In addition,
a provision of the constitution prohibited the government from seeking foreign aid, accepting
loans, or allowing foreign investment, which contributed to Albania’s reputation as isolationist. In
the post communist period, economic decision making was decentralized, and restrictions on
private trade were lifted. Foreign investment was pronounced by the mid-1990s, with assistance
coming from the United States, the European Union, and the International Monetary Fund. By the
middle of that decade, Albania boasted the fastest-growing economy on the continent, but, as one
of Europe’s poorest countries, it was still considered less developed.
Albania’s economic transition stumbled in 1997 when individual investors, constituting
perhaps one-third of the country’s population, fell prey to a pyramid finance scheme that
devastated the national economy and led to weeks of anarchy. A UN-sponsored multinational force
was called to restore order. This chaos, compounded by the Kosovo conflict at the end of the
decade, led to fractious political polarization that slowed the development of the Albanian
economy for several years. Still, economic reform continued, and, at the beginning of the 21st
century, Albania was recording modest annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP).
Remittances from Albanians working abroad account for a significant amount of revenue.
Although more than four-fifths of the economy has been privatized since the 1990s, the
transformation process has been slow and uneven. In order to accelerate the pace of equitable
growth, Albania is implementing structural reforms that will raise productivity and
competitiveness in the economy, create more jobs, and improve governance and public service
delivery. Enhanced regional connectivity and access to regional and global markets, coupled with
export and market diversification, can also help promote faster growth. 3
When analyzing reconfiguration factors it is necessary to underline as well the political
factor, for example Albania’s progress toward democratic reform enabled it to gain membership

2
Albanian History - https://www.britannica.com/place/Albania
3
The World Bank in Albania - https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/albania/overview
in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (now the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe), formally bringing to an end its isolation. Efforts to establish a free-market
economy caused severe dislocations, but they also opened the road for Albania to obtain large
amounts of aid from developed countries. Albania thus began integrating its politics and
institutions with the West, which Albanians have historically viewed as their cultural and
geographic home.
In 1997 the economy collapsed when many Albanians lost their savings in various pyramid
investment schemes. United Nations peacekeeping troops were brought in to quell the resulting
civil disorder, and the Albanian Socialist Party won by a landslide in legislative elections later that
year (and maintained power in elections in 2001 at the head of the Alliance for the State coalition).
In 1999 some 450,000 ethnic Albanians sought refuge in Albania from the war in the Kosovo
region of Serbia. Ethnic turmoil also strained Albania’s relations with the Macedonian republic in
2001, when that country’s large Albanian minority staged an armed rebellion. Tensions had cooled
by 2003, and the two countries, along with Croatia, agreed to join together to fight organized
crime.4
Power shifted back to the Democratic Party following the 2005 legislative elections, and
former president Berisha was named prime minister. He worked to implement economic and social
changes in order to gain membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), including taking measures to lower Albania’s high rates of crime and
deterring corruption and drug trafficking. In 2008 Albania was formally invited to join NATO,
and on April 1, 2009, it became an official member of the alliance.

4
Governments and Politics - http://countrystudies.us/albania/121.htm