Segment 1: Hiking the Balkans.
In this edition of The Doug Noll Show we speak with Francis Tapon (http://francistapon.com/), who has traveled to over 75 countries. Francis has hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail and in 2007 became the first person to do a round trip hike on the Continental Divide Trail. In this hour we will be discussing his travels in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, specifically throughout the Balkans. Francis found the Balkans fascinating and perplexing. He had very little understanding of the area until he visited, and discovered it was not as dangerous as one might think.
Segment 2: Religion is a Flag to Rally Behind.
Francis visited every single country in Eastern Europe. He spent the majority of his time in Slovenia and Croatia, the most modern and developed of all ex-Yugoslav countries. There are basically three ethnic groups in Bosnia: Serbs (who tend to be orthodox), Croatians (who tend to be Catholic) and Bosnians (who tend to be Muslim). We have a propensity to inextricably link them to these religions, but in reality, none of them are so serious about religion. They use their religion as a flag to rally behind rather than some deep, meaningful guiding purpose. The issues in the Balkans surround ethnicity, not religion.
Francis found warm welcomes in Serbia, Kosovo and Albania, which was a surprise. These areas are struggling with high unemployment and corruption, and their politics are a mess. There are three fractions, no one has control, and the EU has absolute veto power over all the Balkans. The Serbs who live in Bosnia don’t WANT to be part of Bosnia; they want to be part of Serbia. There are still strong nationalistic tendencies throughout the regions. The good news is that they are solving their disputes in the political or court arena instead of picking up a gun.
Segment 3: Albania and the Balkans: Still the Loose Cannons.
So what are prospects for continued peace in Eastern Europe? Francis thinks that there is an advantage to having an aging population in Eastern Europe (ie in Russia) because the older generation is not as quick to go to war. The depopulation is mainly due to an increased death rate (alcoholism and poor health habits), emigration (to the West) and decreased birth rate (people are choosing to have fewer children).There is also a Westward migration to join the EU. Although Francis believes tensions are lower than they have been in the last 100 years, the big risk in the region is still Albania and the Balkans.
Segment 4: Admittance to the EU?
In regards to the prospect of the Balkan countries gaining admittance into the EU, Croatia is joining in July of 2013 and Serbia has applied as well. Francis thinks the solution is for all of them to join the EU as one, despite the fact that they are all economically behind the other EU countries. In that way the playing field would be even.
To listen to the complete interview:
