The Regions of Europe - Research Paper Example

?Serbia: Vojvodina, Kosovo Introduction: Serbia is one of the most newly formed European countries. As a newly formed nation the country deserves special attention to be discussed here. Two of the most important parts of Serbia are Vojvodina and Kosovo and there are important reasons for these places to be considered unique and discussable. Vojvodina falls within the territory of Serbia, but is an independent region and famous for its multi ethnicity along with its multi cultural identity. The authoritative government of the province channels specific and special efforts to cultivate such multi dimensional culture that eventually results in promotion of those people who belongs to the minority group. The diversified nature of the Vojvodina can be well grasped with the presence of well over 26 ethnic groups within the region that has left the region with no other option but to give a total of six languages the status of the official language. If Vojvodina is an autonomous province within Serbia then Kosovo moves even a step further. Kosovo is an all together disputed territory after the break up of Yugoslavia. It claims itself as Republic of Kosovo yet has managed only partial recognition till date. Serbia claims it a region under UN control and does not confer the republican status to Kosovo. Both these places of Serbia (leaving the ambiguity of past and present aside), namely Vojvodina and Kosovo attracts attention owing to their unique existence. The present paper will highlight both these places in terms of their location, geography, history demography, major cities and economy; starting with Vojvodina. Vojvodina Location: Vojvodina is placed at the northern part of Serbia. To be precise it is in the famous Pannonian Plain of Central Europe. The total area of the region is 21,506 kilometers that accounts for one fourth of the total Serbian territory. Vojvodina has common boundaries with Hungary (North), Romania (East), Croatia (West) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (South West). (Bogunovic) Map of Vojvodina (ADAGIO) Geography: Before explaining the topography of the region, it is important to highlight the reasons behind such topography. As mentioned earlier that the region is a part of the Pannonin plain, hence it shares mostly a flat landscape with fertile soil well suited for cultivation. Again Danube, Sava and Tisza the three main rivers that run through the region have divided it into three geographical regions, namely Backa, Banat and Syrmia. Though it has been mentioned earlier that the region demonstrates a predominantly flat landscape but owing to the presence of Fruska Gora Mountain in Syrmia region and Vrsacke Planine Mountain at South East Banat, topography of both the regions differs from that of Vojvodina in general. (Bogunovic) One of the distinctive features of the place is the presence of a wet land amidst the region. Gornje Podunavlje which was designated as a wetland around four years back in 2007 has an area of 224.8 square kilometres and is the largest in Serbia. A much smaller wet land with 9.76 square kilometres of area Slano Kopovo also is in Vojvodina. (Serbia) Vojvodina’s climate is shaped by the air from northern and western Europe that results in a continental climate all over the place. The annual average temperature is 11.0 degree centre grade. In January it is lowest at -0.7 degree centre grade and in July it is highest at 21.3 degree centre grade. Annual precipitation is 602.0 mm with a relative humidity of 75%. Evaporation at the mentioned place is 738 mm on an average. It is worth mentioning that the above cited climate related statistics is an average of 50 years (1949-1999) over 12 places. (ADAGIO) History: The area shares a rich history and from ancient times it has been handed over from one monarchy to the other. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was last of the monarchs who were in charge of Vojvodina. After the collapse of the Empire at the end of First World War the region became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Later (1929-1941) it became known as Danube Banovin and considered as a province of Yogoslavia. The Second World War brought havoc on the region when thousands of Vojvodina citizens were mutilated by the Axis power and this beyond the count of millions who were arrested, tortured and violated to most extreme points. However after the Second Great War the region was temporarily placed under military rule before being considered as an autonomous province of Serbia; this event had also initiated its new name Vojvodina. The city Novi Sad was granted the honour of being the capital of this region. When Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia, Vojvodina lost most of its autonomy that restored again after the fall of Milosevic in 2000. In subsequent period this level of autonomy for the region gradually raised and was given approval as an autonomous body by the parliament of Serbia. (Vojvodina) Population: As mentioned earlier the region displays striking multi ethnicity with the presence of around 26 ethnic groups. The total population of the region is 2,031,992. More than 65% of the total population are Serbs; followed by Hungarians (14.28%). The other ethnic groups share a single digit percentage of population and might well be considered as minorities (as an example there is only 101 numbers of Vlachs in the entire population of Vojvodina). It is evident from the distribution of ethnic population that Serbian and Hungarian Language will comprise the most spoken language in the region. Most of the people in Vojvodina are believer in eastern orthodox Christianity, followed by Catholics and Protestants. The female population of the region outweighs their male counterpart and most of the population belongs to the working age (15 to 64 years). This predominant presence of working class might add to the economic advantage of the region in long run. (Vojvodina) Vojvodina Academy of Sciences and Arts is responsible to create a perfect blend between science and tradition and spread that among the multicultural and multiethnic people. Among the festivals that take place in this region, Exit is the most famous one. It happens in summer and goes on for four days. (Vojvodina) Major Cities: Among the Vojvodina cities Novi Sad is the largest in area and population. It is also the economic centre of the region. The oil refinery and the thermal power plant are two of the largest settlements of the region. At present the city has moved from industry oriented development to service sector oriented development. Presence of numerous banks in this city also makes it an important financial sector of the region. (Novi_Sad) Subotica another important city is on one hand an important farmland and on the other an industrial sector as well. (Subotica) Zrenjanin is an important tourist place and has a long legacy in sports. (Zrenjanin) Pancevo a strong industrial base for Vojvodina is famous for fertilizer, machinery, petrochemical and aircraft industries. (Pancevo) Sombor another important city is a cultural hotspot of the region. (Sombor) Economy: Vojvodina is famous for its rich soil that covers 84% of the land region of the place. Based upon this fertile land food processing industry has flourished in this place. Corn occupies the lions’ share of the agricultural production followed by industrial herbs. Metal, chemical, electrical and oil industry have also developed in the region. In this world wide information technology boom, Vojvodina is not far behind and has taken advantage of hey days of information technology that is believed by the experts has fuelled the development of the region over the last decade. Tourism is also a booming sector in Vojvodina, beautiful monasteries, monuments with historical background, enriched museums and beautiful landscapes are drawing tourists at this place. The blue Danube in one hand and the Deliblatska Pescara or the European Sahara on the other has added to the natural diversity of the region and are at the centre of the tourists’ attraction. (Vojvodina) Kosovo Location: Kosovo is surrounded by Republic of Macedonia (South), Albania (West), Montenegro (North-West) and the remaining of the frontier region is shared with Central Serbia. Osovo is immensely important regarding its role as a connection between the central and south of Europe. The total area of Kosovo is 10,908 square Kilometre and it also serves as a link between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. Map of Kosovo (Kosovo) Geography: Kosovo contains a mountainous topography in most of its places. This type of topography combined with continental air mass leads to a chilled winter with heavy snowfall and quite dry summer and autumn time. Regional variation in Kosovo climate is natural owing to Mediterranean and alpine persuasion. Kosovo receives heavy rainfall in the three months of October, November and December. The two major plain areas in Kosovo are located at the eastern and western part of the country and are named as plain of Kosovo and Metohija respectively. White Drin, Sitnica, South Morava and Ibar are the main rivers of this area. Erenik a tributary of White Drin is also important water source of the region. Kosovo has some big water bodies such as Gazivoda, Radonjic, Batlava and Badovac Lake. More than one third of the country’s land falls under the forest area and more than half of the same is agricultural land. Kosovo has one national park named s Sar Moutains National Park and another one (Balkan Peace Park) has been proposed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo) The region displays good volume of natural resources that comprises of nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome and bauxite. (CIA) As a whole the land of Kosovo illustrates flat fluvial basin that is on an average four hundred to seven hundred meters above the sea level and is surrounded by several high mountains that might touch an elevation of 2000 to 2500 meters. (CIA) History: The Serbian migration to Kosovo region dates back to 7th century. Soon it became the centre point of the Serbian Empire before being defeated by the Ottoman rulers in 1389. The next five centuries witnessed the influx of Turks and the Albanians who eventually became the dominant ethnic group at Kosovo. Serbia claimed Kosovo again in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire. When the Second World War got over, Kosovo became an autonomous province of the Serbia (Which was a part of Yugoslavia at that time). However successive events led to only increased bitterness amidst the Serbs and the Albanians that reflected through occasional riots till 1998. At this time the Serb leader Milosevic counter attacked with brutal military force that resulted in severe bloodshed and displacement of the Albanians. NATO interfered to stop this bloodshed and determine the fate of the Kosovo. Thereafter successive negotiations and round table meetings finally gave Kosovo its much awaited independence from the Serbs in July 2010 through the declaration by the Court of International Justice. (CIA) Population: The total population of Kosovo was estimated between 1.9 million to 2.2 million. Among the different ethnic composition, Albanians share absolute majority at 92%, followed by Serbs, Bosniaks, Gorans, Turks and Roma. However considering the majority that the Albanians enjoy in terms of numbers the other ethnic groups is nothing but minority in Kosovo. The Albanians of Kosovo also has the highest growth rate of population in entire Europe. Population in Kosovo is rising at an alarming rate; in little over last 80 years the population of Kosovo has witnessed a rise of 460%. It is believed that the Albanians living in Kosovo are behind this enormous rise in population as each Albanian woman has almost 4 children, though the number has recently been dropped to two. Furthermore the emigration rate is gaining momentum in Kosovo after 1990, these two jointly might put a check to the growth in the population of Kosovo before it goes beyond manageable level. Albanian and the Serbian languages are most spoken among the inhabitants of the Kosovo. Turkish, Gorani, Romani and other Serbo-Croatian languages are also spoken among the minority people. People of Kosovo are predominantly of Islam religion (90%). They practise the Sunni doctrine of Islam. Apart from the Islam, Christianity of Roman Catholic and Serbian Orthodox origin are also practised in Kosovo. Though, mostly secular yet religious conflict is a new problem generating in Kosovo. During 1999 to 2004 around 140 Churches are destroyed and looted in Kosovo and that does not represent a bright picture of peaceful coexistence of different religions. The Kosovo people are music lovers the Albanians use ciftelia, mandolin, mandola and percussion to create a musical ambience that is almost unmatchable. The University of Prishtina Faculty of Arts in Pristina and at Kosovska teach classical music and are well known all over Kosovo and the rest of the World. (Kosovo) Major Cities: Pristina, Prizren, Pec and Kosovska Mitrovica are the most renowned cities of Kosovo. Pristina is the capital of Kosovo and have a population of half million. Pristina is a future business hub that is already making its mark. The government is also taking care to build the necessary infrastructure around the country that might help in flourishing business in near future. (Pristina) Prizren is an old city and holds a population of 0.11 million. Food processing industry along with some minor industries is now trying to make their way in this city. (Prizren) Pec has a population of seventy thousand and the city is mainly indulged in agriculture related activities. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C4%87#Economy) Poor infrastructure, after effects of war, lack of government response and lack of a regulatory and monitoring authority are mostly responsible for the slow industrial as well as business progress in Kosovo. Economy: Though over the last few years Kosovo is in the right way of transition towards a market based economy where interaction between forces of demand and supply will lead to further economic development and growth and has also shown macro economic stability. Yet the poor infrastructure is letting the country down regarding its performance in international trade, industry or in any other form of economic activities that might change the economic scenario of the country. Remittances from the Diaspora still forms a vital part of GDP and this can be anything but a positive sign towards economic self sufficiency. Kosovo is the poorest of the European nations. Unless developed countries like United States of America and others extend their helping hand to build a suitable infrastructure around the country noting much can be expected. However in recent times resorting to privatisation and displaying itself as one of the most open economies of the region has helped Kosovo to attract the attention of USA and World Bank alike and their subsequent assistance might change the economic scenario of the country in near future. (Kosovo) Kosovo is essentially an agro based economy with recent foreign investments towards wine production, beer processing and soft drinks industry including dairy goods. The main crops grown are wheat, corn, berries, potatoes, peppers and the industries are mineral mining, construction materials, base metals, leather, machinery, appliances (CIA). Tourism is still unexploited despite the geographical beauty. There are high quality hotels and restaurants apart from a state-of-the-art ski resort in the south. All these could provide large opportunities for the tourism industry (Lellio, 170). Conclusion: The most special thing about these two places is their geographical proximity yet so different nature of economic and socio-economic development. The two places that have been considered share a different topography. Unlike Kosovo, Vojvodina is mostly plain land and that has acted towards its advantage as a region to flourish. The economic sectors of Kosovo surely have to bear the brunt of extreme climatic condition. Again Vojvodina seems to have given greater opportunity to all the ethnic groups there so that they can find a way of peaceful coexistence. The government has given official status to 6 languages as a mark of recognition towards the regions multi ethnic and multi cultural identity. Vojvodina’s creation has also followed a less conflicting path at least in terms of bloodshed. Kosovo on the other hand is still fighting with its inner problems. First of all it is still riddling under the pressure of a bloody battle that it has to overcome in order to maintain its independent existence. Furthermore even after the recognition of the international court its inner conflicts are far from being ceased. These things combined for Kosovo has resulted in lack of economic growth and development along with the absence of any mark of healthy transition from primary to secondary and secondary to tertiary sector. References Bogunovic, Gordana, A case study of severe hailstorm over Vojvodina (north part of Serbia) on June 27th 2008, 2010, May 3, 2011 from: http://www.erad2010.org/pdf/POSTER/Thursday/07_Nowcasting/03_ERAD2010_0239_extended.pdf Serbia, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia#Wetlands ADAGIO, The First Project Meeting, 2007, May 3, 2011 from: http://www.adagio-eu.org/documents/1st_Meeting/04_Serbia_Michailovich.pdf Vojvodina, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojvodina Novi Sad, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novi_Sad Subotica, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subotica#Economy Zrenjanin, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zrenjanin Pancevo, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan%C4%8Devo#Economy Sombor, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombor CIA, Kosovo, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html Kosovo, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo Kosovo, Media Maps, May 3, 2011 from: http://media.maps.com/magellan/Images/KOSOVO-W1.gif Pristina, Wikipedia, 2011 May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pristina Prizren, Wikipedia, 2011, May 3, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prizren#Economy Lellio, Anna Di. The Case of Kosova, Anthem Press, 2006 Read More