Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of the region, due to political, economic, historical, cultural, and geographical considerations.
However from the 1990s onwards, in part due to the negative historical and political connotations of the term Balkans,[3] especially since the military conflicts of the 1990s in Yugoslavia in the western half of the region, the term Southeast Europe is becoming increasingly popular.[4][5]
Standing Committee on Geographical Names
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The German Ständige Ausschuss für geographische Namen (Standing Committee on Geographical Names), which develops and recommends rules for the uniform use of geographical names, proposes two sets of boundaries. The first follows international borders of current countries. The second subdivides and includes some countries based on cultural criteria.[6] The following countries are included in their classification "Southeastern Europe":
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Greece
Montenegro
Moldova
North Macedonia
Romania
Serbia
In this classification, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia are included in Central Europe, while Turkey (East Thrace) is classified outside of main Europe.
CIA World Factbook
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In the CIA World Factbook, the description of each country includes information about "Location" under the heading "Geography", where the country is classified into a region. The following countries are included in their classification "Southeast Europe":[7]
The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SPSEE) included Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia as member partners.
The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey as member partners.
The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey as member partners.
The Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey as member states.[11]
The EU-co-funded South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme[12] includes the whole territory of Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy and Ukraine as part of the "programme area".[13]
The Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE) includes Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia as member states.[14]
Studies of the World Bank treat Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia as the eight South Eastern European countries (SEE8).[15]
A 2006 publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) listed Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro as 'south-eastern European countries'.[16]
The World Bank does not include the EU countries in its reports, and lists only Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia (SEE6).[17]
UNHCR's Regional Office in South Eastern Europe[18] currently lists Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro as part of 'South Eastern Europe'.
^Altić, Mirela Slukan (2011). "Hrvatska kao zapadni Balkan – geografska stvarnost ili nametnuti identitet?" [Croatia as a Part of the Western Balkans – Geographical Reality or Enforced Identity?]. Društvena Istraživanja (in Croatian). 20 (2): 401–413. doi:10.5559/di.20.2.06.
^Bideleux, Robert; Ian Jeffries (2007). A history of Eastern Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-415-36627-4.
^ abJordan, Peter (2005). "Großgliederung Europas nach kulturräumlichen Kriterien" [The large-scale division of Europe according to cultural-spatial criteria]. Europa Regional. 13 (4). Leipzig: Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde (IfL): 162–173. Retrieved 21 January 2019 – via Ständiger Ausschuss für geographische Namen (StAGN).
^CIA. "The World Factbook". Archived from the original on 1 June 2007.
^"Member States". Southeast European Law Enforcement Center. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^"South-East Europe". www.southeast-europe.net. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
^"Programme summary", South East Europe (SEE): Operational Programme, South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme, 28 November 2013, p. 6
^"Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE)". PCC SEE Secretariat. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
^Harry G. Broadman (2004). Building Market Institutions in South Eastern Europe: Comparative Prospects for Investment and Private Sector Development. World Bank Publications. p. xviii. ISBN 978-0-8213-5776-7.
^World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe; Council of Europe Development Bank (2006). Health and Economic Development in South-eastern Europe. World Health Organization. pp. 5–. ISBN 978-92-890-2295-8.
^"South East Europe Regular Economic Report". World Bank.
^"Regional Office in South Eastern Europe - Global Focus". reporting.unhcr.org.
Sources
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Paul L. Horecky (ed.), Southeastern Europe: A guide to basic publications, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969.
Jelavich, Barbara (1983a). History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274586.
Jelavich, Barbara (1983b). History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274593.
Troebst, Stefan, "Historical Meso-Region": A Concept in Cultural Studies and Historiography, EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2012, retrieved: 4 March 2020 (pdf)
Further reading
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Ekavi Athanassaopolou (2013). Organized Crime in Southeast Europe. Routledge. pp. 6–. ISBN 978-1-317-99945-4.
Koller, Markus, Ottoman History of South-East Europe, EGO – European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2012, retrieved: 17 March 2021 (pdf).
External links
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Media related to Southeastern Europe at Wikimedia Commons