Albania still bears the traces

Albania, sensation of europiums smallest and isolated countries is also one of the most ancient countries in Europe. Yet its beauty and splendor, its rich native resources and its extraordinary tradition of hospitality are just few of the numerous reasons why the immaterial world should be sidelineed in this unpolished (Konitza 10).Albania hitherto bears the traces of its turbulent retiring(a), a history that has been the story of a interminable succession of invasion and defense, of subjection and revolt. At one cartridge holder or another, Greeks and Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Serbs and Bulgars, Sicilians and Venetians, Normans and Turks have poured into the plain and held it for varying periods (Hamm 3).Many historians believed that the people of Albania descended from a non-Slavic, non-Turkic group of tribes cognize as Illyrians, who arrived in the Balkans around 2000 BC. The modern Albanians can still be distinguished from Ghegs (northern tribes) and Tosks (south ern tribes). after falling under Roman authority in 165 BC, Albania was control conduct nearly continuously by a succession of external powers such as the Byzantine Empire in the 11th deoxycytidine monophosphate which made the first recorded reference to a land know as Albania and its people.The Ottoman Empire also ruled Albania form 1385-1912 and it was during this time that much of the populations were converted to Islam. There were revolts made against the Ottoman, the most famous was led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeg which in the end became Albanias domainal hero. But efforts failed as the Ottomans eventually reasserted their dominance.The coulomb of years of Ottoman rule weakened during the early 20th ampere-second as Albanian nationalism heightened. This eventually ended with the conclusion of the low gear Balkan War, and the Vlore Proclamation of Independence on November 28, 1912.When the Second World War broke, Albania was sedulous by different countries. First by I taly (1939-43) and then by Germany (1943-44). After the war, Communism ruled Albania for forty years through the Communist beau monde leader Enver Hoxha.During this time, Albania adhered to a strict Stalinist philosophy through a combination of ruthlessness and strategic alliances and most of the population was subjected to purges, shortages, repression of civil and policy-making rights, a total ban on religious observance, and increased closing off. In 1991, Communism fall and the Albanian society struggled to overcome its historical isolation and underdevelopment by seeking closer ties with the West in order to rep piece of cake sparing conditions.During this time the raw material democratic reforms, including a multi- crashy system was introduced. Albanias slight democratic structures were strengthened by democrats, then neighborlyists from presidential to parliamentary which eventually ushered in a new period of political stability, making affirmable significant progres s in democratic and economic reforms, rule of constabulary initiatives, and the development of Albanias traffic with its neighbors and the United States. (Frasheri 25).The Albanian.com website mentioned that Albania adopted the Parliamentary democratic shell of government with executive classify the President of the Republic (chief of state), the Prime diplomatic minister (head of the government), Council of Ministries (appointed by the President) the legislative branch-Peoples Assembly (a unicameral type, 140 seats) and the Judicial branch (the Supreme court and all other). Its police and security forces have shown effectiveness. all(prenominal) security or police organizationthe Sigurimi, the Frontier Guards, and the Peoples Police accomplished a separate directorate within the ministry each had a larger proportion of personnel who were party members than the armed forces because of the need for political reliability. Albanias relations with the outside world are mainly conc erned with preservation of its territorial reserve integrity and independence.Albania maintains generally good relations with its foreign neighbors such as Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Italy and Greece It also enjoys friendly and cooperative bilateral relations with the U.S as Pro-U.S. horizon is widespread among the population. The strength of the government is supported with its Armed forces which includes ground forces, air and air defense forces, and naval forces and comprised about 48,000 active-duty and 155,000 reserve personnel.According to the Federal inquiry fraction of the Library of Congress, Albanias economy is considered the poorest in Europe. This is maybe cod to the fact that Albania has been isolated and underdeveloped for centuries. Economists estimated the gross domestic product per capita at about US$450 in 1990.Latest figures (2005) shows 5.5% Real GDP growth with an flash rate of 2.4% and unemployment rate by 14.2%. Despite significant progress in the twe ntieth century, Albania still lagged far behind the other European nations economically. The economic policy insisted on rigid centralization and forced industrialization in spite of Albanias small size and lack of skilled workers, able administrators, and farmers capable of producing disclose raw materials and enough grain to feed the population.Albania has abundant literate hands merely unemployed and unskilled workers but few jobs are operational in the country. Because of this, thousands of desperate Albanians fled abroad seeking jobs because of the wretched standard of nourishment and limited economic opportunity at home.The social structure of the country was basically tribal until the 1930s but increasing contact with the outside world and invasions and occupations by foreign armies had gradually weakened tribal society. traditionally there have been two major cultures in the Albanian nation the Gegs in the north and the Tosks in the south.The Gegs, partly Roman Catholi c but mostly Muslim, lived until after World War II in a mountain society characterized by blood feuds and fierce clan and tribal loyalties. The Tosks, whose number included many Muslims as well as Orthodox Christians, were less culturally isolated mainly because of centuries of foreign influence.Kinship and tribal affiliations, a common spoken language, and enduring folk customs provided continuity and a sense of community. Foreign influence was inevitable, however. Additions and modifications to the language were made as a result of Latin, Greek, Slavic, and Turkish contacts. Lacking an organized religion as part of their Illyrian heritage, Albanians adopted the Muslim, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic faiths brought to them by their conquerors.In Albania, the basic unit of society was the extended family, usually composed of a couple, their married sons, the wives and children of the sons, and any divorced daughters.The extended family formed a single residential and economic entity held in concert by common ownership of means of production and common interest in the defense of the group. Such families often included scores of persons, and, as late as 1944, some encompassed as many as cardinal to seventy persons living in a cluster of huts surrounding the fathers house.For centuries, the family was the basic unit of the countrys social structure. To a great extent, the privacy of the family supplanted that of the state. Children were brought up to jimmy their elders and, above all, their father, whose word was law within the confines of his family (Marmullaku 82-85).Whether its in the past or present, ancient or modern, young or old, Muslim or Christian, rich or poor, north or south, urban or rural, royalist or socialist the extremes of Albanian society are vivid and its tensions palpable.Albania is more than like a framework, a stable structure of rigid poles positioned in space and linked together by flexible cables. The cables are emphasise but, barring catastrophe, they will not snap. Albania, a land that is very beautiful, is still struggling to leave its communist past and the almost eternal send off communism transition behind and find the right route to economical, political, and social stability and prosperity.Works CitedAlbanian Information. Albanian Government .Available http//www.albanian.com/information/countries/albania/index.html Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Country Studies.Available http//lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.htmlFrasheri, Kristo. The History of Albania. Tiran Naim Frasheri State, 1964. Hamm, Harry. AlbaniaChinas Beachhead in Europe. new-fashioned York Praeger, 1963.Konitza, Faik. Albania The Rock Garden of Southeastern Europe. Pages Panarity (ed.), Albania The Rock Garden of Southeastern Europe and Other Essays.BostonPan-Albanian Federation of America, 1957. Marmullaku, Ramadan. Albania and the Albanians. Hamden, New York Archon Books, 1975.