Three decades ago students in Albania demanded change and protested the totalitarian communist regime that had ruled Albania since 1945. The student movement swelled and paralyzed the Albanian dictatorship contributing to its downfall. Reminiscent of the student movement of the past, student-led demonstrations from December 2018 to February 2019 seized the political forefront of the nation and brought not only public universities to a standstill but also the Socialist-led government of Albania.  

The context of the protest

The protests erupted due to an executive order issued by the government in May 2018 which raised fees for students who had to retake exams.[1] The executive order was passed in secret and did not become public knowledge until October when students started reporting that they were paying higher fees.[2] The executive order followed the law on higher education, which passed in 2015. The law encouraged competition between private and public universities by allowing private universities to receive government funding if the universities register as non-profits.[3][4] Student presence on university governing boards was also reduced, from 20% to 10%, due to an increase of government appointees.[5] The student protesters at first demanded only a repeal of the executive order, which was removed the second day of the protests, but shifted their goals towards broader reforms of the Albanian higher education system. Claiming that the government was aiming to privatize public education and that the higher education system had become corrupted, the student movement released eight demands for comprehensive reform[6][7]:

1. An education budget of 5 percent of GDP (as is the standard in the European Union)
2. Tuition-free enrollment for vulnerable groups, such as orphans and the disabled
3. Improved conditions in schools and dormitories
4. Improved access to teaching materials
5. Vetting of academic staff
6. Eradication of corruption in institutions of higher education
7. Increased representation of students in administrative boards
8. Increased funds for scientific research

The student movement adopted the motto “We want Albania to be like the rest of Europe!”, reflecting the discontent among the Albanian youth with the persistent poverty, corruption, and abuse of power that have continued to afflict Albania since the post-Communist government transition.

Government response to the protest

While the government rescinded the executive order on the second day of the protests, Prime Minister Edi Rama and his cabinet refused to accept the demands of the students. Rama blamed the opposition and, in a Trump-like fashion, criticized the media for not focusing on the economy rebounding.[8] Pressure mounted on the government as the number of students protesting increased to 30,000 and the protests spread beyond Tirana and into other cities, such as Durrës and Shkodër.[9] The higher education system became paralyzed as students refused to go to class, and high school students concerned about their future joined in on the protests. The students unanimously called for “no negotiations, no representatives,” afraid that if representatives were chosen, the students affiliated with the political parties would attempt to seize the leadership of the student movement and weaken it from the inside.[10]

With the public opinion shifting towards supporting the student movement, the government responded by using the police to put pressure on the movement. By law, the police cannot enter student facilities, but the police ignored the law and entered to intimidate the students.[11] While some violent interactions between police and students did occur, widespread violence did not break out, and the protests remained relatively non-violent, especially when compared to the opposition protests that were happening alongside the student protests, and the “Yellow-vest” protests occurring in France. As the protests continued, the Prime Minister reshuffled the cabinet, and seven ministers were sacked, including Lindita Nikolla, the Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports.[12]

Eventually, the government acquiesced and released a list of reforms it plans to implement by the end of 2019. The government promised to increase scholarship support up to 100% of tuition for academically excellent students and those facing financial hardships, including those with disabilities.[13] The government also promised an investment of 300 million leks (around 2.5 million USD) to the dormitories.[14] Other smaller concessions made include the introduction of a student card, like those in other European countries, that offer services at a discount to students, and the creation of a digital library that all students can access.[15] The reforms promised did not fulfill the demands of the students, and protests continued, but in February, facing the possibility of being disqualified for the academic year, the students returned to school.

Importance of the protest and analysis of impact

Albania is not a fully democratic state, and it is classified as partly free and as a hybrid regime by Freedom House.[16] It scores a three out of seven (with one being most free) on freedom rating, political rights, and civil liberties.[17] Freedom House notes that while Albania has a record of competitive elections, the two main political parties (the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party) are highly polarized.[18] Civic participation in Albania remains low, as shown by the 46% turnout in the last parliamentary elections, due to a distrust in the electoral system and discontent with politicized institutions. The Institute for Democracy and Mediation and United Nations Development Programme found in their 2017 “Trust in Governance” opinion poll that more than 8 in 10 respondents viewed petty and grand corruption in Albania as widespread.[19] The same survey found that 63% of respondents trusted the system of education in Albania, and protests calling for reform to one the more trusted institutions in Albania is further a sign of widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the country.[20]

Potential reform to the higher education system presents a critical juncture for the country’s fragile democracy. An estimated 1.4 million Albanians have left the country since the post-Communist transition, and those that have gone include engineers, economists, artists, doctors, university lecturers, and researchers.[21] Another facet of the “brain drain” in Albania is the elite of the country’s students leaving to attend institutions abroad.[22] Glaeser, Ponzetto, & Schliefer (2007) modeled a causal mechanism to explain the correlation between democracy and education, and in their model, education raised the benefits of civic engagement, raising support for participation in support of a broad-based regime.[23] Continued deterioration of the higher education system along with increased dissatisfaction could encourage more of Albania’s youth to migrate. One report in 2018 found that 52% of the Albanian population wants to migrate to a more prosperous, more educated, country if given a chance.[24]

The continued migration of Albania’s educated youth threatens to accelerate the decline of Albania’s democracy that has seen backsliding since 2017. In the past two years, international mediation was required to end a boycott of parliament by the Democratic Party-led opposition, reports of collaboration between the Socialist-led government and criminal gangs in vote buying have come out, attacks on the media have increased, and any semblance of mutual toleration and forbearance have evaporated.[25][26] Consulting the theory matrix assembled by Ellen Lust and David Waldner, one theory advances the importance of political culture in maintaining a democracy. In states where there is no civic culture, backsliding can occur, but when citizens engage in collective action, they form social capital that can hold government officials accountable.[27]

Engaging in non-violent, non-partisan protests allowed the students in Albania, along with others who participated in the demonstrations, including university staff, to build social capital that could serve not only as a check on the intuition of higher education but also incentivized the government to engage in education reform in a non-unilateral way. Not all the student demands were met, but in engaging in collective action, the students forced the government to back away from the initial hardline position it adopted. The desire of the students to have Albania transform into a modernized European state, with political rights and freedoms those states enjoy, has allowed the students to emerge as the safeguard to Albanian democracy. The students have weakened the political mandate of the Rama government, and with the opposition in protest, the Rama government and the Socialist Party must carry out the reforms promised to the students or risk the students taking to the streets again. If the students take to the streets again, one could argue that the aim will not only be demands for reform in higher education but demands for systematic reform of Albanian society and political culture. The government must acquiesce and carry out reform, or risk being toppled.

Source of Photo: Coat of arms of Albania.svg., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=369728

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[1] The Editors. (2019, January 18). What’s Driving the Student Protests Paralyzing Albania’s Universities? Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/27239/what-s-driving-the-student-protests-paralyzing-albania-s-universities

[2] Pedrazzi, N. (2018.January 30). Albania, it had to happen sooner or later. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Albania/Albania-it-had-to-happen-sooner-or-later-192292

[3] The Editors. (2019, January 18). What’s Driving the Student Protests Paralyzing Albania’s Universities? Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/27239/what-s-driving-the-student-protests-paralyzing-albania-s-universities

[4] Raxhimi, A. (2019). Mass student protests bring down Albania’s science minister. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00144-7

[5] Ibid

[6]The Editors. (2019, January 18). What’s Driving the Student Protests Paralyzing Albania’s Universities? Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/27239/what-s-driving-the-student-protests-paralyzing-albania-s-universities

[7] Raxhimi, A. (2019). Mass student protests bring down Albania’s science minister. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00144-7

[8] Erebara, G. (2018, December 28). Albania PM Axes Seven Ministers After Protests | Balkan Insight. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from https://balkaninsight.com/2018/12/28/under-troubles-by-mass-protests-albania-pm-rama-reshuffles-govt-12-28-2018/

[9] Pedrazzi, N. (2018.January 30). Albania, it had to happen sooner or later. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Albania/Albania-it-had-to-happen-sooner-or-later-192292

[10] Salaj, R. (2019, January 30). Albanian students waited 28 years for this moment. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from http://politicalcritique.org/cee/2019/albanian-students-moment/

[11]  Pedrazzi, N. (2018.January 30). Albania, it had to happen sooner or later. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Albania/Albania-it-had-to-happen-sooner-or-later-192292

[12] Erebara, G. (2018, December 28). Albania PM Axes Seven Ministers After Protests | Balkan Insight. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from https://balkaninsight.com/2018/12/28/under-troubles-by-mass-protests-albania-pm-rama-reshuffles-govt-12-28-2018/

[13] Qeveria 11 vendime dhe 4 urdhra për kërkesat e studentëve/ Rama: Arsimim falas për studentët ekselentë dhe në nevojë, bursa 10 mijë lekë në muaj – Shqiptarja.com. (2018, December 26). [Government releases 11 decisions and 4 orders on student demands/Rama: Free education for outstanding students and those in need] Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/zbardhet-mbledhja-e-qeverise-ja-si-do-te-zgjidhen-te-gjitha-kerkesat-e-studenteve-afatet-dhe-perfituesit

[14] Ibid

[15] Ibid

[16] Albania. (2018, January 4). Retrieved February 19, 2019, from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/albania

[17] Ibid

[18] Ibid

[19] Findings of “Trust in Governance” Opinion Poll presented in Tirana. (2018, March 16). Retrieved March 10, 2019 from http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2018/03/16/-findings-of-trust-in-governance-opininion-pol-presented-in-tirana.html

[20] Ibid

[21] Russell. (2018). Research Study into Brain Gain: Reversing Brain Drain with the Albanian Scientific Diaspora. 10.13140/RG.2.2.16488.93449

[22] Ibid

[23] Glaeser, E., Ponzetto, G., & Shleifer, A. (2007). Why Does Democracy Need Education? Journal of Economic Growth, 12(2), 77-99. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxysuf.flo.org/stable/40216116

[24] Gedeshi, Ilir & King, Russell. (2018). New Trends in Potential Migration from Albania. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2VMLb5h

[25] Wiretaps Show Socialists Collaborated with Criminals to Buy Votes… (2019, January 31). Retrieved February 20, 2019, from https://exit.al/en/2019/01/31/wiretaps-show-socialists-collaborated-with-criminals-to-buy-votes/

[26] Erebara, G. (2018, October 12). Albania PM Orders Websites to Register by Monday. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/12/albania-premier-threatens-web-portals-to-register-to-tax-authorities-10-11-2018/

[27] Lust, Ellen & David Waldner. (2015). Unwelcome Change: Understanding, Evaluating, and Extending Theories of Democratic Backsliding. Washington, DC: USAID. pp. 1-15.