Today’s podcast guest is Lulzim Peci, principal founder and Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), and a member of the Board of the Council of Kosovo Ambassadors.
In this episode, we discuss political instability in Kosovo, particularly as the country is set to return to the polls for the third time in less than 18 months. We discuss what led to the series of elections and what we may be able to expect out of this upcoming election, as well as how this impacts Kosovo’s ongoing efforts toward EU candidacy.
Listen now; link in bio.
Full bio
Mr. Lulzim Peci holds a PhD in Political Science from the South East European University in North Macedonia, an M.A. in International Relations from the University Institute Ortega y Gasset in Spain, and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Prishtina in Kosovo. He is the principal founder and Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), and a member of the Board of the Council of Kosovo Ambassadors (CKA).
In the past, Mr. Peci served as Ambassador of Kosovo in Stockholm (2009-2013). He also was Chair of the Board of the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (2019 – 2023), Member of the Board of the Kosovo American Education Fund (2021 – 2023), Member of the Board of the American University in Kosovo (2007 – 2009), Executive Director of the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (1999 – 2003), and as a Researcher at the Kosovo Center for International Studies (KCIS)/Foreign Policy Team of the late Kosovo’s President, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova (1995-1998). Mr. Peci’s research interests primarily focus on foreign and security policies, inter-ethnic relations, and political parties.
When governments criminalize protest, undermine expertise, and weaken democratic institutions, climate action becomes harder and climate disasters become deadlier. Those paying the highest price are often the most vulnerable communities already facing war, poverty, displacement, and environmental collapse.
In my latest podcast episode with humanitarian Jane Olson, we delved into the question of what is behind the horrific rise in human rights abuses. Jane notes that leadership is the answer, which is sadly moving us in the wrong direction.
Listen to this and more from our full episode, available at the link in my bio as well as all major podcasting platforms.
#HumanRights #Leadership
The Justice Department under Trump has become an extension of his personal and political whims, not an independent arbiter of law. It serves as an instrument for targeting his perceived enemies while shielding allies from accountability, including by dropping sensitive corruption and white collar investigations. Everybody must remember that where there is no justice, tyranny reigns.
Netanyahu’s obsession with Iran has found its perfect partner in Trump’s ego. For years, Netanyahu has framed Iran as an existential menace, relentlessly pressing Washington to confront Tehran militarily. Trump, driven by his own craving for adulation and “toughness,” eagerly absorbed Netanyahu’s narrative and allowed it to shape American policy. Together, they have pushed the United States and Israel into an open-ended conflict that neither can end without admitting failure. In the process, they have trapped themselves in an unending saga of escalation, threats, and political theatrics that rattles global markets and fuels worldwide insecurity. Oil prices jump, investors panic, and ordinary people everywhere bear the cost, while these two malignant narcissists continue to feed off one another’s delusions of strength and destiny. The world is paying for their reckless, mutual obsession.
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USA is using Israel to destabilize the Middle East in order to control the vast reservoir of OIL !
Trump is Bibi’s bitch.
Xenophobic violence in South Africa is once again exposing the dangerous consequences of fear, scapegoating, and political failure. Vigilante groups have reportedly targeted African and Asian migrants with assaults, intimidation, and attacks, while many victims remain unprotected. Human Rights Watch warns that worsening economic hardship and anti-immigrant rhetoric are fueling these abuses, despite evidence disproving claims that migrants are responsible for the country’s social and economic struggles. No society can defend human dignity while tolerating violence against vulnerable communities. Silence, impunity, and hate only deepen division and human suffering.
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As Mental Health Awareness Month unfolds, immigrant communities across the United States are facing growing fear, trauma, and uncertainty. Reports of deaths in detention centers, medical neglect, and rising anxiety among families highlight the human cost of aggressive immigration enforcement policies. Children fear losing their parents, while many families live under constant psychological pressure and instability. At the same time, lawmakers are considering billions more in funding for detention and enforcement while proposing cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs that millions depend on. Human rights, accountability, and mental well-being are inseparable. A society that ignores human suffering in the name of enforcement risks losing its moral foundation.
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Six months after the October 2025 ceasefire, Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen. Civilians are still being killed, hospitals remain barely functional, food and medical shortages persist, and humanitarian access is repeatedly obstructed. According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli attacks have killed at least 856 Palestinians and wounded thousands more since the ceasefire took effect. Aid deliveries remain far below what is needed, while displacement camps face worsening disease, collapsing sanitation systems, and severe shortages of medicine and fuel. A ceasefire without protection for civilians, accountability, and unrestricted humanitarian access is not peace. It is prolonged human suffering under another name.
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אתה מוזמן לנסוע לעזה, ולדבר עם המנהיגים שלהם. הם אמורים ליישם את השלב השני בהפסקת האש, ולהתפרק מנשקם. בהצלחה.
Inside job
Hamas could end this today, if they cared.
Hamas has never disarmed.
OMFG! Get rid of Hamas and most of the troubles disappear! All you are is a Hamas/IRGC spokes person.
Wenn Hamas und Hisbollah den Waffenstillstand nicht einhalten, passiert genau das. Die Zivilbevölkerung leidet... Aber daran ist nicht das sich verteidigende Israel Schuld, sondern diejenigen, die jeglichen Frieden ablehnen. Hamas und Hisbollah und die sie unterstützende Zivilbevölkerung.
What is Hamas doing to help these people?
So why run a marathon? Free Palestine - from Hamas. Photo opportunity. 3 different places - same staged photo.
I know how to make the ceasefire work. Stop attacking Israel.
#StopArmingIsrael
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Have Hamas gone, then? They certainly kept that quiet.
All thanks to hamas.
According to the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas is mandated to disarm. Has Hamas disarmed yet?
This post is in the same tone as the "Nakba". The catastrophe of losers after starting a war.
Shoot at the Israelis and they will shoot back!
funny how the war could end today if Hamas simply lay down its arms and surenders......................
