<p>11/ And any number of articles, such as this one, point to a land of two faces, a progressive one looking West and a repressive one looking inward. ↵<br /><a href="https://newunionpost.eu/2025/05/16/european-political-community-edi-rama/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">newunionpost.eu/2025/05/16/eur</span><span class="invisible">opean-political-community-edi-rama/</span></a></p>

<p>10/ But even this soft-touch Wallpaper article starts to hint at some of the lurking issues. Jared Kushner is transforming an island, supposedly meant to be protected; permission was given in 2025. Hmm? ↵<br /><a href="https://www.wallpaper.com/travel/albania-tourism-and-architecture" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">wallpaper.com/travel/albania-t</span><span class="invisible">ourism-and-architecture</span></a></p>

<p>9/ Meanwhile, coastal Albania is trying to become the new &quot;it&quot; place: cheap Balkan tourism resorts for low-cost carriers and Instagrammers to flock to. To be sure, Albania needs revenue, and of the clean, legal kind. ↵</p>

<p>8/ Central to that story is the enlightened leadership of Edi Rama, the PM. Rama is an artist himself, and thus presented as &quot;one of us&quot; by the architects. To the West, he represents a new hope after the hopes raised and dashed by Berisha (who Abrahams very much soured on). ↵</p>

<p>7/ Back to the Biennale. The display was about the modernization of Albania. It tells a story of progress, presenting Tirana as trying to go the way other Eastern cities like those of, say, E Germany, Poland, Slovenia: modern, elegant places, not just concrete monstrosities. ↵</p>

<p>6/ The result is oddly gripping. It is also frustrating and infuriating as you read about cynicism, corruption, and missed opportunities. (Some of that, of course, is the clarity of hindsight.) And it provides a deep window into the present. ↵</p>

<p>5/ The book is very straightforwardly linear. Sometimes you think, &quot;well, these are all details for future Albania/Balkans hands, I&#39;m just going to skip ahead a bit&quot;. Almost EVERY time, a few paras later I&#39;d say &quot;Wait, WHAT?!?&quot; and go back and read what I skipped. What a tale! ↵</p>

<p>4/ He has observed the rise and fall and return of Albania&#39;s leaders, and its struggles to adapt to modern democracy. He has lots of contacts in high, low, and interesting places, and so can offer insider takes on important events. ↵</p>

<p>3/ This book starts with the dying days of Hoxha&#39;s rule, and traces the country&#39;s history to mid-2015. Abrahams first landed in Albania in 1991 and has returned regularly ever since, so he knows about as much about it as any Western observer. ↵</p>