Red and Black Alliance
Red and Black Alliance Aleanca Kuq e Zi | |
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| Abbreviation | AK |
| Founder | Kreshnik Spahiu |
| Founded | 2011 as movement 20 March 2012 as political party |
| Headquarters | Tirana, Albania |
| Youth wing | Red and Black Youth |
| Ideology | Albanian nationalism Pan-Albanianism Irredentism Right-wing populism |
| Political position | Right-wing to far-right |
| Colours | Red Black |
| Slogan | "Zoti është i pari, Shqipëria mbi të gjitha." ("God is first, Albania above all.") |
| Parliament of Albania | 0 / 140 |
| Election symbol | |
| AK | |
| Website | |
| Archived official website | |
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 Albania |
The Red and Black Alliance (Albanian: Aleanca Kuq e Zi), abbreviated AK, is an Albanian nationalist political party and former political movement. It was founded by Kreshnik Spahiu, a former deputy chairman of the High Council of Justice.[1][2]
The Alliance emerged in 2011 as a civic-nationalist movement opposed to changes of nationality through court decisions and to Albania's population census law on ethnic and religious self-declaration.[1] It became a registered political party in March 2012 and contested the 2013 Albanian parliamentary election, receiving 10,196 votes, or 0.59%, and no seats.[3][4]
The party has advocated Albanian national causes, stronger representation of the Albanian diaspora, and a referendum on the political union of Albania and Kosovo.[5] It has been described by scholars and analysts as a nationalist, populist, anti-establishment and hard-line nationalist party.[6][7]
History
Origins as a movement
The Red and Black Alliance was established in 2011. According to political scientist Elinda Guri, its early development was shaped by two issues: the possibility of changing nationality through court decisions, particularly in Albanian border areas with Greece, and opposition to the population census law on ethnic and religious self-declaration.[1] The movement organised petitions and public campaigns against the census provisions and linked these questions to a wider Albanian national agenda.[1]
The Alliance also campaigned on issues such as the protection of national identity, opposition to perceived foreign influence in state policy, the status of Albanians outside Albania, and participation of the Albanian diaspora in public life.[1] Tirana Times described it in 2012 as one of the most active Albanian national-pride movements, with a pan-Albanian agenda extending to Kosovo, North Macedonia and the Albanian diaspora.[2]
Registration as a political party
On 21 March 2012, Albanian media reported that the Tirana court had approved the registration of the Alliance as a political party, after it submitted its statute, programme and signatures required by law.[3][8] Spahiu, who had previously served as deputy chairman of the High Council of Justice, became the party's founding chairman.[3]
The party's rise occurred shortly before the centenary of Albania's independence, when nationalist themes became more visible in Albanian public debate. Analysts at the time argued that the movement combined national symbolism, anti-establishment rhetoric and criticism of the two main political parties, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party.[2][6]
2013 parliamentary election
Before the 2013 Albanian parliamentary election, the Red and Black Alliance chose to run outside the two major coalitions.[9] In January 2013, it submitted a request to the Central Election Commission for a referendum on the union of Albania and Kosovo. Spahiu said that the two Albanian states should join the European Union as an Albanian federation with two units.[5]
In the election of 23 June 2013, AK received 10,196 votes, equal to 0.59% of the national vote, and failed to win parliamentary representation.[4] Blerjana Bino later argued that the party's poor result was connected to organisational weaknesses, problems of credibility, the electoral system and the difficulty of competing against established parties.[6]
Later activity and leadership changes
After its failure to enter parliament, AK's national visibility declined. In 2017, Spahiu resigned as chairman, and the party's steering council approved Lumturi Ratkoceri as authorised chair until a national assembly could elect a new leader.[10] The new leadership team included Shkelzen Neza, Edmir Dymleku, Arben Zhuka and Adriatik Leka as deputy chairs, and Redi Ramaj as secretary general.[10]
In 2020, Spahiu announced that the Alliance intended to participate again in elections as part of an anti-establishment "third pole" against the Socialist Party, Democratic Party and Socialist Movement for Integration.[11] In February 2021, however, AK announced that it would not take part in the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election, saying that it was withdrawing from the process and accusing the two major parties of controlling the electoral system.[12] Ratkoceri resigned from the party leadership in May 2021, saying that she was leaving after four years at the head of AK.[13]
Ideology and positions
The Red and Black Alliance is generally described as an Albanian nationalist party.[1][2] Its political identity has centred on Albanian national unity, opposition to what it considered threats to national identity, criticism of Albania's main political parties, and the inclusion of Albanians in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece and the diaspora in a wider pan-Albanian political framework.[1][2]
The party supported a referendum on union between Albania and Kosovo and presented this as a national-unification project compatible with eventual European integration.[5] A 2021 report on far-right extremism in Europe listed AK among Albanian organisations that support the unification of Albania with Albanian-inhabited territories and classified it as identitarian, irredentist and far-right nationalist.[14]
Scholars have also analysed AK as a populist party. Blerjana Bino described the party as having hard-line nationalism and anti-establishment feelings at its core, and argued that its failure in 2013 reflected weaknesses in leadership, organisation and credibility rather than the absence of a potential audience for populist messages in Albania.[6]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Guri, Elinda (July 2021). "Red and Black alliance as a new movement, its establishment process and its topic representation as a nationalist movement" (PDF). Academic Journal of Business, Administration, Law and Social Sciences. 7 (2): 184–190. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Seeing things in red and black". Tirana Times. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Aleanca Kuq e Zi, tani parti politike: Spahiu kryetar deri në maj". Shqiptarja.com. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Rezultati përfundimtar i zgjedhjeve në rang vendi" (PDF). Central Election Commission of Albania. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Aleanca Kuq e Zi dorëzon kërkesën për referendumin për bashkim". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Bino, Blerjana (2017). "The Rise and Fall of a Populist Contender in Albania: The Case of the Red and Black Alliance". Southeastern Europe: 1–27. doi:10.1163/18763332-000009.
- ↑ Rukaj, Marjola (4 February 2013). "Albania: the nationalist revival". Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Aleanca Kuq e Zi nga sot është parti politike". Shqiptari i Italisë. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Tiranë | Lista e kandidatëve të Aleancës Kuq e Zi". Radio NRG. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Dorëhiqet kryetari i Aleancës Kuqezi, zëvendësohet nga Lumturi Ratkoceri". Koha. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Kreshnik Spahiu lajmëron futjen e Aleancës Kuq e Zi në zgjedhje: Kundër PD-LSI dhe PS". Gazeta Tema. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Aleanca KuqeZi bojkoton zgjedhjet: PD-PS kanë marrëveshje për asgjesimin e çdo partie të re". Ora News. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "4 vite në krye të Aleancës Kuq e Zi, jep dorëheqjen kryetarja e Partisë së themeluar nga Kreshnik Spahiu". Newsbomb. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ Bego, Fabio (January 2021). "Country Albania". State of Hate: Far-Right Extremism in Europe 2021 (PDF) (Report). Hope not Hate, Expo Foundation and Amadeu Antonio Stiftung. pp. 59–60. Retrieved 29 June 2026.