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Albania declared its independence
from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by
Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country
in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR
(until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the
early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic
Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy.
The transition has proven challenging as successive
governments have tried to deal with high unemployment,
widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical
infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and
combative political opponents. Albania has made progress
in its democratic development since first holding
multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain.
International observers judged elections to be largely
free and fair since the restoration of political
stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in
1997. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic
Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges
of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic
growth, and decreasing the size of government. The
election, and particularly the orderly transition of
power, was considered an important step forward.
Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the
country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered
by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and
transportation infrastructure. Albania has played a
largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions
in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward
joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the
global war on terrorism.
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