Bazar and Dyqan, Fair and Shop: Evolution of Trade in Albania at the Beginning of the 21st Century

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2023-3/121-143

Abstract

The paper in the paradigm of anthropology analyzes the current transformation of the forms and loci of trade in the western Balkans using the example of Albania, which has experienced a radical change in several socio-political, economic and ideological formations over a century. Interest in this issue is dictated by the growing role of corporate anthropology, which focuses on the processes of personnel management in the business community, using the methods and approaches adopted to study traditional societies. For many centuries, markets and fairs were the main places of trade, i.e. economic activities for the sale and exchange of goods, and they have not lost their relevance to this day. An equally significant place was occupied by dyqans - workshops in which various products were produced and sold in that long historical period when professional craft was the “industry” of the era. The turbulent events of the 20th century, marked by the development of technology and productive forces, the growth of industry and agriculture, and, as a result, the improvement of well-being and the consumer boom, made significant changes in the trading system and people’s attitude to the act of sale – purchase. Expanding trade relations with the world, the globalization of economic relations and the information space have contributed to the growth of new forms of selling goods and services – primarily through chain stores, supermarkets, etc. The analysis proposed by the author is an attempt to decipher the complex process of relations between the seller and the buyer, the producer and consumer of goods and services, individuals and society.