The Integration of the Eastern and Western Balkans into the EU and NATO

2022 ◽  
pp. 135-152
Author(s):  
Hugo Ferrinho Lopes ◽  
Alona Bondarenko
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Integrative Process ◽  
Exclusive Processes ◽  
Internal Fragmentation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter puts the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Balkans into the spotlight and further analyzes the reactions from Russia. This integrative process is a relevant intention, especially after the revolutionary changes of the 1990s and the collapse of the communist bloc. Literature is scarce, lacks an integrated approach, and barely addresses the topic from a comparative perspective. This research seeks to fill this gap through an empirical, systematic, and comparative analysis of the integration and disintegration processes across the region. The argument is that the integration is asymmetric, both between the two international organizations and between the two sub-regions, and that Russian investment decreases as integration goes forward. Findings highlight the complex interactions and interdependencies of the three mutually exclusive processes: the integration into the EU and NATO, the internal fragmentation of the region, and a transformation in the relationship with Russia when chasing the enlargement into these structures.

STUDYING THE HISTORY OF THE BALKANS / SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE: RESEARCH TASKS AND PROBLEM FORMULATION

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Sergei Romanenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Interstate Relations ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Culture ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
The Relationship

The new issue of the journal «Current Problems of Europe» opens with the problem-oriented article, dedicated to the analysis of the state of the Balkans / South-Eastern Europe region and its development in 2000-2020. The author gives a systemic description of the processes taking place in the intra-national and international intra-regional political, social and economic development of the countries of the region, and the problems generated by them. The changes are associated with a difficult transition phase, experienced by the states of the region, for the most part belonging to the post-socialist world (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania). The exceptions are Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, however, these three states are also going through a difficult period in their history, associated with new problems both in interstate relations within this triangle, and in relations with NATO and the EU, as well as with Russia. The article discusses the specifics of translating the terms «people» and «national» into Russian, as well as the toponym Kosovo (Serb.) / Kosova (Alb.), and ethnonyms «Bošnjak» and «bosanac». The first part of the issue contains articles devoted to general problems of regional studies: the relationship between the terms Eastern Europe, Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Balkans, Western Balkans; comparative and political science subjects; the role of the European Union and China in the development of the region; the relationship of national Serbian, post-Yugoslavian and European culture and intellectual heritage as well. The second part of the issue examines the relations of the Balkan states with the states of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Romania, Belarus), as well as the specifics of their development in the post-socialist period. Thus, there is the possibility of a multilateral - historical, political and cultural, as well as comparative analysis of the development of this complex region, which is of great importance for international relations worldwide.

The Impact of covid-19 Measures on the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans and the Increase of Authoritarianism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Andi Hoxhaj ◽  
Fabian Zhilla
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article offers a comparative analysis of the covid-19 legal measures and model of governance adopted in the Western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) and its impact on the state of the rule of law, and ability of parliament and civil society to scrutinise government decisions. The article assesses the governments’ approaches to introducing and enforcing covid-19 legal measures, and shows examples of how covid-19 has exposed more openly the weaknesses in the existing system of checks and balances in the Western Balkans. The article offers new insights into how covid-19 presented a new opportunity for leaders in the Western Balkans to implement further their authoritarian model of governance in undermining the rule of law. This article offers suggestions on how the EU could respond, through its accession conditionality instruments and civil society, to redirect this trend towards more state capture.

Raising its Balkan profile will cost Russia little

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Eu

Subject Russia's contacts with Balkans political parties. Significance For Moscow, connections with Balkan parties are an instrument to exert influence in a region falling within the West's sphere. The declaration the ruling United Russia party signed with parties from Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH), Macedonia and Bulgaria on June 27 called for military neutrality in a Balkan zone of neutral sovereign states within a new pan-European continental security architecture that would exclude NATO membership and hark back to the Yugoslav policy of non-alignment. Impacts Russia will balance NATO expansion into the Western Balkans with initiatives to increase its influence in the region's domestic politics. Moscow will tacitly accept the Balkans' integration into the EU. Russia will seek to diversify alliances, cooperating with both mainstream pragmatists and radicals calling for a turn away from the West.

scholarly journals History in High Places: Tatarna Monastery and the Pindus Mountains

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Molly Greene
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Central State ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
History Of ◽  
Promising Source ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Made In

Abstract Monasteries and the records they produced are a promising source base for writing a history of the mountains of the western Balkans. These mountains are, by and large, absent from accounts of the Ottoman presence in the Balkans and, as with mountainous areas more generally, are often considered to exist outside of the main historical narrative. Using the example of a monastery that was founded in the Pindus mountains in 1556, I argue that the monastery’s beginnings are best understood within the context of the Ottoman sixteenth century, even as due regard for Byzantine precedent must also be made. In addition, I pay close attention to the monastery’s location, for two reasons. First, this opens up a new set of questions for the history of monasteries during the Ottoman period; to date most studies have focused on taxation, land ownership and the relationship to the central state. Second, the monastery’s location offers a way into the environmental history of these mountains at the Empire’s western edge. This article aspires to extend the nascent field of Ottoman environmental history into mountainous terrain.

scholarly journals EEC and Yugoslav cooperation in the frames of modern international relations in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
E. G. Entina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
South East Europe ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Eu

Traditionally the phenomenon of the European integration towards South East Europe is regarded starting from the XXI century. The explanation for such a periodization are resolution of the open conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and implementation of the complex EU strategy for the region. Starting point of the majority of researches is the year of 2003 when the EU Agenda for the Western Balkans was started in Thessaloniki. The topic of EEC-Yugoslavia relations, SFRY having been first socialist country to institutionalize its trade and economic relations with Brussels, are unfairly ignored in domestic and foreign scientific literature. It is regarded solely as a chronological period of trade agreements. Nevertheless, this issue is of fundamental importance for understanding the current neighborhood of the European Union. The main thesis the author proves is that in the 1960s and 1980s as it is the case nowadays, the main imperative of Brussels' policy towards the Balkans was to prevent Moscow from increasing its influence. This led to the formation of a very specific format of relations with Belgrade and was one of the reasons why the economic crisis in Yugoslavia became extreme and its economy irreformable. In addition, at a later and structurally much more complicated stage of relations between the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the European Union the specificity and main components of relations of the Cold War period did not fundamentally change. As for the policy of so-called containment of the external actors one could see that besides Moscow, we can speak about similar attitude of the EU towards China. It makes it possible to consider the EU policy towards the countries of the former Yugoslavia in the paradigm of neoclassical realism, rather than in the paradigm of traditional liberal European integration approaches which allows us to unite neorealists elements with the specifics of internal processes, including the modernization of institutes, relations between society and state, types of political leadership.

Border disputes will keep Balkan region unstable

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Business Continuity ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
International Border ◽  
The Eu

Subject Intensifying disputes over several borders in the Western Balkans. Significance Croatia and Slovenia are at odds over their maritime border in the Adriatic. Kosovo rejects Montenegro’s claim to a parcel of land which Kosovo currently controls, while Serbia is mounting a challenge to the very existence of its border with Kosovo. Bosnian Serbs are threatening to create a new international border with the rest of Bosnia-Hercegovina (BiH). Impacts Border disputes will have an adverse impact on economic development and business continuity in the affected areas. Border disputes will frustrate the integration of the Balkans with the EU and NATO. Disputes over borders will provide a flashpoint for potential conflict, especially in Kosovo and BiH.

Brexit will remove advocate for Balkans enlargement

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
National Bank ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
The Eu

Subject Prospects for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans after the UK vote to leave. Significance EU officials and diplomats in the region are publicly trying to send messages that, when it comes to the accession prospects of the Western Balkan countries, everything remains 'business as usual', despite the UK vote to leave ('Brexit'). The familiar refrain is that as long as the countries of the region deliver on the reforms demanded by the EU, the process will continue to move forward. Impacts UK-Balkans trade, investment and remittances flows are too low to inflict any appreciable Brexit 'shock'. Serbia will remain on course for the EU despite Brexit, which will have no major financial or economic impact, the Serbian premier has said. However, the National Bank of Serbia cut its key policy rate yesterday, expecting Brexit to affect emerging economies, including Serbia. Pro-Russian elements in the Balkans will welcome UK withdrawal as removing a perceived obstacle to rapprochement between the EU and Russia.

scholarly journals European Union and otherness: The case of Balkans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejana Vukasović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Eu

European Union and otherness: The case of BalkansThe aim of this paper is to analyze the relation between the EU and the Balkans in the process of othering. The main research question raised here is in what way and to what extent the Balkans as Other was used in the process of the EU identity construction. The EU is perceived as a discursive self-construction establishing its own distinct identity against Others. It is thus argued that the Balkans identity has been dis- cursively constructed in opposition to the EU identity. Through the discursive process, by virtue of asymmetry of power, the EU self-constructed its identity by stigmatizing the difference of the Balkans — Other. The paper starts with the clarification of some conceptual premises concerning Self, Other and the concept of Otherness. It then focuses on the Balkans as Other in the process of EU identity construction. Finally, the Western Balkans as Other is also examined in the process of othering. Due to the asymmetry of power in the EU — Self and Balkans/Western Balkans—Other relation and the ability of the EU to impose the constructed dominant representa- tions, this relation is about inclusion and exclusion, superiority and inferiority. Unia Europejska a inność. Przypadek BałkanówNiniejszy artykuł ma na celu przeanalizowanie relacji pomiędzy Unią Europejską a Bałkanami w procesie stwarzania inności. Zadając główne pytanie badawcze, autorka docieka, w jaki sposób i jak dalece Bałkany jako Inny zostały wykorzystane dla budowania tożsamości Unii Europejskiej. Unia postrzegana jest jako dyskursywna autokonstrukcja ustanawiająca własną odrębną tożsamość w relacji do Innych. Zatem można dowodzić, że tożsamość bałkańska jest konstruowana dyskursywnie w opozycji do tożsamości unijnej. W tym dyskursywnym procesie, wobec asymetrii władzy, UE sama stworzyła swoją tożsamość poprzez stygmatyzowanie różnicy Bałkany – Inny. Artykuł najpierw objaśnia niektóre założenia pojęciowe odnoszące się do „Ja” i „Innego” oraz pojęcie „Inności”. Następnie koncentruje się na Bałkanach jako Innym w procesie konstruowania tożsamości UE. Wreszcie analiza obejmuje Bałkany Zachodnie jako Innego w procesie powstawania inności. W obliczu asymetrii w relacji Unia Europejska jako JA -- Bałkany/Bałkany Zachodnie jako Inny oraz faktu, że UE ma możność narzucenia skonstruowanych dominujących wyobrażeń, relacja ta obejmuje włączenie i wykluczenie, nadrzędność i podrzędność. [Transl. by Jacek Serwański]

scholarly journals Serbia’s EU integration process: The momentum of 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Ristic
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Lasting Peace ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

After four years of ambivalence, the relationship between the European Union and Serbia is again gaining a new opportunity to flourish. The new Serbian government is formed by parties which are strongly committed to Serbia?s EU integration and hence ready to carry out reforms and fully cooperate with the International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This paper presents the current relationship between Brussels and Belgrade and its main obstacles. It emphasizes both internal and external problems of this relationship and their interdependency. In this regard the author argues that only by a mutual commitment of both Serbia and the EU lasting peace will be achieved in the Western Balkans and the region stabilized.

Stepping up the beat: the reinvigoration of dialogue between the EU and the Balkans

SEER ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-232
Author(s):  
Calvin Allen
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

This article examines the European Commission’s 2020 Enlargement Package and the 2020 country reports for its partners in the western Balkans and Turkey. We focus on the social policy aspects of how the Commission assesses progress and what it regards as priority among the outstanding issues. The Commission is once again talking about ‘enlargement’ rather than the western Balkans’ ‘EU perspective’, but the reports indicate that the gap not only remains sizable, but growing; and the longer that this has continued, the less credible the process has become. It continues to be true that the region could do more to help itself - even allowing for the impact on policy-making of the Covid-19 pandemic - and the level of regional co-operation currently exists at a rather low level. Furthermore, that parts of the region talk openly of alternative avenues for their future remains a source of worry. However, the documentation lays down - at least on the surface - a worthwhile challenge, as well as a test for all parties, regarding aspirations and the extent of political goodwill which is key to the whole enlargement/accession process.

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