Balking the Blunders in the Balkans: The Western Strategy
Balking the Blunders in the Balkans: The Western Strategy

Author(s): Jan Havránek, Filip Tesař
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense, Military policy, Political behavior, Politics and religion, Politics and society, Comparative politics, Migration Studies, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů
Keywords: Balkan region; Western presence in the region; migration; EU; NATO; Security; civil management; strategy;
Summary/Abstract: Since the beginning of the 1990s, the West was obliged to deal with several crises in the Balkans and pledged to a complete reconstruction of the post-war situation in the region. During this demanding process, the Western countries however maximised their traditional stereotyped attitudes towards the Balkan countries. Both the European Union and the United States have typecast the Balkan states according to the extent of the internal problems of these states, and according to their own ability to deal with such issues. Despite the good intentions behind the acting of the West, this process resulted in a mixture of shambolic strategies that have made the Western presence in the region very complicated. The West has been gradually loosing its military and managing respect, given its reluctance to pursue the proclaimed objectives. Such disinclination to act has played into the hands of the local bosses, who very soon found out how the system can be abused in order to satisfy both their electorate and the Western custodians. Nowadays, it is clear that such a hesitant attitude of the West towards the Balkans is no longer sustainable. A significant change in the Western strategy towards the Balkan countries is required, should the integration of the Balkans into the Western structures (i.e. NATO, EU) be successful.

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