№062: The Western Balkans and the Alliance: All Is Not Well on NATO’s Southern Flank? Cover Image

№062: The Western Balkans and the Alliance: All Is Not Well on NATO’s Southern Flank?
№062: The Western Balkans and the Alliance: All Is Not Well on NATO’s Southern Flank?

Author(s): Kacper Rękawek
Subject(s): International relations/trade, Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: Balkans; NATO; Eastern Europe; Europe; international security; Security; South Europe
Summary/Abstract: NATO maintains its dedication to its “open door policy,” and the Western Balkans effectively constitute the only potential enlargement area for the Alliance in the near future. Three Western Balkan countries are official membership candidates but their NATO bids suffer from a string of problems which have already delayed and could potentially also derail their Alliance prospects. Currently, the main tasks of Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are to construct a positive political discourse related to their Euro-Atlantic prospects and to persevere with their NATO ambitions. Such a feat, however, will not be achieved without completion of Alliance related “homework.”

  • Page Count: 8
  • Publication Year: 2013
  • Language: English