Putin?s war in Ukraine might result in a shift from the worn-out refrain of ?Europeanization? towards a more realist approach to EU enlargement and its geostrategic stakes. Russia has turned into a significant threat due to its weakness rather than its power. The author considers the ?power of weakness? a crucial concept in the ongoing aggression and its geostrategic consequences. Paradoxically, weakness might be an actual source of power in these uncertain times of global transformation. is that an opportunity for the Western Balkans (WB)? Analyzing the troublesome Western Balkans? EU integration based on their economic, demographic, and other (limited) features while relying on the decolonization approach, the author finds that their integration constitutes an emergency precisely due to their weak points. Russia and China seek for weakening states across the globe, minor players where anti-Western feelings are easy to instrumentalize. The WB candidates deserve to be better integrated into the list of European priorities. A lack of EU strategy in the WB might indicate the absence of sound perspectives for the Union?s broader international role. The paper explores Bertrand Badie?s decolonization approach, applying it to the Western Balkans, Hungary?s practice regarding the ?power of the weak?, and Turkey, aiming to illustrate that weakness should not be perceived solely as the opposite of power, but as a suspicious international element since the Cold War onwards.
{"title":"The “power of weakness”? The Western Balkans and Europe’s global neighbourhood","authors":"Bence Balazs","doi":"10.2298/medjp2303459b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2298/medjp2303459b","url":null,"abstract":"Putin?s war in Ukraine might result in a shift from the worn-out refrain of ?Europeanization? towards a more realist approach to EU enlargement and its geostrategic stakes. Russia has turned into a significant threat due to its weakness rather than its power. The author considers the ?power of weakness? a crucial concept in the ongoing aggression and its geostrategic consequences. Paradoxically, weakness might be an actual source of power in these uncertain times of global transformation. is that an opportunity for the Western Balkans (WB)? Analyzing the troublesome Western Balkans? EU integration based on their economic, demographic, and other (limited) features while relying on the decolonization approach, the author finds that their integration constitutes an emergency precisely due to their weak points. Russia and China seek for weakening states across the globe, minor players where anti-Western feelings are easy to instrumentalize. The WB candidates deserve to be better integrated into the list of European priorities. A lack of EU strategy in the WB might indicate the absence of sound perspectives for the Union?s broader international role. The paper explores Bertrand Badie?s decolonization approach, applying it to the Western Balkans, Hungary?s practice regarding the ?power of the weak?, and Turkey, aiming to illustrate that weakness should not be perceived solely as the opposite of power, but as a suspicious international element since the Cold War onwards.","PeriodicalId":486727,"journal":{"name":"Međunarodni problemi","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135841186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Driven by stability and security concerns stemming from the recent past, the European Union (EU) has decided to include the Western Balkans (WB) in its enlargement process. in the meantime, the United States of America (USA), Russia, and Turkey have become engaged in promoting the need for balance of power in the region, although their interests have been mutually conflicting. in fact, the USA has supported the policies of the EU towards the WB to consolidate Euro-Atlantic integration and to maintain its authority as a superpower on the eastern side of the Atlantic. Another major power, Russia, has sought to counterbalance both the EU and the USA in the region by leveraging its close relations with Serbia. On the other hand, a neighboring country in the region, Turkey, has adopted the policy of soft power and good neighborly policy towards the WB to strengthen relations with old partners, based on perception of shared culture, heritage and history. This article analyzes the diverging national interests of the USA, Russia, and Turkey in the context of the Normative Power Europe approach pertaining to the WB.
{"title":"Western Balkans-EU relations between the USA, Russia and Turkey","authors":"Yağmur Yetimoğlu, Gokhan Akşemsettinoğlu","doi":"10.2298/medjp2303485y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2298/medjp2303485y","url":null,"abstract":"Driven by stability and security concerns stemming from the recent past, the European Union (EU) has decided to include the Western Balkans (WB) in its enlargement process. in the meantime, the United States of America (USA), Russia, and Turkey have become engaged in promoting the need for balance of power in the region, although their interests have been mutually conflicting. in fact, the USA has supported the policies of the EU towards the WB to consolidate Euro-Atlantic integration and to maintain its authority as a superpower on the eastern side of the Atlantic. Another major power, Russia, has sought to counterbalance both the EU and the USA in the region by leveraging its close relations with Serbia. On the other hand, a neighboring country in the region, Turkey, has adopted the policy of soft power and good neighborly policy towards the WB to strengthen relations with old partners, based on perception of shared culture, heritage and history. This article analyzes the diverging national interests of the USA, Russia, and Turkey in the context of the Normative Power Europe approach pertaining to the WB.","PeriodicalId":486727,"journal":{"name":"Međunarodni problemi","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135841160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
While formally founded on a variety of values and rules, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) has also been consistently influenced by geopolitical considerations, including within the Western Balkans (WB). The author particularly focuses on the Macedonian case in this regard, observing it in the context of the enlargement policy?s diminished credibility, the lack of progress towards fulfilling membership criteria, and more recently, the complications caused by Russia?s invasion of Ukraine. Apart from the veto imposed by Greece due to the naming dispute (which began in 2005), Skopje?s progress towards EU accession was further hindered by additional challenges related to democratic regression, state capture, and corruption. However, even the change of government and the subsequent conclusion of the Prespa Agreement with Athens in 2018 failed to result in the initiation of EU accession negotiations, which were initially blocked by France and later by Bulgaria. Meanwhile, concerns regarding the high degree of corruption persisted, while Bulgarian bilateral demands became integrated into the broader EU expectations from Skopje. The author concludes that the Macedonian case is characterized by a significant degree of bilateral and geopolitical considerations, further undermining the legitimacy and objectives of the enlargement policy.
{"title":"Geopolitical challenges and the Macedonian path to EU accession","authors":"Zhidas Daskalovski","doi":"10.2298/medjp2303435d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2298/medjp2303435d","url":null,"abstract":"While formally founded on a variety of values and rules, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) has also been consistently influenced by geopolitical considerations, including within the Western Balkans (WB). The author particularly focuses on the Macedonian case in this regard, observing it in the context of the enlargement policy?s diminished credibility, the lack of progress towards fulfilling membership criteria, and more recently, the complications caused by Russia?s invasion of Ukraine. Apart from the veto imposed by Greece due to the naming dispute (which began in 2005), Skopje?s progress towards EU accession was further hindered by additional challenges related to democratic regression, state capture, and corruption. However, even the change of government and the subsequent conclusion of the Prespa Agreement with Athens in 2018 failed to result in the initiation of EU accession negotiations, which were initially blocked by France and later by Bulgaria. Meanwhile, concerns regarding the high degree of corruption persisted, while Bulgarian bilateral demands became integrated into the broader EU expectations from Skopje. The author concludes that the Macedonian case is characterized by a significant degree of bilateral and geopolitical considerations, further undermining the legitimacy and objectives of the enlargement policy.","PeriodicalId":486727,"journal":{"name":"Međunarodni problemi","volume":"73 6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135841201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For the new and future EU candidate countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the path to EU membership is based on the same ?established criteria and conditions?? as for the long-term candidates of the Western Balkans (WB). However, the WB?s EU accession process brought with it additional conditions, such as regional cooperation, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations. The EU?s objective at the time was to encourage the countries in the region to improve relations with their neighbours and to deal with the war legacies through regional cooperation initiatives. This raises the question of how, and to what extent, these additional criteria could become part of the EU integration process of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - all countries in conflict with neighbouring Russia. The theoretical background of the analysis is the EU?s actorness and its policy of external governance, expanding its normative sphere of influence to non-EU members. The paper discusses the additional WB conditions and identifies similar preconditions in the relevant EU agreements and documents for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia since 2014. it shows that some of the WB preconditions are used in Eastern European Partner (EaP) countries but are, for now, seemingly less of a priority.
{"title":"Good neighbourhood as an EU accession criterion for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia?","authors":"Christina Griessler","doi":"10.2298/medjp2303409g","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2298/medjp2303409g","url":null,"abstract":"For the new and future EU candidate countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the path to EU membership is based on the same ?established criteria and conditions?? as for the long-term candidates of the Western Balkans (WB). However, the WB?s EU accession process brought with it additional conditions, such as regional cooperation, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations. The EU?s objective at the time was to encourage the countries in the region to improve relations with their neighbours and to deal with the war legacies through regional cooperation initiatives. This raises the question of how, and to what extent, these additional criteria could become part of the EU integration process of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - all countries in conflict with neighbouring Russia. The theoretical background of the analysis is the EU?s actorness and its policy of external governance, expanding its normative sphere of influence to non-EU members. The paper discusses the additional WB conditions and identifies similar preconditions in the relevant EU agreements and documents for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia since 2014. it shows that some of the WB preconditions are used in Eastern European Partner (EaP) countries but are, for now, seemingly less of a priority.","PeriodicalId":486727,"journal":{"name":"Međunarodni problemi","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135841192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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