Towards Spheres of Influence and the End of the «Balkan Polyphony»: Southeast Europe in the Strategic Calculations of Great Britain at the Final Stage of World War II

The research analyzes Britain’s approaches to the post-war arrangement of the political space of Southeastern Europe at the final stage of World War II. In an effort to maintain its status as a global power, Great Britain took an active part in developing the foundations of a new world order. British strategic planning paid special attention to the Balkan region, where British interests traditionally clashed with the Russian/Soviet ones. The author tries to trace the elements of continuity and variability in British policy in the Balkans. This will enable us to get a more nuanced understanding of the new balance of forces in the region, one of the main manifestations of which was the extinction of the «Balkan polyphony».