An Impenetrable Knot of Blended Conflicts? The National Identity Constraints of European Integration in the Western Balkans

ABSTRACT Hampered by serious problems within some countries of the region and in their relationship with the European Union, the European integration process in the Western Balkans has been uneven and protracted. Existing deep-seated problems have so far escaped sustainable solutions, in part because of the mismatch between EU expectations and individual countries’ capabilities. We conclude that managing integration by managing conflict and vice versa is the only credible alternative to the continuation of policies that prolong a situation, which will otherwise remain volatile and vulnerable to exploitation by other actors, including Russia and China.