Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
T.C. İSTANBUL GELİŞİM ÜNİVERSİTESİ ULUSLARARASI UYGULAMALI SOSYAL BİLİMLER KONGRESİ IGU-CON USBK-2022 10-11 MART 2022, İSTANBUL , İstanbul, Türkiye, 10 - 11 Mart 2022, ss.1-11
Paper presented
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş
Department of International
Relations,
Middle East Technical University,
Ankara
Multiple Failures in the
Western Balkans
Abstract
This
paper analysis the policies adopted and implemented by major powers in the
Western Balkans. In the last 30 years, the Western Balkans, Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia faced a dual
integration problem; external and domestic integration. This paper shows that
policies hitherto put into practice by the EU and the USA transformed the
difficulties. The policies adopted by the national actors in the Western
Balkans on the domestic integration process delivered no satisfaction with a
sustainable position either. I argue that the EU pursued a “neither total
exclusion nor rapid integration” strategy toward the Western Balkans. However,
the USA treated the region from its strategic point of view. It placed Western
Balkans within the European security architecture, thereby attributing a role
to the EU that has never entirely shouldered. I argue that the policies adopted
and implemented by the EU and USA reached a level of unsustainable position.
The EU failed to offer a sustainable prospect for full membership, while the
USA refrained from providing necessary funds for developmental investments.
Such a lack of developmental investment in the Balkans opened up an avenue for
Russian and Chinese penetration in the region through structural acquisition.
Chinese and Russian structural investments sought to empower their economic and
political interests. It thus turned into a process of great power competition
in the Western Balkans. Some may mistakenly be assumed that such competition
may be beneficial for the Western Balkans. Contrary to this assumption, I argue
that multiple failures result from external Great Power competition, coupled
with domestic integration failures. It is a vicious cycle of numerous failures.
The paper concludes that unless there is an apparent revision of the policies
at international and national levels, such complex shortcomings may result in
the transformation of the problems rather than solving any of them.
Keywords:
Western Balkans, Multiple failures, EU policy, US policy, domestic and
external integration tendencies.