Fully Western Balkans integration as a precondition for NATO’s effective role in the region

Gjurovski, Marjan and Arnaudov, Mitko (2025) Fully Western Balkans integration as a precondition for NATO’s effective role in the region. In: Building Security, Fostering Unity, Sharing Values – Bulgaria in NATO for 20 years. St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Sofia, pp. 156-168. ISBN 978-954-07-6091-9

Text 20-godini-NATO-158-170.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (362kB)

Abstract

Western Balkans region is a well-known politically constructed term within Brussels administration which implies political entities in the post-Yugoslav space, minus Croatia and Slovenia, plus Albania. Western Balkans region includes Belgrade, Skopje, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Tirana and Pristine. In the context of NATO, Skopje, Tirana, and Podgorica are already full members of this organization, while at the same time, Sarajevo and Pristina are tending to become members, and Belgrade has declared politics of military neutrality in the context of any potential membership in international or regional military and defense organization. The main thesis of this paper is that NATO is still incapable of establishing pervasive defense and security infrastructure within the region because of the partial integration from the perspective of ongoing challenges, risks, and threats, including those in cyberspace, as well as those, formulated as soft threats like imported malign influences, fake news, and institutional crisis. Further, the Western Balkan’s comprehensive NATO integration will justify the NATO contributions in the region from a strategic perspective. Research questions would be: To what extend political disputes determine the comprehensive Western Balkans integration to NATO? What will happen, from the mid-term perspective, if further NATO integration of the region will miss? From theoretical point of view, contribution of the paper would be in the understanding the geostrategic concept on the case study of Western Balkans integration in NATO, respectively how much the geography, even in the modern, digital and cyber era, determines security and defense flows.

Actions (login required)

View Item