At some point, Washington will be forced to re-engage with the Balkans and work out a new policy that is in tune with political reality.
Not everything about Donald Trump is unpredictable. At least towards the Balkans, his policy so far has been entirely consistent in its general indifference.
Analysts say the US announcement of sending an additional 130 troops to Kosovo to support KFOR and NATO is a message to warmongering politicians in the region.
The troops in question are members of US special units of the Tupelo-based 1st Battalion, "highly trained for emergency response," the daily Blic is reporting.
Reporters Without Borders' latest World Press Freedom Index says media freedoms are diminishing in several Balkan countries, with Croatia and Serbia registering the worst declines over the past year.
A growing political crisis in Albania, fears over foreigners buying up land in Serbia and problems of youth radicalisation are among the top stories on Balkan Insight this week.
Hotting Up
The political scene in Albania seems to be getting more and more heated by the day. No accident, given that Parliamentary elections are only two months away, prior to which the country’s Parliament will need to elect a new President.
Populists’ stunning electoral victories in Europe and the United States have shaken the post–Cold War order in Europe and Eurasia, but they could ultimately reinvigorate liberal democracy.
"Washington’s policy in the Balkans never made much sense," as the US "wanted to keep some nations together and dismantle others."
This is what international politics contributor for the Forbes, Doug Bandow, wrote for the media outlet's website, under the headline: "Bungled Intervention In Kosovo Risks Unraveling: A New Deal Needed For Peace".
Europe’s foreign policy supremo, Federica Mogherini, is off on a mission even more difficult than getting Iran and the US to agree their nuclear deal, writes Denis MacShane.
Denis MacShane is the UK’s former Minister for Europe and the Balkans who visits the region regularly.
Mogherini is in the Western Balkans which still more than 20 years after the worst post-war mass murder of innocent citizens at Srebrenica remains Europe’s most problematic region.
Political crises frequently crowd out economic problems from the news agenda in the Balkans, but this week we bring a number of important economic and business themes to the usual mix of political and diplomatic intrigue from the region.
Local and international observers of Bosnia are typically preoccupied with the country’s constant political crises, whether they be induced by talk of secession referendums, constitutional reorganizing of the country or the semi-permanent paralysis of its institutions.
While Balkan countries have curbed the flow of fighters to foreign wars, the online space is still a haven for Islamist extremists who remain out of reach there, recruiting and spreading messages of hate.
Washington’s policy in the Balkans never made much sense. The U.S. wanted to keep some nations together and dismantle others. American officials deplored ethnic cleansing in some cases and ignored other instances.
The only principle which explained Washington’s actions was that the Serbs always lose. With Kosovo and Serbia now shouting threats of war, it’s time for the U.S. and Europe to take a more even-handed approach.