Tag: Western Balkans

China’s ‘hub and spoke strategy’: COVID-19 geopolitical turning point?

     

COVID-19 signals a global paradigm shift because even before the pandemic, the world was already in the grips of a far-reaching transformation, analyst Ullrich Fichtner writes for Der Spiegel. The… Read more »

‘Pushing on an Open Door’: countering illiberal alliances in the Western Balkans

     

Nearly two decades after the cessation of violent conflict in the Western Balkans and efforts by the international community to support democratic reform, analysis suggests that most countries in the… Read more »

Russia looks to Balkans as a battlefield in ‘political war’ with the West

     

With migration, Russian aggressiveness and Brexit, the European Union is taking the western Balkans seriously again, the New York Times reports: The bloc’s strategy for the Western Balkans, published in February,… Read more »

West vs. Russia: sharp-power struggle in Balkans – region least resilient to fake news

     

The West is fighting back against Russia in a battle for influence in the Balkans. The latest charge is being led by Britain. Seven years after shutting down in Belgrade,… Read more »

Western Balkans vulnerable to ‘corrosive capital?’

     

Malign outside influence in the Western Balkans, in particular by Russia, is of increasing concern. The lack of a strong legal framework makes countries in the region especially vulnerable to… Read more »

EU-US must win hearts and minds in Western Balkans

     

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Turkey’s approach to democracy and the rule of law are “deeply problematic” to the country’s future cooperation with the European Union. “These deep… Read more »