European enlargement and the integration of the Western Balkans

Download
Author
Demi, Leonard Petrit
Date
2003-06Advisor
Abenheim, Donald
Second Reader
Looney, Robert
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe the notions of a 'return to Europe' and a 'common European house' emerged as powerful concepts, particularly in the Western Balkans. But the Western Balkans had to walk through Purgatory on its road to Europe. A bloody war dragged on for ten years involving all the peoples of the region. But today the peoples and the governments of the Western Balkans are committed to leaving behind their past through the European integration process for Southeastern Europe. This accession procedure is long and complicated with ample scope for difficulties to arise. Considering the region's unequal capabilities, the financial burden of reconstruction and stabilization, as well as the potentially counterproductive effects of the European Union initiatives, the problems of the Western Balkans could be better solved by including all countries of the region in the same process of European enlargement. This policy might be based on the economic strength of the European Union and consider the very small economic proportions of the Western Balkans. It should give priority to economic rather than to political or civil-society incentives and give preference to European solutions over bilateral support for reform efforts or intraregional cooperation.
Rights
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The Energy Seminar www.nps.edu/energy Energy Security and Foreign Policy: The Case of the Caspian
Shaffer, Brenda (2017-10-27);With Guest Lecturer Professor Brenda Shaffer, Center for Eurasian, Russian and Eastern European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University -
The Balkans at the turn of the century: challenges for Greece and European Security Institutions
Milas, Adamantios (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2000-06);The changes that occurred in the Balkans since 1991, following Soviet Union's dissolution and the breakup of Yugoslavia, revived the violent history of the Balkan Peninsula. The Kosovo war in 1998 aggravated the situation ... -
Determinants of U.S. security policy in Bulgaria
Mateeva, Ralitza. (Monterey, California ; Naval Postgraduate School, 1999-06);The end of the Cold War era of bipolarity has raised many important questions concerning the role of the United States in the Balkans. The United States and its NATO allies have made various commitments regarding the ...