European security and Balkan challenges : national policies and institutional failures

Abstract

The article discusses the issues and dilemmas that Western states and
institutions faced in South-eastern Europe as a result of the “reactivation
of history” in the region and the policies pursued as a response to the
risks generated by the Yugoslav imbroglio. The overall argument is that
the Balkan conflict is strictly linked to the post-Cold War power dislocation in the international system, which is manifestly demonstrated by
the involvement of the leading powers and institutions in the dynamics
of crisis and by the real danger that the disorder will spill over to regions
previously regarded as stable areas of the European sub-system. The
analysis considers in turn: a) the response of the European Union and the
USA; and b) the prospects of constructing a new, badly needed security
regime in the area. It is argued that the Balkan states cannot be
separated from Europe’s wider security concerns. The region needs to be integrated into continent-wide structures, in order to both defuse local
conflicts and prevent the recurrence of future such.