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Long-term stability on the Balkan peninsula is still attainable, however some difficult decisions, and changes in entrenched views, are what is required. Part one of this series gave insight into the grievances and ambitions of the nationalities living in the region. With the recent end of negotiations over Kosovo’s future status, the region looks set to enter a period of heightened tensions, if not another all out conflict. This concluding article will investigate where the international community’s response to the Balkans went wrong, and what a peaceful long-term solution might look like. Read the rest of this entry »

The Balkans are undoubtedly one of Europe’s most tumultuous regions. Partly due to centuries of friction between great empires, and partly because of the unusual heterogeneity of its ethic composition, it is often compared to a “powder keg” for good reason. The coming months will witness a time of even greater than usual tension in this region, as Kosovo moves towards independence, and Bosnia-Herzegovina grapples with its unworkable political structure. Some commentators go as far as foreshadowing renewed conflicts. The growing antagonism between Russia and the West, played out through their proxies in Belgrade and Pristina, rekindles memories of another major conflict sparked in this very neighbourhood, almost 100 years ago. Much of the tension today however, is a result of the international community’s inadequate (and often misguided) response to the collapse of the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Part one of this two part series will look at the state of the Balkans today from the viewpoint of the major ethnic players in the region. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Serbian parliamentary elections on January 21 draw close, so too does Martti Ahtisaari’s announcement of his proposal for solving Kosovo’s status problem. There is a growing feeling in Serbia that independence (or “supervised independence”) is the only option being considered in the West, adding further to feelings of mistrust and resentment. This is a dangerous situation as radicalism is already a powerful force in this country and further losses for Serbia will almost certainly stoke this fire further and impair any chance of reform and integration in the near future.

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On April 4, 2006, representatives of six south-east European countries began discussions in Bucharest on the forming of a new free trade zone. The presidents of Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Moldova initiated a process that would see the establishment of an economic bloc spanning the six nations by 2007. The territory includes all of the former Yugoslavia minus Slovenia, with the addition of Albania and Moldova. The proposal would extinguish customs charges and allow “free movement of work labour and products” (B92).

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