A Roadmap for Future Security in the Western Balkans
Abstract
Europe faces extremely complex issues in the Western Balkans Region, which began after Kosovo's Parliament declared independence. The fact is that Kosovo does not have full recognition in the world as a state, and Belgrade looks at this issue as an opening for democratic discussion and solution finding. This has resulted in a significant increase in tensions not only in Serbia but also in the entire region, and particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the most vulnerable country among all six former Yugoslavian states. There is a real potential danger that Kosovo could descend into chaos. A stable Western Balkan region (with all regional states in both NATO and the EU) is the basic precondition for resolving Kosovo s problem. Bosnia is behind other countries in the region regarding its path toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Bearing this in mind, and taking a logical problem solving approach moving from the less complex (Bosnia) to more complex (Kosovo) issues, Bosnia becomes the top priority in terms of untying the Balkan knot. Time is crucial in this case. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the issue of political stability in the Western Balkans and offer some new possible Courses of Action (COAs).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA561534
Entities
People
- Taib Karaica
Organizations
- United States Army War College