The Balkans on Tenterhooks

Please join the Harriman Institute for a roundtable discussion on current events in the Balkans, moderated by professor Tanya Domi (SIPA/Harriman Institute).

This discussion is situated at a momentous time of political strife that cuts across the Western Balkans region against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Front burner issues include a precarious Bosnia and Herzegovina that manages to muddle through one crisis to another without improving conditions in politics, while fending off encroachments from Zagreb and Moscow, and corrosive acts by the Serbian leadership. Not to be outdone, the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue has spiked into hostilities over license plates at the Serbia-Kosovo border. EU Enlargement has been frozen for the time being for North Macedonia and Albania but they should “be brought closer to the EU,” said Angela Merkel during her farewell tour of the region. Brain drain and corruption has afflicted every state of the former Yugoslavia, including Croatia, the newest EU member state. No politician seems to have a plan for how to keep the skilled and educated class of Balkan citizens employed at home. The rise of Russia and China looms large in the region, neither advancing democracy, and both have played outsized roles in Montenegro’s internal affairs. Turkey’s interesting relationship with both Serbia and Bosnia cuts in multiple ways politically. One thing is for sure: the illiberal set of Balkan politicians talk the same language— “let’s stay in power.” Tune in to hear our roundtable of experts address these issues and more.