New Strategy Center has published the study “The Balkans – An Unfinished Business”, a complex analysis of the problems and challenges the Balkan region faces.
The study was launched on Friday, June 18th, with the occasion of the fifth edition of the conference “Security Challenges in the Balkans”, organized by the New Strategy Center and the West University of Timisoara. The study is the direct result of the cooperation between New Strategy Center and experts from Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia.
This volume was coordinated by Ambassador (ret.) Gheorghe Magheru, Member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center and Ambassador (ret.) Doru Costea, Senior Associate Expert within New Strategy Center. Contributors to this volume have been the coordinators, as well as Mr. Yordan Bozhilov, President of Sofia Security Forum, Bulgaria, Mr. Sandro Knezović, Senior Research Associate, Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO, Croatia, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Leonardo Dinu, Member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center, Prof. Alina Bârgăoanu, Mr. Marian Tutilescu, Senior Associate Expert, New Strategy Center.
The authors have approached several angles of the issue, such as the political, security, and economic spheres, the misinformation campaigns, influences and competition of some organizations and countries in the region. Starting from a conceptual approach of the area, the study includes an assessment of the geopolitical situation in the Balkans over the past three decades, addresses the challenges of the security environment in the region and how global and regional actors display their influence and interest in this area. Moreover, emerging security challenges and the effects of disinformation campaigns in the Western Balkans during the Covid-19 pandemic are addressed, as well as opportunities for cooperation. Also, the Euro-Atlantic perspectives of the states in the region are treated in detail throughout the study.
New Strategy Center thus contributes to the dialogue on issues of strategic interest to the region, and to the efforts to strengthen resilience in this vital space for the overall security of Romania and Europe.
The study is available here.