The American umbrella begins to close for the Balkans

 

The new American policy demands more from the Western Balkans and promises less from itself. It shifts the focus to economic cooperation, and relegates the traditional political and security role to the background.

 

In a region with fragile institutions and open tensions, this approach is not without risk.

 

American Enterprise Institute Fellow Heather Conley singles out Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo as the most vulnerable countries - the former due to its fragmented state structure and ethnic divisions, the latter due to ongoing disputes with Serbia and dependence on the international community for security.

 

She says that the shift towards "local ownership", without clear leadership and a detailed strategy, could deepen existing blockades and strengthen nationalist and corrupt actors, although she considers the new approach necessary.

 

"I think solutions have to come from and be supported by the countries themselves, because that's the best way to move forward. The efforts of external transatlantic forces to impose solutions have not been successful, despite being tried on both sides. Kosovo and Serbia, for example, have used the agreements to increase nationalism on both sides," Conley tells Radio Free Europe's Expose program.

 

The new American policy demands more from the Western Balkans and promises less from itself. It shifts the focus to economic cooperation, and relegates the traditional political and security role to the background.

 

In a region with fragile institutions and open tensions, this approach is not without risk.

 

American Enterprise Institute Fellow Heather Conley singles out Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo as the most vulnerable countries - the former due to its fragmented state structure and ethnic divisions, the latter due to ongoing disputes with Serbia and dependence on the international community for security.

 

She says that the shift towards "local ownership", without clear leadership and a detailed strategy, could deepen existing blockades and strengthen nationalist and corrupt actors, although she considers the new approach necessary.

 

"I think solutions have to come from and be supported by the countries themselves, because that's the best way to move forward. The efforts of external transatlantic forces to impose solutions have not been successful, despite being tried on both sides. Kosovo and Serbia, for example, have used the agreements to increase nationalism on both sides," Conley tells Radio Free Europe's Expose program.

 

What is noticeable is that the American approach now clearly differs from the policy of the 1990s, when the United States played a direct role in resolving conflicts in the Balkans.

 

At the time, Washington led the process of reaching the Dayton Agreement to end the more than three-year war in Bosnia, and later led the NATO air campaign against Serbian forces to stop violence and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

 

"We are acting to prevent a wider war... and a powder keg in the heart of Europe, which has exploded twice this century - with catastrophic consequences. We are acting to stand united with our allies for peace," said US President Bill Clinton on March 24, 1999 - the day NATO began bombing.

 

After that period, the American role took the form of a continuous "patronage" for state and institution building in the Balkans, supporting the rule of law, economic development, and especially security.

 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reached out to the US State Department with questions regarding the new approach to the region and its impacts, but did not receive a response.

 

Conley, who served as the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in the early 2000s, believes that the document does not constitute a complete strategy, but rather an attempt to reflect the current priorities of the US administration.

According to her, it combines elements of traditional United States policy in the region - such as the fight against organized crime - with the economic focus of the era of President Donald Trump.

"It's time to try some new approaches, where leaders take responsibility for a new direction, without blaming external factors for forcing them in it. The Europeans and Americans can offer support, but also corrective measures if the situation starts to deviate and increase instability. So I'm open to new approaches, but I don't see the details and the people who will drive them forward," Conley says.

What is also striking, according to Conley, is the absence of a traditional element of American politics: the European perspective.

In previous American documents on the Western Balkans, EU integration was a central objective. In this case, Europe is