Description
The Western Balkans is located in a strategic geography at the intersection of Europe and Asia. As the region is yet to complete its integration to the Euro-Atlantic block, it is turning into one of the focal points of the emerging great power competition. In the early 2000s, Russia’s policies towards the Western Balkans focused on economic relations and were mostly in line with the United States and the European Union. However, parallel to its deteriorating relations with the West in the last decade, Kremlin’s policies centres on challenging the Western influence in the region. Although this evokes structural realism into the picture, neoclassical realism provides a better framework as it also sheds light on how the internal factors shape the extent, means and tools of an actor’s response to systemic stimuli. This study focuses on the elite structure and state capacity as intervening variables that complement the systemic stimuli in shaping Russian policy towards the Western Balkans.
