Description
Since the end of the Cold War, the main western actors were almost not competed in the region. Yet, since Russian invasion in Ukraine and the new Putin doctrine, the Western Balkans is considered as an important point where Russia could pursue its foreign policy objectives, to balance or at least to minimise the role of the US, NATO and the EU in the region, through involvement in not yet settled issues in the region, trying to prolong their solutions in a way of increasing opportunities to improve its role and actorness in the region. The paper aims to find out the channels of Russian influence in the region, among others through financial sources and fake news, its connections with local and regional actors, the impact of the developments in the international relations of countries of the region. Moreover, it will look at how this influences the position of the US, NATO, and the EU, their behaviors and commitments towards the region, and their relations to Russia as a result of this. The study will based on data from documents, policy papers, interviews, and media sources.
