‘Balkanization’ and the Euro-Atlantic Processes of the (Western) Balkans by Ashiku, Liridona Veliu;

Short description:

This book explores how ‘balkanization’ as a discourse underpins the policies of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) towards the Western Balkans.

Long description:

This book explores how ‘balkanization’ as a discourse underpins the policies of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) toward the Western Balkans. It shows how EU and NATO policies have emerged from, and led to, the constant reinvention of the unity of the West through ‘balkanizing’ the region and illustrates how this dynamic is maintained by and instrumentalized for the political elites. Through a genealogical analysis that stretches from the Balkans Wars to more recent events such as North Macedonia’s change of name in 2018, the author shows how Western policies have aimed at recreating the united West on the back of the ‘broken’ Balkans. The book will appeal to scholars and students of Southeast Europe, International Relations, Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies and History.

"This well-researched book is the most thorough examination of the ‘balkanization’ discourse in contemporary politics. Through unprecedented archival research, Veliu Ashiku demonstrates the discursive power of ‘balkanization’ and its profound impact on the aspirations of (Western) Balkan countries to join the EU and NATO. The book brilliantly deconstructs the complexity and mutating nature of the ‘balkanization’, and it is a must-read for anyone interested in European identity discourse, state labeling, and regional integration." - Gëzim Visoka, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Dublin City University, Ireland

"To a historian like myself, usually suspicious of political science modeling, this book is untypically gratifying. The author offers a chronological journey, tracing the roots of ‘balkanization’ from the tumultuous times of the First World War, and guiding readers through the myriad events that have defined the region in the modern era. It is perhaps for the best that Western politicians will not read this book, but it will be broadly appreciated by those interested in and caring about the Balkans." - Maria Todorova, Gutgsell Professor of History Emerita, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States

"This book inverts the discourse of the EU/NATO enlargement as the benevolent spread of guarantees to peripheral others and demonstrates instead how the fragmented, balkanized, heathens may be necessary for Western unity. Richly documented genealogy of ‘balkanization’ and masterfully analyzed discursive games between Western and Balkan politicians expose the limits of techno-bureaucratic approaches to European integration, demanding a fundamental re-think of the European project from the perspective of its margins." - Aida A. Hozic, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Florida, United States

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1 Studying the (Western) Balkans: Theory and Method of Discourse Analysis

Chapter 2 ‘Balkanization’: Genealogy of the Discourse

Chapter 3 (Socialist Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia: Oasis of Peace or Apple of Discord

Chapter 4 (Socialist Yugoslav Republic of) Serbia: Once Upon a Time There Was One Country           

Chapter 5 Serbia Anew is Born: The Exodus of Montenegro and Kosovo

Chapter 6 FYRO/(North) Macedonia: The Sun too is a Star

Conclusions