The Western Balkans and Geopolitics: Leveraging the European Union and China

The European Union (EU) is the dominant political and economic influence in the Western Balkan (WB) region, but in the view of many of the region’s citizens, EU integration is associated with strict and painful convergence criteria and burdensome reforms as well as the inertia of unfulfilled accession requirements. China’s involvement in the region is focused mainly on much needed but controversial infrastructure investments; accordingly, it has attracted increasing international attention over the past decade. At the same time, Turkey, the Arab States, and Russia have also shown heightened interest in the region. This paper addresses the important geopolitical question of whether a mutually beneficial relationship for all participants is possible.