Is Southeastern Europe doomed to instability? A regional perspective

Abstract:

Political isolation and development towards a politically mature and stable region are the key elements of this work, and might be viewed as a chicken and egg situation. An impressive array of experts and intellectuals from the region provide contributions which in the main look at the essential threats to stability and offer visions of hope for greater co-operation in the region.

The work explores such issues as the malfunctioning of public administration, the difficulties in establishing a new and independent media, the encouragement of a new ethos in the education system (moving away from the national self-image towards a tolerant and self critical approach) and the corruption which has easily and greedily filled the vacuum of power that followed the collapse of the old regimes. The economies of the region remain underdeveloped. Unemployment and lack of foreign investment remain the biggest problems. The chicken and the egg situation is underlined and the West has yet to set a clear set of priorities for the economic future of the region. The consensus of the contributors would seem to point towards an optimistic view of the future but one that will require greater levels of co-operation than those currently exhibited.