Soft security threats in the new Europe: The case of the Balkan region

Article is part of a special issue entitled 'Managing the challenges of soft security threats in the 21st century'.

Abstract:

'You cannot have a process where Balkan countries pretend to reform and we pretend to believe them'. Chris Patten, EU Commissioner in charge of External Relations BBC World News, 25 November, 2002.

Southeastern Europe represents for Europe a significant geo-strategic and geopolitical region whose stability and security directly affects Europe's political and security infrastructure. Conflicts and instability are still prevalent in the Balkans and, as a consequence, security cooperation in Europe is struggling to cope with risks of a non-military nature. It is widely accepted that as a region, the Balkans at the dawn of the 21st century remains weak and unable to deal efficiently with soft security threats. This article initially provides a generic picture of the Balkans and the hard security challenges prevalent there. It also aims to identify and assess the main types of new security threats that are currently present in the region, as well as to explore how these threats would be influenced by EU and NATO membership. The article also outlines the cooperative security measures adopted by the Southeastern European countries, and it concludes by providing some thoughts on how the future developments in the region will be influenced by current international developments.