1. New game in the (post)covid Balkans?
- Author:
- Engjellushe Morina, Florian Bieber, Vuk Viksanovic, Jovana Marovic, Faruk Ajeti, and Vedran Dzihic
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
- Abstract:
- The global pandemic is changing the world. The Western Balkans were hit severely and are currently struggling with the rapid increase in numbers of Covid-19 infections. The state-of-the-play in the region is shaped by the dynamics of the pandemics but also by underlying structural problems, by the “return of geopolitics’ in the Balkans and question marks put behind the EU-Enlargement and new transatlantic relations. What we see at display right now is a sort of 'vaccine nationalism' threatening to replace the European solidarity. We see China rapidly increasing its influence, EU struggling to find a strong common policy towards the region and new expectations (for some) or even fears (for some others) related to the new Biden Administration. The debate seeks to explore this new game in the (post)covid Balkans. Are non-Western players using the pandemic with their ‘vaccine politics’ to fill Western’s gap or to challenge Western’s influence in the Balkans? What is the role of the EU and what the future prospects for enlargement? Will China’s increased influence in the Western Balkans hinder its transatlantic aspirations? How will the Biden administration meet the new challenges in the region? In cooperation with the Ministry of Defense (bmlv), the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Topic:
- Geopolitics, Transatlantic Relations, Vaccine, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Balkans