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Nationalism is on the rise in the Balkans, corruption is rampant, and the media and justice are under control. Conflicts lurk, and the West carefully closes its eyes and pretends that everything is going according to plan. Without seeing the real danger, he says Deutsche Welle.
“Dangerous Calm” and “A New Start for the Balkans” are the titles of two articles published one year apart in International Politics. The author’s theses proved to be painfully relevant both in May 2020 and in May 2021. Thomas Bry is a longtime correspondent of the DPA for Southeast Europe, and currently teaches journalism and politics at various German universities. Here we will quote several passages from both publications.
In his article “Dangerous Tranquility”, the author argues that the Balkans have largely disappeared from the international political map. According to him, at first glance, this happened because of the more important problems and crises that the United States and the EU need to take care of. In both articles, Thomas Bry emphasizes that the West has a large staff in the Balkans, but this does not seem to help: the urgently needed political impulses, concepts and visions for resolving the numerous conflicts there are simply lacking, he said.
Nationalism is rising, corruption is reigning
The author claims that the so-called “big policy” simply no longer notices what is happening out of its sight. And there, he writes, tensions between nations are escalating, nationalism is rising, corruption is rampant, the media and justice are under control, and youth are indoctrinated. In this dangerous entanglement lurk new, perhaps even armed conflicts, says Thomas Bry.
Political elites in all countries in the region are abusing history to “prove” that their nation is a victim, and thus to achieve political homogenization of the population against its neighbors. Bulgaria comes up with adventurous historical arguments to block the rapprochement of Northern Macedonia with Brussels, which everyone wants. “
The author cites other examples from the Balkans, emphasizing Russia’s growing influence: “Everywhere in the region, leading politicians are taking Russian President Vladimir Putin as a role model.”
The author further develops this idea in his other article “A New Start for the Balkans”, where he draws attention to the so-called “strong men” who have held power in a number of Balkan countries for decades and simply simulate reformsbecause real modernization would threaten their power. They interact with Western politicians who come and go and are usually content with the apparent successes that Balkan leaders tell them, he wrote.
This concept crashes
In his article “Dangerous Peace”, Thomas Bry analyzes this trend in detail: “The same politicians have been in power in the region for decades, and the EU and the US have so far treated them as partners for reform, democratization and modernization in their countries. politicians are, in fact, at the heart of the problem, with Western countries untying their hands to act calmly in their countries, but expecting them to be willing to cooperate and reduce tensions with their neighbors in return, but this concept is catastrophic. that things are going according to plan. The most important thing is to have peace. “
The author also describes the results of the failure of this policy: “According to all international indices and rankings, countries in the region are losing ground year after year in terms of corruption, freedom of speech and media, independent justice and functioning state institutions. “People no longer see this as a medium-term perspective for themselves. For many years now, Southeast Europe has been suffering from a real wave of mass emigration. Mostly young and educated people are leaving.”
In his second article, A New Start for the Balkans, Thomas Bry wrote on the same subject: “While Germany is hiring doctors, nurses and IT specialists from the Balkans, medical care in these countries, which is already ill, is threatened by a real collapse. () At the same time, it is far easier for the rulers of the Balkans to lead the rest of the country, who are often less educated and often come to the cities of the countryside – unlike the emigrated critical intellectuals. “
The EU and the US have no right to close their eyes
In his article “Dangerous Calmness” the author adds: “The rest of the country continue to receive new doses of nationalist motivation from their political leaders to unite their ranks under their leadership. Because only their own political elite was able to save their compatriots from evil. , threatened by neighbors of other nationalities. “
After giving examples from Bosnia and Herzegovina and writing about the tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, Thomas Bry returns to his criticism of the West: “Politics in this region, which is often disregarded as a backyard, is diligently cultivated. conflicts and threats, and the EU and the US simply do not have the right to turn a blind eye, because Russia has long viewed Southeast Europe as an important stage in its geopolitical struggles, and Moscow has invested a lot of money and human resources to win. the battle for minds in the local media landscape. “
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The column “Analyzes” presents different points of view, the opinions expressed do not necessarily coincide with the editorial position of “Dnevnik”.
