An American comeback in the Balkans

By Prof. Blerim Reka Without the hard power of the United States, the European Union”s soft approach has not proven effective in the Western Balkans. After the U.S. withdrew from the region in the early 2000s, the EU-run post-.conflict transition failed to bring regional stability.. This vacuum allowed other players to enter the region, and this alarmed Washington enough to prompt a return after two decades of absence. On September 1, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed Matthew Palmer as special envoy for the Balkans, sending a clear message that the EU could not be trusted to stabilize…