Debate on “Balkan views of a multipolar world” highlights diversity of opinions in Western Balkans

On Friday 1 July, the Gallup Brussels office in partnership with the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) and LSE IDEAS (a research centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy at the London School of Economics) hosted an event on “Balkan views of a multipolar world”. The discussion opened with a short introduction of the EFB’s activities by the Fund’s Programme Manager Igor Bandović. Gallup Europe Managing Director Robert Manchin then presented the main findings of recent Gallup Balkan Monitor survey related to the event’s topic. The most pertinent results of the survey include:

• Overall, Balkan residents’ views of foreign countries and organisations are becoming more conciliatory
• Four types of affiliations emerge:
  • The Muslims and Albanians of the region are very positive about Western countries and organisations (such as the EU and NATO) and Turkey
  • The Serbs in the Western Balkans feel increasingly isolated; even the usual fondness of Russia and China is slowly fading
  • People in Croatia are above all protective of their own sovereignty – and are becoming suspicious of major powers

The results were commented upon by two highly prolific experts on Balkan affairs: Dr Svetozar Rajak (Academic Director of LSE IDEAS) looked at the historic dimension of Balkan affiliations with world powers before he made several observations regarding the poll’s results. Dr Dejan Jović, brought the rich experience from a long academic career and as Chief Analyst to the President of the Republic of Croatia to assess the current state of Balkanites’ views of the world.

Dr Rajak’s main emphasis was to deconstruct stereotypes associated to the “Western Balkans”, a terminology that the academic rejects. He showed how political circumstances played a major role in shaping peoples’ affiliations to world powers rather than what he called ‘natural’ or ‘ethnic loyalty’. According to him, what lies beneath the myth surrounding the so-called Western Balkans is the fact that these countries are ultimately normal European countries. On a similar note, Dr Jović insisted on the belonging of the Western Balkans to Europe (and the necessity to stop mystifying the region as an ‘other Europe’). Moreover, he delivered an optimistic speech about the future perspectives of the region even for Bosnia Herzegovina which remains in a political deadlock. Some members of the audience expressed doubts about Dr Jović’s optimism but the latter stood firm to justify his stance. The debate closed with comments given by Osman Topčagić, the Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Mission to the EU in Brussels who expressed his confidence in the region’s future developments and confirmed Dr Jović in his opinion.

The presentation given by Robert Manchin can be found here.