Old Strategy with the New Setup: Trump’s policy towards the Western Balkans

Old Strategy with the New Setup: Trump’s policy towards the Western Balkans
Jahja Muhasilovic
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1. What is the new American vision for the Balkans?
2. What kind of diplomatic setup will be formed under the second Trump administration?
3. Is there going to be a change under the new Trump administration?
4. What kind of exit strategy should be followed by the unfavored states in the region?
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The last couple of years have seen a reassessment of the American position towards the Balkans. In the 1990s, the United States was an active factor in stabilizing the region-those being Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro-fronting Belgrade. However, by the mid-2000s, American interest began to drift. The focus was shifted onto the Middle East and Afghanistan due to the Bush Administration pursuing the “Global War on Terror.” The financial crisis of 2008 only brought the focus further away from the Balkans, with the Obama Administration throwing itself into the Asia-Pacific basket, where China was just starting to get some serious attention as a rival. The Balkans were, for all intents and purposes, a marginal consideration in the papers of Washington. The last decade of dwindling American engagement in the realm has permitted and nurtured the influence play of other powers-Russia, China, and Turkey-among others. The U.S. was watching on the sidelines while its strategy for European engagement, set in motion in the middle 2000s, was trying to grapple with the inertia of Western hegemony.