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The meaning of the Western Balkans concept for the EU: genuine inclusion or polite exclusion?

Lika, Liridon

2023 • In Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, p. 1-16

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/299746

DOI
10.1080/14683857.2023.2170204

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Keywords :

Political Science and International Relations; History; Western Balkans; European Union; Enlargement; Europeanization; Balkanization

Abstract :

[en] This article explains the meaning of the Western Balkans concept in the European Union (EU) political discourse through the prism of the constructivist approach of International Relations (IR). This term was conceived and institutionalized to designate more precisely the countries included in the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP). This article shows that the Western Balkans concept, as a political and social construct, is used strategically by the EU and leads to exclusion rather than inclusion. The countries that are or that become EU member states are no longer qualified as Balkan but as European, while those left outside the gates are categorized as Western Balkans, which are often associated with the pejorative concept of balkanization.

Disciplines :

Political science, public administration & international relations

Author, co-author :

Lika, Liridon ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de science politique ; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), Maastricht University (UM), Maastricht, The Netherlands

Language :

English

Title :

The meaning of the Western Balkans concept for the EU: genuine inclusion or polite exclusion?

Publication date :

02 February 2023

Journal title :

Southeast European and Black Sea Studies

ISSN :

1468-3857

eISSN :

1743-9639

Publisher :

Informa UK Limited

Pages :

1-16

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14683857.2023.2170204

Available on ORBi :

since 06 February 2023

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