IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/asiaeu/v22y2024i2d10.1007_s10308-024-00695-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Two tigers in one mountain: Europeanising the Western Balkans amid China’s engagement

Author

Listed:
  • Pengfei Hou

    (Xinjiang University)

Abstract

Europeanising the Western Balkans is exceptionally intricate in times of crisis. China’s growing engagement in the region has made it more complicated. The European Union (EU) would be in a better position if it learns to accommodate other external actors in the area, shifting its focus from a parochial partnership to a pragmatic one. Irrespective of the rhetorical systemic rivalry, China has brought and will continuously bring funding and expertise to the Western Balkan countries. After all, chronic underdevelopment, in no small part, has kept them away from gaining EU membership. Therefore, even though the realist idiom warns that two tigers cannot coexist in one mountain, the Western Balkans can and should accommodate more external actors if regional stakeholders, such as the EU and China, can take the region’s development seriously. Specifically, the article examines the convergence of EU-China interests in land transport infrastructure development in the Western Balkans.

Suggested Citation

  • Pengfei Hou, 2024. "Two tigers in one mountain: Europeanising the Western Balkans amid China’s engagement," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 165-183, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiaeu:v:22:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10308-024-00695-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10308-024-00695-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10308-024-00695-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10308-024-00695-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mr. Ruben V Atoyan & Ms. Dora Benedek & Ezequiel Cabezon & Mr. Giuseppe Cipollone & Mr. Jacques A Miniane & Ms. Nhu Nguyen & Mr. Martin Petri & Mr. Jens Reinke & Mr. James Roaf, 2018. "Public Infrastructure in the Western Balkans: Opportunities and Challenges," IMF Departmental Papers / Policy Papers 2018/002, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Krasniqi, Besnik & Ahmetbasić, Jasmina & Bartlett, Will, 2022. "Foreign direct investment and backward spillovers in the Western Balkans: the context, opportunities and barriers to the development of regional supply chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115391, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Azmat Gani, 2007. "Governance and foreign direct investment links: evidence from panel data estimations," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(10), pages 753-756.
    4. Kathleen R. McNamara, 2018. "Authority Under Construction: The European Union in Comparative Political Perspective," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(7), pages 1510-1525, November.
    5. Peter Nolan, 2012. "Is China Buying the World?," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 108-118.
    6. Pieter De Wilde & Michael Zürn, 2012. "Can the Politicization of European Integration be Reversed?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(S1), pages 137-153, March.
    7. D. Jacimovic & R. Dragutinović Mitrović & P. Bjelić & K. Tianping & M. Rajkovic, 2018. "The role of Chinese investments in the bilateral exports of new E.U. member states and Western Balkan countries," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 1185-1197, January.
    8. Will Bartlett & Ivana Prica, 2013. "The Deepening Crisis in the European Super-periphery," Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 367-382, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rauh, Christian, 2015. "Communicating supranational governance? The salience of EU affairs in the German Bundestag, 1991–2013," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 116-138.
    2. Danijela Dolenec & Daniela Širinić & Ana Balković, 2022. "Resisting the Great Recession: Social movement unionism in Croatia and Serbia," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(1), pages 105-121, March.
    3. Alice Medioli & Pier Luigi Marchini & Tatiana Mazza, 2024. "The impact of corruption and public governance quality on family firm business strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 55-69, January.
    4. Braun, Daniela & Grande, Edgar, 2021. "Politicizing Europe in Elections to the European Parliament (1994–2019): The Crucial Role of Mainstream Parties," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(5), pages 1124-1141.
    5. Esther Ademmer & Anna Leupold & Tobias Stöhr, 2019. "Much ado about nothing? The (non-) politicisation of the European Union in social media debates on migration," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(2), pages 305-327, June.
    6. Ergun Dogan & Koi Nyen Wong, 2020. "Sources and Channels of International Knowledge Spillovers in ASEAN‐5: The Role of Institutional Quality," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 470-486, May.
    7. Henrique Correa da Cunha & Mohamed Amal & James Mark Viminitz, 2022. "Formal vs. Informal Institutional Distances and the Competitive Advantage of Foreign Subsidiaries in Latin America," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, May.
    8. Peter Nolan, 2015. "The west and China: globalisation and competition in financial services," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 87-104, May.
    9. Kozo Otsuka & Kaoru Natsuda, 2016. "The Determinants Of Total Factor Productivity In The Malaysian Automotive Industry: Are Government Policies Upgrading Technological Capacity?," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(04), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Rauh, Christian, 2022. "Clear messages to the European public? The language of European Commission press releases 1985–2020," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-19.
    11. Asamoah, Michael Effah & Adjasi, Charles K.D. & Alhassan, Abdul Latif, 2016. "Macroeconomic uncertainty, foreign direct investment and institutional quality: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 612-621.
    12. Trym N. Fjørtoft, 2022. "More power, more control: The legitimizing role of expertise in Frontex after the refugee crisis," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 557-571, April.
    13. Zechariah Langnel & Ponlapat Buracom, 2020. "Governance, health expenditure and infant mortality in sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 673-685, December.
    14. Kaoru Natsuda & John Thoburn, 2013. "Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in Thailand," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 413-437.
    15. Jaewon Jung, 2021. "Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development through Multilateral Free Trade Agreements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.
    16. Henri Njangang, 2019. "Governance and Happiness in African countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(2), pages 1546-1555.
    17. Zühal Kurul & A. Yasemin Yalta, 2017. "Relationship between Institutional Factors and FDI Flows in Developing Countries: New Evidence from Dynamic Panel Estimation," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-10, May.
    18. Hanspeter Kriesi, 2016. "The Politicization of European Integration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54, pages 32-47, September.
    19. Cao Hong Minh, 2019. "Institutional Quality and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows: The Case of Vietnam," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(5), pages 630-641, May.
    20. Paul Statham & Hans-Jörg Trenz, 2013. "How European Union Politicization can Emerge through Contestation: The Constitution Case," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 965-980, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:asiaeu:v:22:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10308-024-00695-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.