Geopolitics vs. Globalization in the Balkans: The New Rivalries in the Energy and Transport Sectors

The research focuses on how present Balkan political elites declare that they would adhere to the values of integrating and globalizing Europe in their Balkan policy, while de facto employing the ‘arsenal’ of geopolitical egoistic planning. I also argue that narrow geopolitical planning in inter-Balkan relations, which is embedded in the geopolitical thinking of present Balkan political elites, obstructs the democratization and economic recovery of these societies. The aim of this research is not to argue that ‘geopolitical egoistic’ foreign policy is fundamentally irrational in an era of globalization. Instead the focus is on the particular historical, geographical and political context. Although it is a fact that even in the most Euro-committed countries, politicians are concerned both with absolute and relative gains, in situations when ‘the policies followed by one government are regarded by its partners as facilitating realization of their own objectives, as the result of a process of policy coordination’ , cooperation is usually achieved. The research focuses on how present Balkan political elites still prefer to think in the logic of relative gains, despite the cooperation-facilitating international regimes.