Publications

This winter, eyes across Europe are on thermostats and energy bills, and concerns over energy supplies are overwhelmingly present. The threat of energy poverty is particularly high in Southeast Europe. This edition of Political Trends and Dynamics gathers insight from experts on what the winter ahead is going to mean for the region. With contributions from Stefan Bouzarovski, Marta Szpala, Simon Uzunov, Slavica Robić and an interview with Julian Popov, this edition discusses the different angles of the energy crisis that seems to be looming on the horizon since the aggression on Ukraine – and the potential solutions in taking on an active role in the energy transition. Our authors, scholars and practitioners in the field of energy,…

The launch of the European Political Community (EPC) has taken the Western Balkans aback. Yet the need for political engagement on strategic issues that are not limited to EU accession is more pressing than ever. Overly marketed, the EPC risks propagating delusive expectations among would-be Member states. Before the next meeting takes place in Chisinau, the Western Balkans need to gain clarity on the EPC's purpose, design and functioning, as well as the role the EU is to play therein. Rather than turning into one more big forum dedicated to intergovernmental cooperation, the EPC could become a political framework in which alliances are being forged across continental Europe by progressive governments seeking to bolster European…

In around 30 years, formerly communist Central and Southeastern Europe have lost millions of people, probably unseen in peacetime. The Western Balkans lost 1.3% of their population in 2018 alone. Planning adequate social policies in response to demographic trends has been part and parcel of modern Western policymaking. Yet, for decades demographic issues have not been given much attention. Demography is central not only to contemporary policymaking but also to understanding modern socio-political malaise in European societies. The answers are not straightforward, and solving the policy riddle of economic and democratic implications of population change may push European societies to test the limits of their declarative commitment to liberal…

EU citizens and Third Country Nationals are formally in very different situations when it comes to their mobility and rights in the European Union. However, this binary picture looks much more blurred when workers from Southeast Europe are in focus. The report pays particular attention to the situation of mobile workers from a region in Germany, given its economic size and recent visa liberalization, and also brings in examples and considerations from throughout the EU.

Consequences of the war in Ukraine are felt well beyond its borders, and the circumstances have already caused unprecedented shifts in foreign policy across the continent. This issue of Political Trends and Dynamics in Southeast Europe focuses on the immediate implications of the war in Ukraine on the region's security.

We first explore how regional ties to Russia and Russian influence affect political stability in Southeast Europe. Our contributors also look at the future of regional security in the context of Europe’s geopolitical shift and whether a new sense of urgency could be beneficial for regional stability in the long run. Finally, this issue explores the effect of the war on the Euro-Atlantic paths of Western Balkan countries…