balkansphoto81Dr. Ian Hope
(Col Dr Ian Hope is a Researcher at the NATO Defense College. His research interests include Strategy, Military Planning, Military Theory and the History of War, as well as Balkans and European Security Issues. The views expressed in this paper are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NATO Defense College or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Copyright: Copyright: http://www.ndc.nato.int - Research Division –NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy, No. 142, November 2017.

The Warsaw Summit affirmed Alliance interest in and commitment to many geographic regions and nations, without stating priorities. The Western Balkans drew attention, with Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro receiving specific mention in the Summit Communiqué.2 However, the Summit promoted a continuance of current NATO activity in this region, not a shift or amelioration. Implicit in this is that the status quo, a small NATO force in Kosovo to enhance security and several liaison offices to monitor partnership activity and the application of the Membership Action Plan in the other Western Balkans states, is sufficient. This paper will argue that such efforts are too small and disjointed to meet the growing challenges in the region, especially given NATO’s obligation to conflict prevention in the wake of its significant and successful interventions there in 1996 and 1999. Read more

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