The Western Balkans is still under the strong influence of the West and there are all indications that it will remain so in the foreseeable future, said Adnan Huskić, professor of international relations, in the Plenum program.
“There is a significant number of political scientists from the East, Turkey and Russia, who mostly spoke about the fact that the fall of the Berlin Wall was the beginning of a reorganization that did not end then. It is often said that the West ceases to be a key factor, that it is on a downward trajectory, and that is the future in the East.
Against this background are all those who call for the rearrangement of borders. If there is a change in the international configuration that is significant for this region, of course it is possible to expect anything. The story of the decline of the West, and the strengthening of Eastern actors, especially China, “Russia is labeled as an enemy, it is oversized. This region, however, seems too far for that kind of influence,” explained Huskić.
Zlatko Vujović, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Podgorica, believes that official Belgrade won in Montenegro in the balance of power with the West.
“If we look through the example of Montenegro, I would not agree with this thesis about the strength of the West. We had an open conflict between the West and Serbia over the formation of the government in Montenegro. Spajić was given the mandate, his entire campaign was openly pro-Western. After that, he formed a government with pro-Russian forces, despite warnings from the US. The US tried to influence the formation of that government, but nothing could change Spajić’s decision. It was not his will, it was a takeover by various Serbian actors, control over his party,” Vujović assessed.
