Stefano Bianchini

In modern times, the dichotomy of sovereignty wishes and external dependency in the Balkans dates back to the beginning of the 19th century and is related to the process of State-building. The Small Balkan states willing to achieve their independence attempted to establish their sovereignty in different ways. However, they suffered recurrently from the interferences between the Great Powers and their politics. This mechanism constantly reappeared in the following decades, between the two world wars and during the cold war. The European partition forced the small Balkan states to accept the role of client or satellite country, according to their dependency on the US or the USSR. Consequentially, the claims for independence and sovereignty were mainly addressed against the federal State and the communist ideology but rarely achieved without dependency on a powerful external player. Under these circumstances, the Small Balkan States have frequently expressed their aim to join the EU as member states, to strengthen their regional role but only a few of them succeeded. This contrasting picture of cooperation and rejection takes place together with the poor performance of the EU institutions and an increased interest from the great powers – such as Russia, China, and the US – to offer their support to fragile local players. In my presentation, I will discuss that the further partitions of the Yugoslav territories, the desire of small states for an independent role and the dependency strengthened by the regional fragility is again a determinant factor that affects the articulation of the foreign policies of the local countries.