Garčević Comments on EU Soft Power in Western Balkans
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed for an Al Jazeera article on the European Union’s (EU) diminishing soft power in the Western Balkans.
The article, titled “As EU hopes fade, Russia, China fill voids across Western Balkans,” explores the EU’s hesitance to admit Balkan countries into the bloc and the opportunity it presents China and Russia to exert more pressure in the region. Garčević states that the EU’s waning “soft power” will slow down the democratization process in the region and “open space for other countries to walk in.” He goes on to say that political reform will not occur in the Western Balkans if EU membership only remains “something we can see on the horizon,” which will drive the region further into the hands of competing superpowers.
The full article can be read on Al Jazeera‘s website.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.