Publication

Henrik Larsen writes that Russia appears to have embraced the role of a spoiler against Western interests in the Western Balkans, viewing obstacles to NATO and EU integration in the region as opportunities ready for exploitation. China is also making inroads in the Western Balkans, creating new financial and economic dependencies that complicate the EU accession processes. Indeed, Larsen suggests that EU-China competition for the region is emerging in some respects as more important than the more static NATO-Russia rivalry.