The Western Balkan states face challenges from rampant unemployment, persistent corruption, and ethnic, religious, and historic tensions that go back centuries. The Western Balkans are also faced with threats from Islamist terrorism, as well as rising Chinese investments and Russia's destabilizing influence.
Since the tumult of the s, the Western Balkans have receded from the minds of many American policymakers. While no longer front-page news, the region remains home to unfinished business.
Ethnic, religious, and cultural differences, along with historical grievances retain the potential to set off renewed hostilities and violence. Furthermore, the challenges posed by the destabilizing influence of Russia, rising Chinese interest and investment in the region, pockets of Islamist extremism, high unemployment, and lack of economic opportunity threaten to ensnare the Balkans in a permanent purgatorial geopolitical quicksand.
Allowing this to happen would be a mistake for the U. Since the end of the Cold War, the U. Tens of thousands of U. The U. Rather than downgrade this investment, now is the time for the U. Renewed U. This paper provides a roadmap that offers the U.
Historically, the region has been a contested battleground and the gateway to Europe. It is likewise home to a multitude of ethnic groups. In that conflict, , Americans died while in service and , were wounded. In , while enforcing a United Nations U. The security situation in the Western Balkans has improved dramatically over the past two decades.
