Review article
The Policy of Nato’s Expansion into the Western Balkans in the Dichotomy of the Rationalist and Constructivist Theories in International Relations
Đana Luša
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
NATO’s expansion is a fundamental aspect of its transformation, as well as of its adaptation to the new challenges of security in the international community which have emerged after the Cold War. NATO’s expansion can be explained by a combination of theses of two theoretical schools in international relations: the rationalist one – neo-realism and neoliberal institutionalism, and the constructivist one – social constructivism, since the decisions on the expansion were of a political nature, and not only of a technical nature (based on prescribed criteria for admission to membership). The author also points out that international relations theoreticians have not formed a full picture of NATO’s actions in the post-Cold War period. After the second round of expansion in 2004 and the admission of seven new countries from Central and East Europe, NATO has directed its policy toward two regions: the Western Balkans and the Black-Sea region as potential sources of instability, and key areas for projecting interests toward the crisis spots in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia. The author analyses the policy of NATO’s expansion into the Western Balkans, and seeks to explain the decisions that stood behind the policy of NATO’s expansion into this region.
Keywords
policy of NATO’s expansion; the Western Balkans; rationalist theory in international relations; constructivist theory in international relations
Hrčak ID:
99817
URI
Publication date:
5.3.2013.
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