Review article
https://doi.org/10.20901/an.23.05
Transformational diplomacy of the US and the EU in the Western Balkans
Petar Kurečić
; University North, Koprivnica, Croatia
Danijel Bačan
; Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Trnski
; Libertas International University, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The concept of transformational diplomacy emerged at the beginning of the twenty-first century as a response to changes in the international order after the end of the Cold War, whereby diplomacy increasingly involves the instigation of political and institutional changes within a state, rather than just managing interstate relations. In this context, the paper analyzes the transformational action of the United States of America and the European Union in the Western Balkans during the last three decades. The research is based on a qualitative and comparative approach that includes an analysis of key normative documents, a comparative analysis of foreign policy instruments and an overview of the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries in the region. The analysis is structured through four dimensions: normative goals of action, dominant instruments of foreign policy, time horizon of reform processes and implications for political stability and institutional development of the Western Balkans. The research results show that the European Union primarily acts through a long-term process of institutional transformation based on political expansion and normative conditioning, while the United States of America emphasizes security stabilization and strategic orientation of the region towards Euro-Atlantic structures. In conclusion, the political transformation of the Western Balkans results from the complementary actions of these two actors, with the processes of institutional reform and security stabilization complementing each other within the broader framework of transformational diplomacy.
Keywords
transformational diplomacy; EU; USA; Western Balkans
Hrčak ID:
352151
URI
Publication date:
14.10.2026.
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