The 'Open Balkan' Initiative: An outward-directed populism

Autor: Marko Tmušić, Stevan Rapaić
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Review of International Affairs, Vol 73, Iss 1186, Pp 5-31 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0486-6096
2955-9030
DOI: 10.18485/iipe_ria.2022.73.1186.1
Popis: This paper analyses the “Open Balkan” initiative, using some of the theoretical assumptions of economic and, consequently, political populism in order to show that the economic benefits of this initiative do not differ too much from the existing economic benefits of the CEFTA (2006) agreement, of which all three countries (signatories of the “Open Balkan” initiative) are members. However, unlike the economic ones, the political benefits of this initiative can be seen much more clearly. Specifically, the “Open Balkan” initiative can be seen as a mechanism for “bridging” the waiting period for these countries to join the EU, overcoming some of the obstacles of the existing bilateral trade agreements that the countries from this region have with the EU. We will show, using quantitative content analysis, that the “Open Balkan” initiative is a political populist concept directed outward, i.e., toward EU leaders, and not an initiative that can bring something completely new and different compared to all previous bilateral and multilateral initiatives of this type.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals