A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.

CROATIAN FOREIGN POLICY: A SYSTEMIC LITERATURE REVIEW

This paper systemically analyzes the scholarly literature on Croatian foreign policy in general and in specific towards its eastern neighbors – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia – and categorizes them according to the selected theoretical framework, data collection, and data analysis methods used, and results generated. There are five discernible streams of academic study and scholarly analysis of Croatian foreign policy: those leveraging a) traditional theoretical frameworks and those leveraging b) less traditional theoretical frameworks, both usually taking a macro-approach, those focusing on c) the policy process and the shift of power from the head of state to the head of government, d) those thematizing Croatia’s bilateral relations with individual Western Balkans states as a niche foreign policy, and e) prospective-orientated studies seeking to map a future course for Croatian foreign policy, post-EU accession. The findings point to a noticeable lack of constructivist and especially discursive studies analyzing Croatian foreign policy, generally and specifically toward its eastern neighbors.

The enlargement process on hold? Comparison of the French and German positions towards the widening of the EU

This work aims to compare the enlargement policies of France and Germany, which are regarded as the leaders of the EU and whose policies are assumed to have a significant impact on other states within the Union. Additional to the political significance, these two countries are among the founding members of the Union and have been part of every of the seven enlargement rounds. Besides similarities, there is also a significant difference between these two states in their approach to the expansion of the EU. While France acts as an enlargement skeptic, Germany acts as a supporter of the widening process. The general hypothesis is that the enlargement policies of these two states are determined by the perceived costs and benefits of such policy.

Relevance of the Annual National Program for NATO Accession - Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

NATO integration processes have been constantly a complex topic for the public to grasp, in particular in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several confronting efforts were constantly in place, which often created confusion and slowed down the progress. To explain the problem, the research question has been set as: “How relevant is ANP for the NATO Accession?” The objective is to examine what the ANP as a document stands for, and how does it assist or hinder the aspiring states on their NATO path. The relevance for examination of this question lies in the fact that most political actors within Bosnia and Herzegovina use the lack of knowledge of the public on the topic to promote their agenda or present themselves as the defenders of the narrow interest of their ethnic group. To provide the society with accurate analysis, this research will examine if ANP will assist Bosnia and Herzegovina on its NATO accession path. Data will be collected using qualitative research methods and secondary research.