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Journals / Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi / 2025 / Cilt: 25 Sayı: 3

The Complementary Role of NATO and the EU in the Transformation of Regional Security in the Western Balkans

Batı Balkanlar’da Bölgesel Güvenliğin Dönüşümünde NATO ve AB’nin Tamamlayıcı Rolü

Ahmet Üçağaç

Pages
583–601
Publication Date
2025-09-25
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Abstract

This study aims to examine the role of internationally influential organizations, in facilitating the development of security regimes and paving the way for the establishment of security communities in post-conflict regions, with a specific focus on the Western Balkans (WB). In this context it explores the complementary roles of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in promoting regional stability and peace in an area historically characterized by ethnic tensions, political volatility, and the enduring consequences of conflict. NATO’s role centers on military engagement, collective defense, crisis management, and defense sector reform, pillars of hard security, whereas the EU emphasizes political and economic integration, rule of law reforms, institution-building, and socio-economic development to address the structural causes of instability. The study argues that both organizations, primarily through their membership conditionalities, have played pivotal roles in transforming the WB from a conflict formation into a functioning security regime, thereby laying the groundwork for a potential security community. Guided by Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) and employing a process-tracing method, the research addresses the central question of “how have the EU and NATO policies contributed to the transformation of the WB from a historically conflict-prone region to a region of increasing peace and stability over the last three decades?”.

Özet

Bu çalışma, özellikle Batı Balkanlar’a odaklanarak, çatışma sonrası bölgelerde güvenlik rejimlerinin geliştirilmesini kolaylaştırmada ve güvenlik topluluklarının kurulmasının önünü açmada uluslararası alanda etkili örgütlerin rolünü incelemeyi hedeflemektedir. Bu bağlamda, Kuzey Atlantik Antlaşması Örgütü (NATO) ve Avrupa Birliği’nin (AB) tarihsel olarak etnik gerilimler, siyasi dalgalanmalar ve çatışmaların kalıcı sonuçlarıyla karakterize edilen bir bölgede bölgesel istikrar ve barışın desteklenmesindeki karşılıklı tamamlayıcı rollerini incelemektedir. NATO’nun rolü materyal güvenliğin temel unsurları olan askeri angajman, kolektif savunma, kriz yönetimi ve savunma sektörü reformuna odaklanırken, AB istikrarsızlığın yapısal nedenlerini ele almak için siyasi ve ekonomik entegrasyon, hukukun üstünlüğü reformları, kurum inşası ve sosyo-ekonomik kalkınmaya vurgu yapmaktadır. Çalışma, her iki örgütün de öncelikle üyelik koşullarıyla, Batı Balkanlar bölgesini bir çatışma oluşumundan istikrarlı bir güvenlik rejimine dönüştürmede önemli roller oynadığını ve böylece potansiyel bir güvenlik topluluğunun oluşması için zemin hazırladığını savunmaktadır. Bölgesel Güvenlik Kompleksi Teorisi (BGKT) tarafından yönlendirilen ve süreç izleme metodu kullanan araştırma, “NATO ve AB politikaları, Batı Balkanlar’ın tarihsel olarak çatışmaya eğilimli bir bölgeden son otuz yılda artan bir barış ve istikrar bölgesine dönüşmesine nasıl katkıda bulunmuştur?” temel sorusunu ele almaktadır.

Keywords
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Cite This Article

Üçağaç, A. (2025). The Complementary Role of NATO and the EU in the Transformation of Regional Security in the Western Balkans. Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 25 Sayı: 3, 583–601. https://doi.org/10.18037/ausbd.1745829

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