By Prof. Ilhan Kaya Ulger
- The author is a lecturer at the International Relations Department of Kocaeli University.
ANKARA (AA) - The Balkans have functioned as a buffer zone between the East and the West throughout history.
For centuries, the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia has been a fault line where East and the West, Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Islam and Christianity meet and separate. The narrow definition of the Balkans contains the former Yugoslavia successor states, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and the Thrace region of Türkiye. The broad definition also includes Romania and Moldova, located north of the Danube River.
However, today, the word "Balkans" is mostly understood as the Western Balkans. This concept contains the state of Albania, along with the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, excluding Slovenia. The Balkans is among the most complex regions of the world in part of ethnicity, language, religion and sect. Because of this, and also to emphasize European identity, the concept of "southeast Europe" has been preferred in recent years by the EU instead of the Balkans.
- Deep-rooted ties with Balkan peoples
The Balkans is a region with which Türkiye has very close historical, cultural and humanitarian relations. The western part of the Balkans was under the rule of the Turks for 200 years, the eastern part for 400-450 years and the Balkan peoples spent their most peaceful period under Ottoman rule. The Balkan peoples, who were freed in their internal affairs due to the "Ottoman Millet System," did not face assimilation. As a matter of fact, nationalism, which came to the fore with the French Revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries, affected Balkan peoples who preserved their identities.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, both national states and a union of states (Yugoslavia), which did not deny the sub-identities of peoples, were established in the Balkans. With the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the federated states within the federation gained independence one after another, and lastly, on Feb. 17, 2008, Kosovo, which had the status of an autonomous region, became an independent actor. Today, 117 states recognize the Republic of Kosovo.
- Ankara supports EU, NATO membership of Balkan states
Türkiye has become a remarkable actor in the Balkans as a natural result of economic growth and foreign policy versatility in the last 20 years. This situation led to different reactions inside and outside the region. Especially Western media organizations are uncomfortable with Türkiye's increasing influence in the Balkans. Although there is criticism that Türkiye prevents the integration of the Balkans with the West, this does not reflect the reality.
As a matter of fact, Türkiye supported the Balkan states to join NATO for regional security and stability.
Similarly, countries in the region establishing close relations with the EU one after another, and entering the candidacy and negotiation process, are taken positively by Türkiye. Because Türkiye has been a member of NATO, a Western-based defense organization, since 1952. It joined the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, a political cooperation organization, right after its foundation. The first application to the EU was made July 31, 1959, during the Adnan Menderes government. Since then, it has been working to be included in the economic integration movement.
On the other hand, in recent years, Türkiye has not seen tension with any Balkan country, with the exception of Greece.
High-level and mutually beneficial ties with Balkan countries continue. The last time there was a conflict between Türkiye and Serbia due to the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the conflicts in Kosovo was in the 1990s. However, today, Serbia is one of the countries with which Türkiye has close relations in the Balkans. Türkiye also attaches importance to dialogue and cooperation with the Bosnian Serb Republic, one of the two political units in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, also attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which was held in Türkiye from March 11-13. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can meet directly with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Bosnian Serb leader Dodik during the escalation of the conflict in the Balkans.
- Türkiye does not discriminate between Balkan peoples
Türkiye attaches great importance to maintaining peace and stability in the Balkans. The Dayton Agreement and the Ahtisaari Plan, which gave independence to the Republic of Kosovo, are supported by Ankara.
On the other hand, Türkiye opposed the isolation of Macedonia by Greece after its independence and contributed to the integration of the country with the international community and membership and candidacy processes with NATO and the EU.
The accession of Albania and Croatia to NATO in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020 was strongly encouraged by Türkiye. Recently, the beginning of North Macedonia and Albania's full membership negotiations for EU accession was also considered a positive step by Türkiye.
All these examples reveal that Türkiye's activities in the Balkan region are not a challenge to the West. To put it another way, Ankara's Balkan policy is not a "zero-sum approach."
Türkiye puts emphasis on peace and stability, good neighborhood and solidarity in the Balkans and offers solutions for the chronic problems of the region because struggling with expansionist nationalist (irredentist) tendencies and overcoming the problems created by micro nationalism is only possible with sovereign equality of states. In this context, Türkiye is attentive to minorities living within the borders of the Balkan states to not be discriminated against and to protect the identities of those peoples.
Apart from its diplomatic missions, Türkiye also provides economic, technical and humanitarian aid to Balkan countries through semi-official institutions such as Turkish Teaching Centers, the Yunus Emre Institutes, The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). While carrying out all those activities, Türkiye does not make any distinction between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia, with which it has traditionally been in close cooperation, and other countries.
- Türkiye's priority is the preservation of peace and the status quo
To briefly touch on the Balkan policy of other actors, first of all, it can be stated that the EU first views the Balkan geography from its possible enlargement perspective. Essentially, Balkan countries, excluding Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are either EU members or EU candidates.
It can be said that the US influence in the Balkans is strong in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo. There is a correlation between the US influence on other countries and NATO membership. The NATO memberships of Türkiye and Greece in 1952 were followed by the accession of Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania in 2004. Then Croatia and Albania joined NATO, followed by Montenegro and North Macedonia. Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina remained the three non-NATO nations in the Balkans. The US also supports the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU.
Russia's policy toward the Balkans aims to increase its influence throughout the region. Moscow sometimes uses Slavic ethnicity and sometimes Orthodoxy for this purpose.
Recently, Russia tried to reinforce its hegemony in the Balkans through the region's dependence on its natural gas. Using these means, Russia is directing the Slavic peoples in the Balkans to separatism and conflict. In this context, it provokes Bosnian Serbs and Serbia to change the status quo.
Another actor which is making efforts to increase its influence on the Balkans is China. Especially after the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Beijing administration supported the infrastructure investments of the countries in the region. The Chinese administration, which bought Greece's Piraeus Port and supported infrastructure projects in Serbia, wants to strengthen its economic power in the region and transform it into a political field in the future.
As a result, the spectrum of Türkiye's relations with the Balkan states, which is a buffer zone between it and the great powers, is wide and multidimensional. Türkiye supports the EU and NATO membership of the Balkan states. On the other hand, it considers Russia's activities aimed at disrupting political stability in the Balkans as a threat to peace.
Türkiye's Balkan policy, which strives to advance and strengthen cultural, political, humanitarian and economic relations with Balkan countries, attaches importance to the preservation of regional peace and political stability.
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu Agency.