ISSUE: 2/2026
- Volume 30
- Number 2
- 2026
Subscribe NEWSLETTER
Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
License
Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License
Publication co-financed by Ministry of Science and Higher Education pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 3 August 2021 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1514) on the “Development of Scientific Journals” programme.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie rozporządzenia Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z 3 sierpnia 2021 r. (Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 1514) w sprawie programu „Rozwój czasopism naukowych”.
Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.
Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.
Can “America First” Coexist With the Liberal International Order? Policy Convergence of Trump’s Administration and the EU in the Western Balkans
Abstract
Since the second inauguration of President Donald Trump in January 2025, relations between the United States and its European allies have experienced a marked divergence. The “America First” policy of the current administration is grounded in principles that appear to largely contradict those underpinning the liberal international order that the European Union seeks to uphold. However, despite global divergence, certain regions are witness to a puzzling degree of policy convergence between the United States and the European Union. The Western Balkans is one such region, where EU and US approaches appear more closely aligned than in 2019 or 2020.
This article addresses this puzzle by examining why the US and the EU do not substantially differ in their approaches to certain regions, despite holding different visions of global order. The authors argue that this convergence is primarily enabled by of sic the conceptual extension of the liberal international order, as well as by the assignment of different relative weights and importance to the Western Balkan region in the global policies of the EU and the US. This leads both actors to adopt broadly similar objectives based on the principles of constrained realism. At the same time, other conflictual elements of the “America First” agenda – including so-called “megalothymia” and the notion of “MAGA goes international” – remain relatively marginal in shaping US policy towards the Western Balkans.
Ultimately, this produces a situation in which the elements of an international order preferred by the Trump administration and those of the EU-favoured liberal order appear to be in a state of peaceful coexistence in the Western Balkans.
References
Acharya, A. (2017) “After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order”, Ethics & International Affairs. Vol. 31(3), pp. 271–285. DOI: 10.1017/S089267941700020X.
Adler-Nissen, R. and Zarakol, A. (2021) “Struggles for Recognition: The Liberal International Order and the Merger of Its Discontents”, International Organization. Vol. 75(2), pp. 611–634.
Agrawal, R. (2025) Trump Is Ushering In a More Transactional World. Available at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/07/trump-transactional-global-system-us-allies-markets-tariffs/ (Access 27.04.2026).
B92 (2024) “Vucic in New York against the «Woke» movement: Serbia is modern, but it won’t sacrifice traditional values”, B92.net, 22.09. Available at: https://www.b92.net/english/politics/60869/vucic-in-new-york-against-the-woke-movement-serbia-is-modern-but-it-wont-sacrifice-traditional-values/vest (Access 27.04.2026).
Bacevich, A.J. (2017) “Saving «America First»: What Responsible Nationalism Looks Like”, Foreign Affairs. Vol. 96(5), pp. 57–67.
Baletić, K. and Kurtić, A. (2025) “US Sanctions Hit Serbia’s Mainly Russian-Owned Oil Company”, Balkan Insight. 9.10. Available at: https://balkaninsight.com/2025/10/09/us-sanctions-hit-serbias-mainly-russian-owned-oil-company/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Barber, M. and Pope J.C. (2019) “Does Party Trump Ideology? Disentangling Party and Ideology in America”, American Political Science Review. Vol. 113(1), pp. 38–54. DOI: 10.1017/S0003055418000795.
Bjelić, V. (2026) “Srbija će da traži objašnjenje od SAD za tarife od 37%! Ovo su nasze realne carine, nejasna matematika“, Blic. 3.04. Available at: https://www.blic.rs/biznis/privreda/srbija-trazi-objasnjenje-od-sad-za-carine-od-37-ugrozen-izvoz-guma-i-auto-delova/ejycl72 (Access 27.04.2026).
Blic (2025) “Vučić: U naredna tri, četiri dana dwa puta ću se sastati sa Trampom”, Blic. 29.04. Available at: https://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/vucic-u-naredna-tri-cetiri-dana-dva-puta-cu-se-sastati-sa-trampom/ekbs132 (Access 27.04.2026).
Brands, H. (2024) An “America First”: World What Trump’s Return Might Mean for Global Order. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/america-first-world-trump (Access 27.04.2026).
Brookings (2026) “Commentary: Breaking down Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy”, Brookings Institute. 8.12. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/breaking-down-trumps-2025-national-security-strategy/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Brooks, S.G. and Wohlforth, W.C. (2008) World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bugarcic, B. (2008) “Populism, liberal democracy, and the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe”, Communist and Post-Communist Studies. Vol. 41(2), pp. 191–203. DOI: 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2008.03.006.
CBP Issues Withhold Release Order on Linglong International Europe D.O.O. Zrenjanin (2025) U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, DC. Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-issues-withhold-release-order-linglong-international-europe-doo (Access 27.04.2026).
De Launey, G. (2026) “How plans for Trump International hotel in Belgrade unravelled”, BBC. 4.02. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2y8lg9e2jo (Access 27.04.2026).
Dorrien, G. (2013) Imperial designs: Neoconservatism and the new pax Americana. New York: Routledge.
Economides, S. (2020) “From Fatigue to Resistance: EU Enlargement and the Western Balkans”, Dahrendorf Forum IV, Working Paper No. 17. 20.03. Available at: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/104393/1/Economides_from_fatigue_to_resistance_published.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
Eurostat (2026) Trade in goods with the United States in 2025. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260226-1 (Access 27.04.2026).
Freedom House (2025) Countries and Territories. Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/country/scores (Access 27.04.2026).
Fukuyama, F. (1992) The End of History and the Last Man. New York: The Free Press.
Fukuyama, F. (2018) Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Fukuyama, F. (2025) Don’t Say “Chaotic” or “Transactional”: We’re not living in Trump 1.0. Available at: https://www.persuasion.community/p/dont-say-chaotic-or-transactional (Access 27.04.2026).
Ginkel, J. (2025) “Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Energy Crossroads: Time to Build the Southern Interconnection”, US Embassy in Sarajevo. 1.12. Available at: https://ba.usembassy.gov/bosnia-and-herzegovinas-energy-crossroads-time-to-build-the-southern-interconnection/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Glaser, C.L. (2019) “A Flawed Framework: Why the Liberal International Order is Misguided”, International Security. Vol. 43(4), pp. 51–87. DOI: 10.1162/isec_a_00343.
Goddard, S.E. and Newman, A. (2025) “Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System”, International Organization. Vol. 79(S1), pp. S12–S25. DOI: 10.1017/S0020818325101057.
Haass, R. (2019) A World in Dissarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order. Penguin Press: New York.
Hemptinne, Baudouin de (2025) The MAGA Theory: a Big Bang? Available at: https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/expressions/maga-theory-big-bang (Access 27.04.2026).
Hunnicutt, T. (2026) “Trump Says he has Solved Many Wars. Has he?”, Reuters. 11.12. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-touts-his-diplomatic-record-results-are-mixed-2026-02-24/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Ikenberry, J.G. (2010) “The liberal international order and its discontents”, Millennium. Vol. 38(3), pp. 509–521. DOI: 10.1177/03058298103664.
Ikenberry, J.G. (2011) Liberal Leviathan – The Origins, Crisis and Transformation of the American World Order. Princeton University Press: Princeton.
Ikenberry, J.G. (2020) A World Safe for Democracy: Liberal Internationalism and the Crises of Global Order. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Kaplan, R.D. (2016) On Foreign Policy, Donald Trump is no Realist. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-foreign-policy-donald-trump-is-a-fake-realist/2016/11/11/c5fdcc52-a783-11e6-8042-f4d111c862d1_story.html (Access 27.04.2026).
Kirshner, J. (2025) Trump’s “America First” Is Not Realism: Don’t Mistake Bluster and Cynicism for Toughness and Wisdom. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/trumps-america-first-not-realism (Access 27.04.2026).
Kovačević, A. (2025) “Mural Dedicated to Charlie Kirk Painted Over in Belgrade”, Serbian Times. Available at: https://serbiantimes.info/en/mural-dedicated-to-charlie-kirk-painted-over-in-belgrade-the-work-of-the-same-left-wing-ideology-that-cost-kirk-his-life/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Krstić, M. (2022) “Continuity and Changes in the US Foreign Policy towards the Western Balkans during the First Year of Biden’s Presidency: Third Obama’s or Second Trump’s Term?”, Politika nacionalne bezbednosti. Vol. 21(2), pp. 175–200. DOI: 10.22182/pnb.2122021.9.
Krstić, M. (2024) “A Liberal Trump and a Conservative Harris?”, Horizons: Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development. Vol. 28, pp. 202–215.
Krstić, M., Nedeljković, S. and Dašić, M. (2025) “From Kantian friendship to Benthamite partnership: transatlantic relations under Donald Trump”, International Politics. Vol. 62(4), pp. 1251–1276. DOI: 10.1057/s41311-025-00735-4.
Kundani, Hans (2017) What is the Liberal International Order? Available at: https://blogs.clemson.edu/emerituscollege/files/2018/01/What-is-the-Liberal-International-Order.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
Kupchan, C.A. (1998) “After Pax Americana: Benign Power, Regional Integration, and the Sources of a Stable Multipolarity”, International Security. Vol. 23(2), pp. 40–79. DOI: 10.2307/2539379.
Kupchan, C.A. (2014) “The Normative Foundations of Hegemony and the Coming Challenge to Pax Americana”, Security Studies. Vol. 23(2), pp. 219–257. DOI: 10.1080/09636412.2014.874205.
Kurtić, A (2025) “US Tariffs to Hit Serbia, Bosnia hardest in Balkans, Trump Confirms”, Balkan Insight. 1.08. Available at: https://balkaninsight.com/2025/08/01/us-tariffs-to-hit-serbia-bosnia-hardest-in-balkans-trump-confirms/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Layne, C. (2012) “This time it’s real: the end of unipolarity and the Pax Americana”, International Studies Quarterly. Vol. 56(1), pp. 203–213. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00704.x.
Mazur, S.K. (2020) “Doubtful Ally or Ally Full of Doubts? The Course of Transatlantic Relations under Donald Trump’s Presidency”, Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs. Vol. 24(2), pp. 9–23. DOI: 10.33067/SE.2.2020.1.
Munich Security Conference (2025) Speech by JD Vance and Selected Reactions. Available at: https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Speeches_2025_Vol2_Ansicht.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
National Security Strategy of the United States of America (2025) The White House, DC. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
NATO (2025) “Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina”, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 9.12. Available at: https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/partnerships-and-cooperation/relations-with-bosnia-and-herzegovina (Access 27.04.2026).
Nedeljković, S. and Milosavljević Radić, I. (2022) The Crisis of the Liberal International Order and the Europeanization of the Western Balkans in Balazs, A.B. (ed.) The Europeanization of Montenegro. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG, pp. 23–44.
NIN (2025) “Donald Trump Jr. in Belgrade: Meeting with Serbian entrepreneurs and Vučić”. 27.04. Available at: https://www.nin.rs/english/news/75461/donald-trump-jr-in-belgrade-meeting-with-serbian-entrepreneurs-and-vucic (Access 27.04.2026).
Nye, J.S. Jr. (2017) “Will the Liberal Order Survive? The History of an Idea”, Foreign Affairs. Vol. 96(1), pp. 10–16.
Pape, R.A. (2005) “Soft Balancing Against the United States”, International Security. Vol. 30(1), pp. 7–45. DOI: 10.1162/0162288054894607.
Parker, C.S. and Blum, R.M. (2025) Exploring the Motivations of the MAGA Movement in Livingston, S. and Miller, M. (eds.) Connective Action and the Rise of the Far-Right: Platforms, Politics, and the Crisis of Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 191–206.
Paul, T.V. (2018) Restraining Great Powers – Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era. Yale University Press: New Haven.
Press Release of the National Convention on the European Union regarding the Jadar Project (2025) Nacionalni konvent, Belgrade. Available at: https://eukonvent.org/press-release-of-the-national-convention-on-the-european-union-regarding-the-jadar-project/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Reuters (2025) “Serbia’s NIS oil company seeks seventh waiver of US sanctions”, Reuters. 19.09. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/serbias-nis-oil-company-seeks-seventh-waiver-us-sanctions-2025-09-19/ (Access 27.04.2026).
RSE (2025) “Grenel izjavio da Kurtijeva vlada nije pouzdan partner”, Radio Slobodna Evropa. 3.02. Available at: https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/richard-grenell-qeveria-kurti-partnere-jo-e-besueshme-/33301808.html (Access 27.04.2026).
RV (2026) “Vučić and Rama in a joint text: Let us into the EU without a veto”, Vreme. 28.02. Available at: https://vreme.com/en/vesti/vucic-i-rama-u-zajednickom-tekstu-pustite-nas-u-eu-i-bez-veta/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Sanger, D.E., Pager, T., Rogers, K. and Kanno-Youngs, Z. (2026) “Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by «My Own Morality»”. 8.01. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html.
Sartori, G. (1970) “Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics”, The American Political Science Review. Vol. 64(4), pp. 1033–1053. DOI: 10.2307/1958356.
Sinoruka, F. (2026) “Environmentalists Urge Suspension of Kushner Island Resort Project in Albania”, Balkan Insight. 23.01. Available at: https://balkaninsight.com/2026/01/23/environmentalists-urge-suspension-of-kushner-island-resort-project-in-albania/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Tanjug (2025) “Dodik upalio sveću za Čarlija Kirka: «Bio je posvećen veri i vrednostima hrišćanstva»”, Euronews. 21.09. Available at: https://www.euronews.rs/evropa/region/188480/milorad-dodik-upalio-svecu-u-pomen-carliju-kirku/vest (Access 27.04.2026).
The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (2017) The White House, Washington, DC. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
The Text of the Agreement Signed by Aleksandar Vučić in Washington (2020) Kossev, Kosovska Mitrovica. Available at: https://kossev.info/en/tekst-sporazuma-koji-je-u-vasingtonu-potpisao-aleksandar-vucic/ (Access 27.04.2026).
The White House (2025) National Security Strategy of the United States of America. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf (Access 27.04.2026).
The White House (2026a) Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Withdraws the United States from International Organizations that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States, DC. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-withdraws-the-united-states-from-international-organizations-that-are-contrary-to-the-interests-of-the-united-states/ (Access 27.04.2026).
The White House (2026b) Joint Statement on a Framework for United States-North Macedonia Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade, DC. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/02/joint-statement-on-a-framework-for-united-states-north-macedonia-agreement-on-reciprocal-fair-and-balanced-trade/ (Access 27.04.2026).
The White House (2026c) President Trump’s Peace Through Strength: Renewed American Leadership and Global Security, DC. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/02/president-trumps-peace-through-strength-renewed-american-leadership-and-global-security/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Tsifakis, N. and Vasdoka, E. (2025) “Great Powers and Gatekeepers in the Western Balkans: Serbia’s Strategic Hedging”, Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs. Vol 29(1), pp. 287–309. DOI: 10.33067/SE.1.2025.15.
Vujačić, I. (2021) Srbija i SAD – odnosi tokom dve decenije od demokratskih promena in Simić, D.R., Živojinović, D. and Nedeljković, S. (eds.) Srpsko-američki odnosi: trideset godina od pada Berlinskog zida. University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science: Belgrade, pp. 147–166.
Vuksanović, V. (2025) Serbia’s Balancing Act: Between Russia and the West. Bloomsbury Publishing: London.
Walt, S.M. (2025) Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer. Available at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/30/donald-trump-foreign-policy-restrainer-realist-war-defense-diplomacy/ (Access 27.04.2026).
Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act (2025) The Congress, DC. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5274 (Access 27.04.2026).
Wiseman, G. (2005) “Pax Americana: Bumping into diplomatic culture”, International Studies Perspectives. Vol. 6(4), pp. 409–430. DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-3577.2005.00218.x.
Yariş, Z. (2024) “The Challenges of «Renewed» Enlargement to the Western Balkan Countries”, Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs. Vol. 28(3), pp. 125–141. DOI: 10.33067/SE.3.2024.7.
DOI: 10.33067/SE.2.2026.2
Language: English
Pages: 25-52
How to Cite:
Harvard
Nedeljković, S. and Krstić, M. (2026) "Can “America First” Coexist With the Liberal International Order? Policy Convergence of Trump’s Administration and the EU in the Western Balkans". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 2/2026, pp. 25-52. DOI: 10.33067/SE.2.2026.2