ISSUE: 3/2024
- Volume 28
- Number 3
- 2024
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Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
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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”.
Ontological Security as a Factor in Balkan Geopolitics
Abstract
The term “Balkanisation” is used in the description of unstable regions where actors of international relations (states and peoples) are most often in continuous and intractable conflicts. Why did the Balkans become the birthplace of this term? Why do the conflicts in the Balkans last and seem intractable in the long term? In searching for answers to these research questions, the author relies on the methods of discourse analysis (examining perceptions) and comparative analysis (comparing perceptions that are mutually opposed and irreconcilable). The theoretical framework of this research is based on a combination of theses of social constructivism (perceptions that shape ontological security) and structural realism (as perceptions materialise in certain foreign and security policies of states). The hypothesis being proven is as follows: conflict potential in the Balkans is determined by ontological factors that represent important factors of security perceptions of different nations and geopolitical conceptions of different states. As a result, different perceptions influence the formation of opposing geopolitical conceptions, which leads to continuous appearances of aspirations for a territorial reconfiguration of space and changing borders, which is why a high level of interstate and/or interethnic mistrust is maintained over a long period of time. The concluding remarks are devoted to the presentation of views on how there are several reasons for Balkanisation, since this process is influenced not only by Balkan actors, but also by non-Balkan actors (big and regional powers with their own perceptions and geopolitical conceptions). That is why the attempts to stabilise the region initiated during the previous century were generally short-lived and were limited in scope. The tangle of different perceptions and mutually irreconcilable geopolitical goals of Balkan and non-Balkan actors results in ongoing Balkanisation.
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DOI: 10.33067/SE.3.2024.4
Language: English
Pages: 73-87
How to Cite:
Harvard
Proroković, D. (2024) "Ontological Security as a Factor in Balkan Geopolitics". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 3/2024, pp. 73-87. DOI: 10.33067/SE.3.2024.4