![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-europe.jpg)
Latest Articles about Balkans
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Yamal_pipeline_-_EDM_September_17__2015.jpg)
Nord Stream Two: The Project’s Implications in Europe (Part Three)
*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. According to the European Union’s Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, Ukraine is a “reliable transit country,” while Nord Stream Two does not help diversify supply sources, hence “it is not a... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Slavic_Brotherhood_2015.jpg)
Slavic Brotherhood 2015 Rehearses Anti–Color Revolution Operations
Russia’s Armed Forces conducted a military exercise indicating Moscow’s intent and planning to use military force to thwart future “color revolutions.” Elite Airborne Forces and special forces from Russia, Belarus and Serbia participated in Slavyanskoye Bratstvo (Slavic Brotherhood) 2015, signaling that color revolutions—as a potential... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Almir_Daci_Source_Interpol.jpg)
Almir Daci: The Albanian Recruiter for the Islamic State
According to recent reports, over 1,000 foreign fighters from the Western Balkans have joined the Islamic State, predominantly coming from Muslim communities throughout the region (Illyria Press, August 8). Several Balkan think tanks have attempted to provide the generic profiles of foreign fighters that have... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/zx620y348_2538688.jpg)
The Greek Crisis: Financial and Political Risks to the Balkans
Although the Greek banks reopened on July 20, and Athens repaid some of its debt to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, unease about the Greek crisis continues in the Balkans. The last 25 years of turbulent political and economic transition have... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/1354789170.jpg)
Why Is AGRI Back on Europe’s Energy Security Agenda?
The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI)—a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which aims to bring Azerbaijani gas and, in the future, gas from Turkmenistan to Romania and Hungary by way of Georgia and across the Black Sea—was at the center of attention of regional decision makers late... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/rosneftbp.jpg)
Russia’s New Energy Accords: Are They for Real?
Given the centrality of energy to the Russian economy and the withering impact of continuing low energy prices and sanctions, Russia has ample reason to promote energy deals with anyone it can find. The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has historically served as a... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/sergey-lavrov.jpg)
Russia’s Unending Balkan Intrigues
Historically, Russia has treated the Balkans as an area solidly within its sphere of vital interests, and that is still the case today. While individual Balkan countries are not especially important geostrategic players in Europe, their location imparts to them a greater, even possibly exaggerated,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/61e1be47-bddc-4d28-aa28-91405028d91c__1_.jpg)
Russian Analyst Calls on Government to Learn From Recent Unrest in Macedonia
Researchers have compared the North Caucasus and the Balkans as regions with similar historical and political trajectories (see for example Janusz Bugajski, Conflict Zones: North Caucasus and Western Balkans Compared, The Jamestown Foundation, 2014). This view has also gained traction among Russian experts. With the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Shefqet_Krasniqi_the_imam_of_Prishtina_s_Grand_Mosque_who_has_been_very_supportive_of_those_leaving_to_fight_in_Iraq_and_Syria_Source_Facebook.jpg)
Ethnic Albanian Foreign Fighters and the Islamic State
In recent years, several hundred foreign fighters from the Balkans are believed to have joined the ranks of the Islamic State group (Institute for the Centre for Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, December 17, 2013). Although a large number of Balkan militants fighting in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Zekerija_Qazimi_source_Facebook.jpg)
Zekerija Qazimi—Kosovo’s Imprisoned Imam and Ideological Mentor to Albanian Jihadists Fighting With Islamic State
Since August 2014, more than 100 individuals have been arrested or questioned by the security services in Kosovo, including a number of leading religious and political figures. These arrests stem from charges and allegations of recruiting young Albanian men and women from Kosovo to join... MORE