The Western Balkans: The Interplay Between Energy and Politics

This chapter examines the evolving interplay between energy and politics in the Western Balkans (WB) by considering the proactive involvement of the European Union (EU), Russia, China, and Turkey. The WB has been at the center of increased geopolitical attention from the leading world powers. These geopolitical interests have been greatly motivated by significant economic, security, and political advantages to the great powers, which skillfully use the WB as a tool to control international and regional affairs. In this regard, this work surveys the clash of energy interests among the EU, Russia, China, and Turkey for influence over and the eventual control of the WB. Actually, the interplay between energy and politics is the toughest manifestation of geopolitical rivalry between these states in the WB sphere of influence. By exploring this subject, we attempt to demonstrate why there is an increasing presence of these powers in the WB. In this regard, the WB certainly represents a single geopolitical region that naturally attracts the leading actors of world politics to compete for the WB sphere of influence and control. Thus, the WB is indeed a typical geopolitical region, especially with regards to its common history, language, religion, ethnicity, and culture. The WB is also a valuable geopolitical region that opens the door and access to the West, the Mediterranean, and Central Europe. This work attempts to explore this geopolitical uniqueness of the WB region by exploring the EU’s, Russia’s, China’s, and Turkey’s exercise of power that is aimed at both energy and politics. Therefore, Winston Churchill’s definition of the Balkans as the “soft underbelly” of Europe is still relevant today because of the peninsula’s energy, economic, security, and political aspects.