Kozlovsʹka Y. US policy towards the Western Balkans in the post-bipolar period

The thesis provides a thorough study of the evolution of the US policy towards the Western Balkans in the post-bipolar period. It has been determined that over the last quarter of the century the American policy towards the Western Balkans has consistently evolved under the influence of both internal and external factors, having been formed into a well-defined system of measures with a pronounced target orientation which is the transformation of the Western Balkans into a zone of stability and loyalty with their further integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. It has been established that the Western Balkans is on the periphery of US interests as such, but its stability is an important component of pan-European security, which in turn is one of the main geostrategic priorities of the United States. With the coming to power of the Clinton Democratic administration, there was a fundamental revision of the American foreign policy towards the post-Yugoslav area. From now on, the United States regarded the resolution of the conflicts caused by the dissolution of Yugoslavia as one of the key steps in achieving American global leadership, and the Western Balkans themselves as a region whose stability directly affects the prospects for a united Europe and the strengthening of Euro-Atlantic cooperation. The terrorist attack on the US in September 2001 influenced the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy strategy. The Western Balkans was excluded from the American foreign policy priorities.