As part of the international presence in the Western Balkans, the European Union has adopted sanctions, brokered political agreements, launched its first-ever police and military missions and... Show moreAs part of the international presence in the Western Balkans, the European Union has adopted sanctions, brokered political agreements, launched its first-ever police and military missions and directed economic, legal and administrative reforms to eradicate the root causes of instability. Yet, despite the comprehensive nature of its involvement, the EU__s strategies have been marked by confusion, its actions by concurrent or competing mandates of other international organisations. As a result, the returns on its investments are dwindling, at a time when nation-building in the region has entered its final stages with the separation of Serbia and Montenegro, the search for bringing an end to the international governance of Bosnia-Herzegovina and a final status for Kosovo. As the Western Balkans still contain a genuine security threat, there is a real imperative now to move the region as a whole from the stage of international protectorates and weak states to the stage of accession to the euro-atlantic organisations to which they aspire. This book presents legal and political ways and means to restructure the international effort to see the defining processes through. Under the leadership of the EU, only a __tough love__ strategy based on a firm but fair application of the conditionality principle can lead to the integration of the Western Balkans into the European mainstream. Show less
