Abstract
The Balkans, a neighboring region to Turkey, has a rich history with its multiethnic and multireligious identity. Yet in recent history, it has witnessed conflicts and wars that damaged its peace and stability. In this regard, fortifying trust and cultivating a regional ownership approach in the Balkans has been part of Turkey’s pertinent foreign policy vision. In the Erdoğan era, Turkish governments have adopted a two-pronged policy toward the Balkan countries: an active development cooperation for a sustainable economy and intensive high-level dialogues for a sustainable peace and stability. This chapter reviews Turkey’s efforts in the region in the twenty-first century, together with cases from several Balkan countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Details on countries and projects to be discussed without a specific reference in this chapter were obtained directly from TİKA, as well as author’s notes from field trips.
References
AA. 2018. Over 7,000 victims of Bosnian War still missing. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/over-7-000-victims-of-bosnian-war-still-missing/1210377. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
AA. 2019a. Serbia, Bosnia sign pact on Belgrade-Sarajevo highway. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/serbia-bosnia-sign-pact-on-belgrade-sarajevo-highway/1673231. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
AA. 2019b. Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway ‘important’ for development. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/sarajevo-belgrade-highway-important-for-development/1605982. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
Aksut, Fahri. 2019. Turkey’s aid will never be forgotten: Albanian PM. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkeys-aid-will-never-be-forgotten-albanian-pm/1657618. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
Andrić, Ivo. 1959. The Bridge on the Drina. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Barber, Tony. 1993. Profile: General Philippe Morillon—Bosnia, I am with you: Tony Barber reports from Zvornik on the French general who is bringing hope to a besieged town. The Independent, March 21.
BBC. 2013. Huge Bosnia mass grave excavated at Tomasica. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24778713. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
Cojocaru, Alexandru, and Simon Davies. 2015. Why growth matters in fighting poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Future Development. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2015/08/31/why-growth-matters-in-fighting-poverty-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina/. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
EC. 2020. Together for Albania—International Donors’ Conference pledge statement. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/pledge_statement_final_0.pdf. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
Hürriyet. 2011. Erdoğan: Tek ortak çağrımız evrensel olarak ezandır, September 29.
Makaš, Emily Gunzburger. 2001. Representing multinational Bosnian identity: The bridge metaphor and Mostar’s Stari Most. Paper presented at the Con/De/Recon-struction of south Slavic architecture, Cornell University, Ithaca.
MFA. 2017. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu accompanied President Erdoğan during his visit to Serbia, 9–11 October 2017. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/disisleri-bakani-mevlut-cavusoglunun-sayin-cumhurbaskanimiza-refakatle-sirbistani-ziyareti_en.en.mfa. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
MFA. n.d.-a. Relations with the Balkan region. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-with-the-balkan-region.en.mfa. Accessed 11 April 2020.
MFA. n.d.-b. Relations between Turkey and Kosovo. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-kosovo_.en.mfa. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
Mulalic, Muhidin. 2019. Prospects for trilateral relations between Turkey, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Insight Turkey 21 (2): 129–148.
Muś, Jan. 2017. Macedonia is losing people due to brain drain. https://www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/in-english/macroeconomics/macedonia-is-losing-people-due-to-brain-drain/. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
OSCE. 2001. Ohrid Framework Agreement. Conclusion date: August 13, 2001. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. https://www.osce.org/skopje/100622. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
Republika. 2019. Horror bus crash: 13 fatalities, four remain in critical condition, February 13.
Rohde, David. 2012. Endgame: The betrayal and fall of Srebrenica, Europe’s worst massacre since World War II. New York: Penguin Books.
Srebrenica. 2014. Remembering Srebrenica: Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. https://www.srebrenica.org.uk/what-happened/history/ethnic-cleansing-bosnia/. Accessed 9 Apr 2014.
Srebrenica. 2019. Remembering Srebrenica: Survivor stories—Ramiza Gurdić. http://www.srebrenica.org.uk/survivor-stories/ramiza-gurdic/. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2016. Albania is a key country for peace and stability in the Balkans. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/67458/arnavutluk-balkanlarin-baris-ve-istikrari-icin-kilit-bir-ulkedir. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2017. 22nd anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/speeches-statements/558/78881/22nd-anniversary-of-srebrenica-genoside. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2019a. President Erdoğan participates in commemoration for Srebrenica Genocide victims. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/107020/president-erdogan-participates-in-commemoration-for-srebrenica-genocide-victims. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2019b. Balkanlarda barış ve istikrarın korunmasına çok büyük önem veriyoruz. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/haberler/410/110964/-balkanlarda-baris-ve-istikrarin-korunmasina-cok-buyuk-onem-veriyoruz. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2019c. An effective mechanism of cooperation should be established and implemented among Islamic countries. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/113838/-an-effective-mechanism-of-cooperation-should-be-established-and-implemented-among-islamic-countries. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TCCB. 2019d. Today’s self-confident Turkey foils traps and focuses on its goals. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/113737/-today-s-self-confident-turkey-foils-traps-and-focuses-on-its-goals. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
Thatcher, Margaret. 1992. Stop the excuses: Help Bosnia now. The New York Times, August 6.
TİKA. 2018a. TİKA Balkans. Ankara: Türk İşbirliği ve Koordinasyon Ajansı.
TİKA. 2018b. Gostivar halkına sağlık alanında destek. https://www.tika.gov.tr/tr/haber/gostivar_halkina_saglik_alaninda_destek-44309. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
TİKA. 2019a. Albania gets 1st aid from Turkey after deadly quake. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/albania_gets_1st_aid_from_turkey_after_deadly_quake-54579. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TİKA. 2019b. TİKA offers educational support to Albania. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/tika_offers_educational_support_to_albania-52187. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TİKA. 2019c. TİKA renovated dormitory in Skrapar, Albania. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/tika_renovated_dormitory_in_skrapar_albania-51987. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
TİKA. 2019d. TİKA builds a village school in North Macedonia. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/tika_builds_a_village_school_in_north_macedonia-54436. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
TİKA. 2019e. TİKA provides health aid to North Macedonia. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/tika_provides_health_aid_to_north_macedonia-52786. Accessed 12 Apr 2020.
Tzifakis, Nikolaos, and Charalambos Tsardanidis. 2006. Economic reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina: The lost decade. Ethnopolitics 5 (1): 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449050600576316.
UNDP. 2009. Assessment of development results: Bosnia and Herzegovina. In The Assessment of Development Results. United Nations Development Programme.
UNDP. 2013. National Human Development Report—Rural development in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Myth and reality. Sarajevo: United Nations Development Programme.
UNDP. 2016. Human Development Report, 2016—Risk-proofing the Western Balkans: Empowering people to prevent disasters. In Human Development Report. United Nations Development Programme.
UNESCO. 2005. World Heritage List: Old Bridge area of the Old City of Mostar. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/946/. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
UNESCO. 2007. World Heritage List: Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1260/. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
Vulliamy, Ed. 2016. The appalling reality of Bosnia’s missing dead. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161212-the-appalling-reality-of-bosnias-missing-dead. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
World Bank. 1997. Bosnia and Herzegovina: From recovery to sustainable growth. Washington, DC: World Bank.
World Bank. 2004. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Post-conflict reconstruction and the transition to a market economy (English). Washington, DC: World Bank.
World Bank. 2019a. World Bank data GDP (current US$). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
World Bank. 2019b. World Bank data GDP per capita (current US$). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD. Accessed 9 Apr 2020.
World Bank. 2019c. World Bank data GDP per capita, PPP (current international $). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD. Accessed 10 Apr 2020.
YTB. 2019. “Alumni Turkey” event held in Skopje. https://www.ytb.gov.tr/en/news/alumni-turkey-event-held-in-skopje. Accessed 11 Apr 2020.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Karahan, H. (2020). Catalyzing Peace in the Balkans. In: The Quest for a New International Aid Architecture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50442-7_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50442-7_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-50441-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-50442-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)