West Balkan satellite states of the soft empire of the EU

Abstract

We elaborate on the relationship of Beck’s ‘soft empire’ and peripheral states, considering the EU as a non-homogeneous and non-hegemonic empire. We also work on the socio-theoretical “critique” of the so-called ‘methodological nationalism’. The starting point of a new approach is that the main problem is not any nation-building program. In our view, the reasons for the recurring, persistent problems with the issues of a nation its state, and neighbors are the majority-principled decision-making and regional segmentation, and the fixed nature of borders. The emerging Balkan phenomenon of “association with a delayed or canceled accession process” requires a new approach.

Keywords

• eu
• western balkans
• accession process
• periphery