Bosna i Hercegovina između Rusije i Zapada početkom XXI vijeka

The Balkans is an area where different groups of people live, who speak different languages, and whose culture and traditions are very rich. And as such, it has always been considered a place of possible conflicts of cultures and civilizations, of the West and the East. Throughout history, the Balkans have proven to be a powder keg, the place where many conflicts and problems arose. A place of dangerous living! The area of Southeast Europe is considered by the international community to be the Western Balkans. These include Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania. Such a name, awarded by the European Union, speaks of the great importance of this area. The Western Balkans is a purely political term. The countries of the Western Balkans in the new geopolitical picture of the world found themselves in a split between the NATO alliance, America, the European Union and Russia. The presence of Russia in the Western Balkans represents a significant problem and does not contribute to regional stability. NATO's aspirations to expand into this region are aimed at admitting as many countries as possible to its membership, which is intended to further undermine Russia's role in this area. That is why Russia is trying in every possible way to prevent the expansion of NATO by creating further instability. Russian aggression against Ukraine has only fueled the efforts and efforts of the USA and the EU to speed up the process of accession of the countries of the Western Balkans to the European Union and the NATO alliance. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina is probably a classic example of Russia's efforts to create instability in the region. Considering the internal organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina (two entities and Brčko District), as well as the current political situation, i.e. attitude of political actors from the Republika Srpska (RS) towards certain issues important for Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress towards EU integration, it is very important that the EU and NATO get involved as strongly as possible in solving this situation. Russia's influence on the current leadership of the RS is noticeable, primarily supporting Milorad Dodik's anti-Dayton and anti-constitutional activities, which in many ways slows Bosnia and Herzegovina 's progress towards the EU. Russia uses the weaknesses of the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the shortcomings of the “West's” foreign policy engagement, in order to expand its spheres of influence and prevent NATO integration processes. Considering Russia's failure in Ukraine, the Western Balkans is becoming for Vladimir Putin an area where he wants to try to make certain “compensation”, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia where he has a lot of his supporters. In this regard, the heads of state and government of the member states of the European Union at the summit held on December 15, 2022, confirmed the recommendation of the European Commission and granted Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of a candidate on the way to the EU. Analysts claim that such a decision of the European Council is symbolic and that in practice it will not bring significant changes or benefits for citizens and the economy. Bosnia and Herzegovina still has a long way to go in implementing numerous reforms and harmonizing with the European acquis. But it shows the commitment of EU members to give Bosnia and Herzegovina incentives to join their membership.