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(Mis)understanding the Balkans: Greek Geopolitical Codes of the Post-communist Era

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14650040600767909

1557-3028

Asteris Huliaras, Charalambos Tsardanidis,

Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies

For most Greeks, neighbouring countries like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania formed a terra incognita for almost half a century since the end of the Second World War. In the early 1990s communism collapsed in all four countries and despite the three bloody wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, information, goods and people crossed Balkan boundaries in unprecedented speed. The paper examines three geopolitical codes about the Balkans that successively dominated Greek views and policies in the last fifteen years: the idea of a menacing 'muslim arc', the image of the Balkans as a Greek 'natural hinterland' and the idea of the Balkans as an undisputed part of Europe. All these geopolitical ideas were introduced by the Greek political elite and influenced decisively both Greek foreign policy and public attitudes for about half a decade each.