The Revision of Albania’s National Interest in the Context of the Strategic Partnership
Keywords:
national interest, foreign policy, Western Balkans, Albania, external actors, strategic partnershipsAbstract
This paper aims to analyze a previously unexplored issue, such as the revision of Albania’s national interests in the context of the strategic partnership. The objective is to move away from traditionalist approaches in the Western Balkans which consider Albania’s ‘National Interest’ as unsustainable and a derivative of changes in Foreign Policy with direct implications in the framework of constitutive rules in multilateral relations. Through the qualitative method, the study sets to add knowledge to the body of literature that the constructivist approach in relation to other theories can offer a more acceptable understanding of Foreign Policy in the Western Balkans and change our view regarding the National Interest of Albania. The data used for Albania were obtained from the National Strategies of the last two years. Having such a perspective, the article, argues that the growth of and revision of Albanian National Interest in the Balkans and specifically in Northern Macedonia, also supported by the strategic partnership with the allies, has transformed it into one of the main actors in the region from a geostrategic point of view. At the same time, Open Balkans Initiative is a constant priority of Albanian Foreign Policy and the wider region, positively evaluated by the EU for opening membership negotiations and improving interstate cooperation. Consequently, Albania’s Strategic Partnership with the European Union, the United States of America, and Turkey is a key priority for strengthening the geostrategy‑economy‑politics triangle. This further adapted in geopolitical terms for the region, the importance of the Adriatic Sea‑Eighth Corridor, and integration into the European Union.
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