In the Balkans, the voice of a superpower counts for a lot. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s cavalier words in June 1991—“We don’t have a dog in that fight”—helped set off the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia. A similar dynamic is underway today.
The see-no-evil economic agenda of the Trump administration has contributed to the sharpest deterioration in relations since the region’s wars ended two decades ago. The administration brags that President Donald Trump has accomplished “flipping the script” in the Balkans with his focus on economics and disdain for political engagement—and he has. No fewer than six mostly quiescent countries—Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia—are now experiencing dangerous levels of interethnic toxicity, all on the Trump administration’s watch.
