Sources of Balkan insecurity

Many of the recent Balkan conflicts have been temporarily halted through emergency crisis-resolution actions. These emergency actions, though, have not focused on the interrelated sources of these conflicts, and have not thus far led to a real, lasting regional solution. The European Union (EU) and West European Union (WEU) remain "blind" to many of the region's countries and their problems. Unfortunately, some of the actions these organizations have taken may have had a negative effect on the region's stability. Regional expectations about what NATO (and the United States) can actually achieve far exceed NATO's collective will, political-military capacities and the realities of the United States' limits. Yet, almost all attention has been focused upon NATO intervention. Hence, regional expectations are likely to remain unfulfilled with adverse implications for NATO's prestige and U.S. influence.