List of Balkans articles
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A person wearing headphones puts his hands to his face as he looks through glass in a radio booth. A person stands behind him. Mourning Turkey’s Last Progressive Radio Station
Acik Radyo featured diverse voices, angering the Erdogan regime.
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People dance and sing as they take part in victory celebrations in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 13. How Post-Assad Syria Could Unleash a New Regional Order
Turkey can calm Arab nations fearful of an Islamist takeover by inviting Syria’s neighbors and the Gulf states to play a central role in the political transition.
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Syrian refugees and their supporters celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen in Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 8. In Post-Assad Middle East, Iran’s Loss Is Turkey’s Gain
Ankara will seek to fill the regional power vacuum left by the fall of Tehran’s most valuable client.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, during a ceremony marking the 96th anniversary of Victory Day, commemorating a decisive battle in the Turkish War of Independence, in Ankara, on August 30, 2018. Erdogan Gets His ‘Leader of the Muslim World’ Moment
Syria’s change of leadership has given Turkey’s president the regional influence he has always wanted.
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A white van crosses the Shehyni-Medyka checkpoint between Ukraine and Poland. Ukraine’s Neighbors Are Turning Their Backs
Ukraine’s European border states are crucial for its defense, but they're increasingly uninterested.
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Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu gives a statement to media in the village of Izvorani on Nov. 26, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania. Will Romania Elect a Pro-Russian President?
The rise of Calin Georgescu after a viral TikTok campaign means a NATO skeptic could take charge of the military in Ukraine’s western neighbor.
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A group of police officers await the disembarkation of the 600 migrants in the port of Catania on April 12, 2023 in Catania, Italy. Europe’s Radical Migration Ideas Are Becoming Reality
There’s no shortage of obstacles to sending would-be migrants to third countries—but the continent is committed to giving it a try.
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An anti-regime fighter armed with a rifle walks past a military helicopter stationed at Aleppo International Airport on Dec. 2, after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group and allied factions took control of the city. A Weak Assad Benefits Turkey—and Is a Headache for Trump
After years of relative quiet, renewed fighting in Syria could be the new U.S. administration’s first major foreign-policy challenge.
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A person walks with a red fire extinguisher near a burning car. The street is full of smoke and rubble. On the left is a person on a motorbike. The Fall of Aleppo Poses a Significant Threat to Syria’s Leader
Allies Iran and Russia are busy with their own wars, leaving Assad vulnerable.
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MHP party leader Devlet Bahceli visits Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Oct. 29, 2021 in Ankara. Can Devlet Bahceli Be Turkey’s F.W. de Klerk?
Ankara’s ultranationalist kingmaker has made surprising overtures to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan—but without U.S. pressure, the imprisoned militant might not become a Kurdish Mandela.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures toward Vladimir Putin as Putin looks at him and gestures to the right. Behind them is a BRICS backdrop with logos. Turkey’s BRICS Balancing Act
By applying to join the group, Ankara is signaling to the West that it should not be taken for granted.
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A woman in a white jacket and dark shirt raises her hand and smiles as a crowd gathers around her. The New Face of Turkey’s Opposition
In Istanbul’s most conservative borough, a secular woman is charting the path to a post-Erdogan future.
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A man holds Russian and Serbian flags during a so-called "warning protest" against the plan that the US and European Union officials presented as a way out of a decades-long strife between Serbia and Kosovo, in front of the government building in Belgrade on March 24, 2023. Harris Needs a Balkans Policy—Quickly
The region has been mishandled by the Biden administration—and could easily become a campaign vulnerability.
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Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets of the Polish Air Force take part in a NATO shielding exercise at Lask Air Base, Poland, on Oct. 12, 2022. NATO Frontline States Need an Air Defense Shield Now
Russia is probing NATO with attack drones and missiles. Ignoring them is a dangerous option.
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Protesters stand against a wall painted with a mural. They hold a large white banner with black Cyrillic lettering. One holds a cardboard sign. A Hunger Strike in the Schengen Zone
On the edge of Europe, a Saudi human rights activist is detained as a threat to national security.