A Study on State and Societal Security Dilemma: Great Power Dynamics and Regional Challenges in the Western Balkans

The Russian invasion of Ukraine gave rise to discussions of hard power configurations in international politics and challenged peace statuses at a world level.Many countries revised their foreign policy strategies according to major power alliance.The global rhetoric shifted from cosmopolitanism to statism, survival and collective security systems.In the midst of a war, the WB states characterized from still high levels of corruption, flawed democracies and unresolved ethnic conflicts found themselves in rising insecurities.The study aims to address the following research questions: Has the Russia -Ukraine conflict caused a security dilemma in the Western Balkans region?To what extent would the security dilemma contribute to the intensity of ethnic disputes in the Western Balkans?The framework is primarily centered defensive realism as well as the security dilemma and its impact on regional conflicts.Anarchy, fear and misperception are the three variables used to measure state and societal security dilemma.The study concludes that states that do not belong to strong military alliances and organizations find it easier to find themselves in a security dilemma that could quickly escalate into an active conflict.