The post-war American statesman, Dean Acheson, famously said in 1962 “Britain has lost an empire and not yet found a role.”
Britain did later find a role as it was one of the leading nations in shaping EU foreign policy until Rupert Murdoch, Boris Johnson, and Nigel Farage reduced the UK to being a marginalised player in continental foreign policy strategy despite being a leading Nato member, the UK’s status as permanent member of the UN Security Council, and the UK military and nuclear weapons.
In the 1990s Europe seemed helpless in the face of Serbian atrocities in the former Yugoslavia. Tony Blair changed that. He forged forged an alliance with Germany, France and Italy and brought in the US to intervene in the Balkans to stop the death squads, ethnic cleansing, and flows of refugees seeking safety from the Serb army and militias.
Milosevic went to the Hague but as the fighting stopped it was impossible to shape an effective peace.
Today the nations emerging from Yugoslavaia – Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro – have been unable to shape a new politics based on mutual recognition of neighbours and settled internal politics.
A new nationalist government in North Macedonia recently tore up the hard-won agreement with Greece on the country’s name plunging Skopje-Athens relation to a new low.
Britain has huge respect in the region from leading the intervention that led to the end of Serb atrocities. London sent soldiers, diplomats, and economic aid.
Cathy Ashton, the Labour peer, who was the EU’s first foreign minister (called High Representative in EU jargon) worked tirelessly 2009-2014 in the Balkans.
But following the hard Brexit that rupturing good relations with EU member states as well as the Brussels’ institutions Britain stopped being a serious player on European foreign policy.
Yet the continuing instability in the region from Albania to the Aegean has increased flows of economic migrants and asylum seekers which impact on the UK. China is increasingly present and Russia has the Belgrade government dancing to Putin’s tunes.
David Lammy made an early visit to Kosovo as shadow foreign secretary. Can he convert this interest into a serious new British commitment to try and solve the region’s problems or at least reduce tensions?
It would show Britain was back as a major European player without waiting on some future return to full membership.
The UK is still respected. In the southern Kosovo town of Ferizaj last year a statue of Tony Blair was erected in the main square. While other former Yugoslavia states are torn by nationalist and personalised politics Kosovo is a real democracy, which is quite remarkable considering it was a war zone only 25 years ago.
The country is the only republic in the entire former Yugoslavia which has progressed steadily in the international democracy indexes for the last 10 consecutive years. It has free media and active civil society. It also has a regular rotation of parties leading the government, and it seems that after 4 years of governance by the current Prime minister Albin Kurti, the forthcoming elections on 9th of February may produce a new government, most probably led by the current mayor of the northern town of Mitrovica and the former finance minister Bedri Hamza.
Kurti’s relationship with both the USA and EU has soured in recent years and a new approach is overdue. Britain could offer support to a new government. Hamza’s calm demeanour and focus on economy, healthcare and education is what the entire region needs to move forward. If he emerges as Kosovo’s new leader it will be welcomed in Washington, EU capitals and investment by the Labour government’s Foreign Office could win dividends.
The outgoing Prime minister Kurti may win 35 per cent of votes but Hamza is aiming to build a big tent coalition of opposition parties for a new government. If he manages with UK help to increase Kosovo’s presence in the European Union and wider international community, Kosovo under Hamza will be better placed in the quest for full international recognition which Vladimir* Putin bitterly opposes modern forms on inward vestment to spur economic growth.
Britain can seek to encourage better political practice in a region plagued still by nationalist demons, historical grudges and populist politicians. It will send a signal to the EU as a whole that the UK is back adding value to Europe’s duty to lift the West Balkans away from Putin nationalism and seek a more mature European future for all its citizens.
