On July 2, 2019, the event “A new Geopolitical Game in the Western Balkans?” took place at the European Parliament Information Office in Athens. The event was co-organized by ELIAMEP, the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of Peloponnese, the European Fund for the Balkans and The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG).

At the event, Florian Bieber, Professor at the Centre for the Southeast European Studies, University of Graz and Nikolaos Tzifakis, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of Peloponnese, presented their new book “The Western Balkans in the World: Linkages and Relations with Non-Western Countries”. Dr. Tzifakis also presented the policy brief of BiEPAG, entitled “The Western Balkans as a Geopolitical Chessboard? Myths, Realities and Policy Options”.

The presentation was followed by a debate on “The role of External Actors in the Western Balkans”. Dr. Ioannis Armakolas, Assistant Professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia and Head of the South-East Europe Programme – ELIAMEP coordinated the discussion, while Dusan Reljic, Head of Brussels Office of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Plamen Tonchev, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of International Economic Relations (IDOS) and Dr. Antonis Klapsis, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of Peloponnese, participated as speakers, analyzing the role of Russia, China and Turkey in the Western Balkans. After the end of the discussion, the speakers had the opportunity to answer to questions posed by participants.