Contradictions and limits of reconstruction policies in the Balkans

NATO's military operations in Yugoslavia (March to June 1999) have created a new situation in the Balkans with direct and indirect political and econo mic repercussions. To handle the serious problems that have arisen, more an d more plans for stabilizing and rebuilding the Balkans have been drawn up. Most of them emphasize relations with the EU and regional complementaritie s. Meanwhile, despite strong interaction and the interdependence of infrast ructures, powerful centrifugal tendencies exist along with poles of attract ion outside the region. Divergent interests in the international community, the institutional immaturity and weakness of most states in the Balkans, t he imposition of neoliberal reforms in war-ravaged economies, the growth of economic criminality in the countries or regions "under protection", the e xclusion of Yugoslavia, and worsening ethnic problems are at the root of ma ny deep contradictions that, running through reconstruction plans, severely limit their effectiveness.