Balkan unity — realistic or just talk?

Posted by Skt_turbo@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 49 comments

Hello my Balkan friends,

Question to all of you both diaspora and those who never left your home countries.

I need to go a bit broader so you understand what I’m getting at.

When I sit with my Balkan friends here in Switzerland, having a drink and getting into those deep late night conversations, we often ask ourselves: will there ever be a time where all Balkan states can build some kind of alliance? I’m not talking about a Yugoslavia- style single nation, but more like an EU type concept.

From my perspective, mentally and culturally, we’re different from Western Europeans. For example, friends of mine who run construction or gardening companies often prefer hiring Balkan workers for certain roles. Their reasoning is simple: a typical Swiss worker finishes at 17:00 and goes home, while someone from the Balkans often pushes until the job is done because there’s more hunger to earn and succeed. That “all-in” mentality is something I hear a lot in success stories from Balkan people here. Many took bigger risks at some point in their lives.

I also look at countries like Serbia over the last 20 years there’s been serious development, especially in infrastructure. A lot is being built, things are moving.

Another interesting thing I’ve noticed: when I talk to older Swiss people (80+), they’re usually very positive about ex Yugoslavia..they used to go there on holiday. But when I talk to people in their 40s–50s, there are more stereotype thinking classic cliche.. aggressive, criminal, uneducated… the usual “Balkan = bad” narrative.

My father once told me a man who will truly unite the Balkans is someone who is born once every 1000 years.

Personally, I’m very optimistic about our region. I believe we have massive potential maybe even to become the “new Western Europe” in the future.

So my questions to all is

How do you see the Balkans today?

Do you have similar discussions with your friends?

How would you imagine a Balkan alliance working?

And how do you see the development of your countries over the last 20+ years more positive or negative?