US policy towards the Albanian cause in Yugoslavia during the Cold War
Session
Political Science
Description
Political reflections from the collision of major world political blocs during the Cold War were mostly felt in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. This included the Albanians which following 1945 remained divided separated in Yugoslavia and Albania. Yugoslavia did not remain close to Soviet Union and developed at certain points even open cooperation with the United States. US was obviously concerned with the position of the Albanians in Yugoslavia but its geopolitical and geostrategic interest was to keep Yugoslavia out of the iron curtain. Based on the documents of American Administration of the time, one can notice that all political developments in the Albanian areas in Yugoslavia were monitored in detail, although the US Government was not interested in interfering with the Yugoslav politics. However, by the beginning of the 1980s, there was a greater interest towards Albanians but any upheaval in Yugoslavia was viewed by the US as a possible opportunity for the Soviet Union to reach the Adriatic and Aegean Sea through Yugoslavia and Albania. The economic crisis in the Soviet Union, the implications of a crackdown within NATO during the 1980s, and the insistence on dominant policy at a global level, led the US to show greater interest in the Balkan region and consequently seek safer allies in the Balkans in long-term terms. Debates in the US Congress and CIA reports in the mid-1980s show a clearer stand in support of the Albanian issue.
Keywords:
Cold war, Yugoslavia, Albanians, CIA, US Congress.
Session Chair
Labinot Greiçevci
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-550-19-2
Location
Pristina, Kosovo
Start Date
26-10-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
26-10-2019 2:30 PM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2019.110
Recommended Citation
Iseni, Fati, "US policy towards the Albanian cause in Yugoslavia during the Cold War" (2019). UBT International Conference. 110.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2019/events/110
US policy towards the Albanian cause in Yugoslavia during the Cold War
Pristina, Kosovo
Political reflections from the collision of major world political blocs during the Cold War were mostly felt in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. This included the Albanians which following 1945 remained divided separated in Yugoslavia and Albania. Yugoslavia did not remain close to Soviet Union and developed at certain points even open cooperation with the United States. US was obviously concerned with the position of the Albanians in Yugoslavia but its geopolitical and geostrategic interest was to keep Yugoslavia out of the iron curtain. Based on the documents of American Administration of the time, one can notice that all political developments in the Albanian areas in Yugoslavia were monitored in detail, although the US Government was not interested in interfering with the Yugoslav politics. However, by the beginning of the 1980s, there was a greater interest towards Albanians but any upheaval in Yugoslavia was viewed by the US as a possible opportunity for the Soviet Union to reach the Adriatic and Aegean Sea through Yugoslavia and Albania. The economic crisis in the Soviet Union, the implications of a crackdown within NATO during the 1980s, and the insistence on dominant policy at a global level, led the US to show greater interest in the Balkan region and consequently seek safer allies in the Balkans in long-term terms. Debates in the US Congress and CIA reports in the mid-1980s show a clearer stand in support of the Albanian issue.