EU Enlargement to the Western Balkans

Anes Makul aims (for the journal Sui Generis) at analyzing the readiness of the European Union to enlarge to the Western Balkans despite the decreasing desire to support further  enlargement expressed by the EU citizens and the internal crisis the EU has been facing in recent years. The analysis has been based on rationalist and constructivist theory, two theoretical frameworks of international relations, and they are used to explain the reasons behind the EU enlargement. Whereas rationalism assumes that enlargement takes place due to economic and geopolitical reasons, constructivism assumes that enlargement takes place due to shared ideas and values. The author argues that rationalism can better explain the readiness of the Union to enlarge to the Western Balkans. More specifically, the main reason for granting EU membership to the Western Balkans is the stability of the region.