ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the conflicts of the 1990s, the desire for peace and prosperity led Western Balkan countries to embrace Euro-Atlantic integration processes as a means of achieving stability and economic development. This chapter adopts the embodiment of diplomacy as the key concept for tracking the emergence of a security community in the Western Balkans. It shows that diplomacy has become normal practice among the countries of the Western Balkans and is widely accepted as the only way to ensure peace and social and economic development. Disputes between countries are viewed more and more as normal business, although deep disagreements remain on issues related to history and the use of nationalism as a means of pursuing political goals. The chapter discusses the transformations in Albanian diplomatic practice and the embodiment of diplomacy in Western Balkan countries as a way of solving interstate disputes. It draws on practice theory as the methodological tool for analysing the collected data.
