ABSTRACT

The security challenges confronting border managers in Bosnia Herzegovina and Slovenia are essentially those of uncontrolled migration and cross-border crime. They dominate in Albania and Macedonia as well, but are perceived as less problematic by the officers and politicians concerned in these states. Macedonia was the poorest republic at the time of Yugoslavia's breakup in 1991, when war deprived it of access to important markets and transfer payments. As the Macedonian-Yugoslav border was not demarcated during Slobodan Milosevic's time, Macedonia never acquired the police and army experience or skills necessary for border management. Macedonia's strategic options are limited. It can continue to place poorly trained military forces and ineffective police on its insecure borders, or it can gain international credibility by reforming its border system according to Schengen standards. Macedonia's system encourages autocratic administration, inefficiency and the politicisation of the security services, including those responsible for border security.