ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to reframe our understanding of the Balkan region as periphery by applying an alternative core-periphery lens, attentive to the dynamics of an emerging multipolar world order and a waning Western/European Union (EU) influence. In doing so, it challenges the traditional view of the Balkans as merely Europe's periphery, instead positioning the region as one increasingly shaped by and responsive to multiple, competing centres of global powers. By moving beyond the Eurocentric framing of the Western core, it explores how the Balkans are becoming amenable to influence from alternative cores, particularly those situated in the anti-Western sphere. The multipolarization of core-periphery relations exposes the Western Balkan periphery to risks of further peripheralization while, at the same time, it empowers local actors to redefine their own agendas and regain some leverage vis a vis the rival cores.
