Expectations vs. Reality: Trump and the Balkans

The lecture examined expectations of the (Western) Balkans regarding the new US administration as well as the local and regional implications that Donald Trump’s second term may pose. Topics discussed included the potential political and economic benefits some leaders might anticipate from the current administration and how the US may address the region’s unresolved issues, particularly those related to Kosovo, Serbia’s connections to China, and the demand for higher NATO expenditures.  

 

Ferenc Németh is a PhD candidate at the Corvinus University of Budapest and a Visiting International Graduate Student at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Previously, he conducted research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, worked as a research fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, served as lecturer at Eötvös József College, and interned at the Press Office at EULEX Kosovo. More recently, Ferenc was a Denton Fellow at the Center for European Policy in Washington, D.C., and participated in the Transatlantic Security Initiative of the International Republican Institute. His main research interests include the Western Balkans, EU enlargement, and regional security.