Balkan Futures – a co-initiative of the British Institute at Ankara, the British School at Athens, and the École française d’Athènes – is an international network which supports original research by a new generation of scholars in the field of Balkan regional studies.

Balkan Futures examines inter-regional development and cooperation in Southeast Europe in a period of crisis rather than consolidation in the EU. Through assessment of the processes and trajectories of regional interaction and development over the past 10-20 years, the project aims to define potential areas for future policy-making and research. A particular focus is Balkan perceptions of the region, examining how these have changed since the collapse of Communism. The increasing relevance of the EU vis-à-vis the development of internal state structures and institutions will be assessed, as will inter-state relations and the management of trans-boundary issues. In the current atmosphere of political and economic crisis within the EU, it is of interest to consider constructions of identity and self-image given the apparent rise of nationalism and the political right in many states in the region. The project encompasses a more specific focus on Greece and Turkey, examining their roles and aspirations in a region of which they form a key part, and their bilateral relations which historically have played a major part in shaping Balkan identities.

Principal Investigators:

Dr Marc Herzog (mherzog@biaatr.org),

Dr Ozge Dilaver Kalkan (o.dilaverkalkan@surrey.ac.uk), 

Professor Maria Couroucli (maria.couroucli@efa.gr),

Dr Tchavdar Marinov (tchavdar.marinov@efa.gr),

Professor Catherine Morgan (director@bsa.ac.uk).