Why is Greece abusing Tirana today? Here are 3 hypotheses
Why is Greece abusing Tirana today?
Here are 3 hypotheses
Kastriot Myftaraj-skeptik
Za g e OLLUNQI
TIRANA - a great vacuum has gripped Albanian foreign policy. If for a century Albanians believed that foreigners, especially Americans, were the best to solve their problems, today more than ever it seems Albanians are losing every ability to be masters of themselves. The country seems to be entering a new phase of political dependence, where reactions to developments in the region and to neighbors do not come from a clear national platform, but from narrow day-to-day calculations.
In relations with Greece this confusion has become even more visible. Whenever Athens raises its tone, Tirana appears unprepared, or inclined to remain silent. This has fed the belief that Albanian politics has entered a mechanism of dependency and lost its compass. Instead of reciprocity and dignity, we see wavering behavior, sometimes submissive, sometimes improvised.
The first hypothesis is linked to the weakness of the Albanian political class and the lack of a long-term vision for the national interest. The second hypothesis concerns regional pressures and the use of the Kosovo crisis as an instrument of influence. The third hypothesis is more bitter: the Albanian elite itself may have accepted this condition as the price for its political survival.
If this is true, then we are not dealing simply with a diplomatic incident, but with a grave symptom of the crisis of the Albanian state. And precisely for this reason, the debate about Greece is not only a debate about neighborhood relations, but about our ability to be a state.