Europe’s Dangerous Hinterlands

Europe’s eastern and south-eastern borderlands are once again moving to the centre of global politics. From the Balkans and Moldova to Georgia and Armenia, unresolved territorial disputes, competing nationalisms and the struggle between regional and global powers are reshaping a region that has repeatedly been at the centre of European conflict. As old alliances shift and new ones emerge, why have so many of these disputes survived the end of the Cold War, and what is driving their resurgence?

These are places often treated as Europe’s periphery. Yet history suggests otherwise. The Balkans helped ignite the First World War, while the territorial settlements and competing ambitions that followed shaped the path towards the Second. With Georgia facing political turmoil, Armenia reorienting away from Moscow, Moldova vulnerable to pressure through Transnistria, and disputes over borders, identity and sovereignty continuing across the Balkans, could instability on Europe’s margins once again have consequences…