Image credit: Melody Cook/CNAS

May 24, 2019

Chinese and Russian Influence in the Balkans

By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Rachel Rizzo, Zlata Gogoleva, Rachel Long and Sydney Simon

Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Rachel Rizzo are joined by recent George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs graduates Zlata Gogoleva, Rachel Long, and Sydney Simon to discuss their capstone project, studying Chinese and Russian media, investment, and political influence in the Balkan region. Their project focused on identifying the methods and techniques Chinese and Russian actors use to integrate into the Balkan economies, the targets they seek to influence, and how European and American actors might counteract those influences. While Russia is interested in keeping Balkans within its sphere of influence in the short-term, China is preparing the groundwork for a long-term economic and political strategy—whether the two will work in concert or compete has yet to be determined.

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