The Dean Rusk International Studies guest speaker, Greg Delawie gave a presentation in the Siemens Lecture hall within the Visual Arts Center on “Promoting Democracy and Rule of Law in the Balkans.” Delawie boasts an impressive and extensive career in foreign affairs, ranging from diplomacy and 30+ years of experience with advocating/developing US policy to working on international trade, human resources, and international aviation with the State Department. From 2015 until 2018, Delawie was the US ambassador to Kosovo. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics.
To begin his presentation, Delawie provided a brief overview of what exactly is meant by “the Balkans” and which of these nations, in particular, he would be focusing on. The Balkan nations were formed following the collapse of Yugoslavia and their individual movement toward democracy and free market economics. The Western Balkan 6, i.e. the 6 Balkan states that want to join the European Union, were the subject of Delawie’s talk. These include Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. Delawie noted that these six nations, while each having many similar struggles within their borders, are more developed with regard to the implementation of democracy and free market economies, compared to the other Balkan states (Bulgaria, Croatia, etc). As he continued the discussion of democracy, Delawie provided definitions for terms such as corruption and explained what the “rule of law” actually consists of. He emphasized the link between democracy and the ability to fight corruption, using certain Western Balkan states as examples of this. Delawie finished up his presentation with reasons “Why we in the USA should care about democracy and corruption” in other countries. These reasons boiled down to the fact that democracy is opposed by the two major superpowers (Russia and China), and that democracy promotes stability. Lastly, he provided several pieces of advice that would help grow democracy and rule of law in the Balkans, particularly the states that experienced more corruption than others. Overall, Delawie’s presentation was oriented at informing the audience of the importance of democracy and how it positively affects a nation, in addition to pushing corruption out.
Entering this presentation, I was fairly uneducated about the Balkans other than their origins and that there have been a series of wars that took place within several of these countries. I was aware of the fact that democracy and lack of corruption/fair rule of law tends to result in a better way of life for the people of these countries, but hearing about the individual experiences with corruption and how it has negatively impacted these nations was enlightening. Given the presumed goal of Delawie was to educate the audience on how important promoting democracy and a strong rule of law, not just in the Balkan states, but throughout the world as well, it would be fair to say this was accomplished from an objective standpoint. The slides he used, though few, were informative, and the content of his presentation answered anything I may have had a mind to ask, such as individual examples of how corruption has been stamped out in certain Balkan countries. I can say, without a doubt, my personal interest in this region of Eastern Europe has increased a notable amount following this talk, and I now plan to spend more free time researching and learning more about the US activities in this region.
Looking at Delawie’s presentation from a Humanities perspective, what he had to say certainly made sense in that in order to avoid repeating the tragic histories experienced by the Balkan states and Albania, instituting a strong rule of law and democracy is the best path to go down. Again, my prior knowledge of this region and the individual workings of each respective nation, as well as that of Yugoslavia (prior to its collapse), was limited, but judging from what Delawie had to say and current events, it is fair to conclude that whatever systems formerly in place, or even currently, were not doing their job. “What job?” one might ask. To construct a society in which future generations can live peacefully, without corruption lacing through their own governments, sabotaging chances for a nation to grow and prosper in exchange for personal wealth or gain.
