Understanding Western Balkans’ Berlin Process – A Conflict Management Perspective

Western Balkans’ Berlin Process is a new European political process. It offers important implications for academic and professional research. For several years, the Western Balkans' Berlin Process, initiated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, supported by EU member countries, has served as a framework and a connectivity agenda for regional cooperation. European future of the region, reconciliation and good neighborly relations, rule of law, sustainable economic reforms, strengthening good governance and democracy, prosperity of youth, are some of arenas at focus of this process. In the spirit of exploring new arenas for research, the aim of this paper is to understand, through an analysis of the conclusions of the Chairs, what is the Western Balkans’ Berlin Process, and what are the main arenas of transformation that this process is aiming to address.