Greek-Bulgarian Relations in the Post–cold War Era: Contributing to Stability and Development in Southeastern Europe

The Balkan Peninsula has been an unstable regional security subsystem because of a number of defining and qualitative parameters, namely, overt or covert challenges to the territorial status, interethnic conflicts, the “great idea” syndrome, out-of-system interference, and minority expansionism. In the post–Cold War era, European Union enlargement in the area assisted the establishment of a core of systemic stabilizers that could, under certain conditions, absorb inherent instability. Greece and Bulgaria constitute an axis providing eufunctional input to the regional stability and security equation. Their partnership has been an example of inter-Balkan cooperation and an effort to establish an equilibrium mechanism to enhance the cohesion of the region.