Russia, the Western Balkans, and the Question of Status.

This article analyzes Russia's policy toward the Western Balkans through the lens of status-seeking, using the Larson–Shevchenko Social Identity Theory (SIT) framework. It argues that Russia employs identity-management strategies—social mobility, social creativity, and social competition—to reaffirm its great-power status, with a shift from cooperation with the West in the 1990s toward more confrontational and spoiler behavior after 2014. Russia's social creativity in the Balkans involves promoting conservatism, Orthodoxy, and Russia-friendly narratives through state-affiliated institutes and media, while social competition manifests in efforts to challenge Western-led regional initiatives, notably in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite these efforts, Russia's actions have largely been perceived negatively by Western powers, limiting its recognition as a legitimate status-holder in the region.