The role that The idea of Europe has played in Albania'sforeign policy during the post-communist era"

"The role that the 'Idea of Europe' has played in Albania's foreign policy in the postcommunist era", is a thesis on Albania's foreign policy based on the social constructivist approach represented by Ted Hopf, which connects the domestic identities of a state with its foreign policy using the social cognitive theory of identity. According to this approach, the way a state identifies itself in relation to another state, shapes the interests of the former in relation to the latter, thus influencing its foreign policy choice. Concretely, this paper seeks to explain Albania's pro-European orientation through its domestic identities, specifically the way Albania identifies itself in relation to Europe. Using Hopf's method, the identification that Albania makes of itself in relation to Europe will be uncovered by analysing the Albanian postcommunist public discourse. Based on the findings, we will try understand the role that the idea of Europe has played in the way Albania identifies itself in relation to Europe, and through this its impact in Albania's foreign policy choice. Through this analysis we aim to make a modest contribution to the understanding and forecasting of Albania's foreign policy.