Photo: Washington Post
The United States of America is present in the Western Balkans for a long time. When it comes to peacekeeping, promoting democracy and supporting civil societies, the country fills a big role. In total, the U.S. has spent $1.7 billion in foreign aid in the Western Balkan from 2020 until 2024. This is about to change with the cuts of foreign aid by President Donald Trump.
On the 20th of January 2025, President Donald Trump signed a decree to halt all foreign aid programs funded by the United States. This caused major uproar across the world. The US is the biggest contributor to foreign aid programs in the world, especially through the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID. The decision made by the President and his administration have major short, but long-term consequences as well. Nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations have already filed lawsuits to try regaining the funding and continue with the US foreign aid funded programs. Federal judges initially ruled a halt to the lay-offs at U.S.A.I.D. and 2 billion dollars in completed work that needed to be paid by the US government. However, higher courts overturned these decisions. It is necessary to understand the consequences this decision has on the Western Balkans and her development.
Constitutional controversies
The decision of Donald Trump is highly controversial because of the origin of USAID. The funding program was created by the Congress in 1961, through the Foreign Assistance Act. Programs and legislation made by Congress are in almost all cases the authority of the Congress, meaning they can decide if USAID is being cut. The decree overrules Congress and can be seen as illegitimate because it deprived Congress of their authority. However, a decree signed by the President is allowed to overrule the Congress whether they agree or not. The person behind the massive funding cuts and lay-offs is Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is where the U.S. judiciary plays a critical role. Musk is one of the top advisers of President Trump but neither him nor DOGE are democratically elected. Judge Chuang expressed that Musk’s actions are violating the American Constitution. A few weeks later, a federal judge overruled that decision and Musk is allowed to continue his activities. Therefore, the decree and its judicial legitimacy remain in a grey zone.
Consequences
The consequences of the USAID cuts will be great. The short-term effects on democracy, governance and other topics can be seen in civil society organizations, which are cutting their programs, scaling down or laying off employees. However, there are a lot of changes that are not yet visible but will be felt throughout the Western Balkans later on. Most democracy projects funded by USAID, are not a one-time event, it often takes years for projects to be developed. For example, policy development for political organisations did not exist before USAID. Today, it is a standard for organisations to be working on it, an anonymous source explained.
“With uneducated individuals/citizens on the area of life you want to advance, how can society make progress?”
The cutting of USAID also created a negative sphere around the funding of the programs and people involved in the Western Balkans. Organisations where people could apply for funding and work on concrete projects on issues like, LGBTQ rights, changing legislation, women’s rights and marginalized communities are now being disregarded as fraud by illiberal governments. In Serbia, projects and organisations working on these issues are labelled as endangering the constitutional order of the country by government officials. This is worsening the situation further and creates space for autocrats and dictators to normalize illiberal actions. Speaking to a source, it became clear that there is room for the concept of tyranny of majority and illiberal democracy: “With uneducated individuals/citizens on the area of life you want to advance, how can society make progress?” Other projects on work in public administration, anti-corruption and how to handle different voices of citizens who want to participate in politics were always done and reminded of by organisations funded by USAID. By erasing the funding, countries on the Western Balkans will experience democratic backsliding, social unrest and stagnation in the EU accession process, our source said.
With the U.S. backing down and cutting their funding, there is room for foreign influences in the Western Balkans. To prevent further democratic backsliding and Russian influences, the European Union needs to step up. By taking over parts of the USAID, necessary organisations can continue their projects to improve democracy, human rights and the overall quality of life for citizens on the Western Balkans. The region is present here, in Europe, and the EU should not leave room for other influences to impact the region.
Written by Yza Schraal
