For many decades Albania remained a little known country not only for ordinary people in Europe or in the United States but also for different political analysts. One of the reason was that after World War II, it became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, a communist dictator, and remained staunchly isolationist until its transition to democracy after 1990. With the collapse of communism Albania found itself facing a new security environment, including changing geopolitical situation in the Balkan region, so came with a new idea for international relations and began seeking closer ties and diplomatic relations with the West. That kind of diplomacy, oriented towards western countries, was supposed to be a solution to problems inherited from the past. At the same time this small Balkan country has striven to normalize ties especially with its neighbors. Regional cooperation was defined by Albanian government as an element that will boost and strengthen regional security. During these last two decades the main goal of Albanian foreign policy remains the same, which is the Euro-Atlantic integration, close relations with the United States and full membership in the European Union. However, Albania already reached the goal of the NATO membership on 1 April 2009 and also become an official candidate to join the European Union (June 2014).

The main aim of this lecture is to analyze the Albanian foreign policy since 1991 and show how it has evolved over time. To achieve this, I will focus on both domestic and international factors that influence Albanian foreign policy. The crucial part of the presentation will be an examination of current Albanian diplomacy under new government lead by Prime Minister Edi Rama, the leader of the Socialist Party.