This paper examines how external third-parties, such as international organizations, can play a role in facilitating the development of security community and international integration within post-conflict societies. The formation of a security community includes the emergence of trust, belongingness, and reconciliation, along with internalizing the notion of resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner. This paper studies the roles of the EU and NATO in potentially fostering a regional security community in the Western Balkans. Both organizations have become heavily involved and invested in the region attempting to extend to the area the well established security community that exists among Europe and its TransAtlantic partners, while all the countries of the Western Balkan region have expressed a desire to join European institutions and become a part of the Euro-Atlantic community. But what are the implications of external encouragement of security community? The socialization of individual countries, rather than the region as a whole, contributes more to each country's self-perception as a member state rather than as a part of a regional community. This study offers unique insight into how and why feelings of trust and a sense of community can be encouraged by external actors-and how and why trust and community can filter down to the most local level within post-conflict societies. Such insight will further interests in enhancing conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.

This study examines the extent to which Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, brought together by partnership in the Adriatic Charter in 2003, have made progress toward the development of trust and belonging (a security community) that will facilitate wider Euro-Atlantic integration. We assess identity and belonging with partners and neighbours, as well as within individual states. Moreover, we examine whether notions of security community 'trickle down' to the public. Based on extensive fieldwork, we conclude that there has been an increase in interactions among these countries at the elite level, but the general public in each country appears to exhibit less trust and sense of community.

Many have observed the early phases of regional security community development in the Western Balkans over the past decade. Much of this research has focuses on elite-level, government to government and government to International Organization cooperation. Yet, for security community to become a reality, it must also develop at the public-level. In the Western Balkans, it remains to be seen just how deep this new sense of community reaches. Based on fieldwork and surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008, a crucial moment for the region, we argue that public-level security community is inconsistent and in some areas is all together lacking. It is our position that programs advanced in the Western Balkans must concentrate not just on elite institution building, but also on community building within and between the individual countries of the region.

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