This article analyses and develops the rationale behind the foreign policy of the syriza-led government towards the Western Balkans. It challenges the prevalent view in the academic literature that there was continuity between policies of the syriza government and its predecessors. By analysing the track record of Greek foreign policy towards the region from 2009 to 2019, it argues that from mid-2016 onwards syriza implemented a major policy shift and adopted a policy of retrenchment. This change was a response to the country’s diminished economic and diplomatic power and influence in the region, as well as a reaction to the widening gap between Greek and Turkish capabilities. The adjustment of Greek foreign policy to the realities of the protracted economic crisis demonstrates that the theory of MacDonald and Parent concerning the policies followed by great powers in acute economic decline may also be applied to the study of policies followed by small powers in decline.

本文分析并阐述了激进左翼联盟领导的政府对西巴尔干地区的外交政策背后的基本原理。它挑战了学术文献中的普遍观点，即激进左翼联盟政府与其前任政府的政策之间存在连续性。通过分析 2009 年至 2019 年希腊对该地区外交政策的记录，它认为从 2016 年年中开始，激进左翼联盟实施重大政策转变，采取紧缩政策。这一变化是对该国在该地区的经济和外交力量和影响力减弱的回应，也是对希腊和土耳其能力之间不断扩大的差距的回应。希腊外交政策对长期经济危机现实的调整表明，MacDonald 和Parent 的关于大国在经济急剧衰退中所遵循的政策的理论也可以应用于衰退中小国所遵循的政策的研究。