In a world where international image is measured not only by real performance but also by the ability to present and package it as success, Albania managed\u2014if only for a moment\u2014to ascend a European stage usually reserved for bigger players. Hosting the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Tirana on May 15\u201316, 2025, was widely seen as an act of diplomatic affirmation and a signal of what many described as the country’s \u201cstrengthened soft power.\u201d Yet, like lights dimming after the show ends, this event must be analyzed beyond the media runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just Another Summit \u2013 What do these events actually produce?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Such summits are not rare. In the past five years, countries such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What benefits did these summits bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An event, but not a Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To build sustainable soft power, a country needs domestic policies that reflect credible values and institutions that support them. Politicization of success and the spectacle of leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of constructing a national narrative to empower the state, the summit became a propaganda tool domestically, portraying the prime minister as the central actor on a stage that should have been institutional. Structural fragility behind the spotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No summit can erase the fact that Albania ranks among the most corrupt countries in Europe (according to Transparency International), has limited media freedom, politicized institutions, and low public trust. Increased visibility, but no influence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Albania\u2019s participation placed it at the center of attention. But being present is not the same as influencing the agenda. When soft power collides with harsh reality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Albania continues to suffer from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can a country with such indicators be an attractive model for its neighbors? What does it take for true Soft Power?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To move from a celebratory moment to a sustainable policy, Albania needs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soft power is the product of credibility built over time, not of a media-glorified moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The EPC Summit in Tirana gave Albania a moment of glory. But glory is temporary. Momentum only comes if that moment is translated into strategy, institutions, and credibility. In a world where international image is measured not only by real performance but also by the ability to present and package it as success, Albania managed\u2014if only for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9756],"tags":[9763,16778,16780,16169,16776,16773,16774,16772,16771],"class_list":["post-21909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-albania-en-2","tag-epc-summit","tag-foreign-policy","tag-institutional-credibility","tag-international-image","tag-media-narrative","tag-political-leadership","tag-public-diplomacy","tag-soft-power"],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/altax.al\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Samiti-KPE-Maj25-1140x445.jpeg",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/altax.al\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Samiti-KPE-Maj25-463x348.jpeg",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/altax.al\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Samiti-KPE-Maj25-300x200.jpeg",300,200,true],"full":["https:\/\/altax.al\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Samiti-KPE-Maj25.jpeg",1536,1024,false]},"yoast_head":"\n\n
\n
Albania currently lacks a consolidated public diplomacy strategy, exportable cultural policies, or a stable ecosystem to exert influence beyond its borders.
The EPC Summit was a well-orchestrated exception\u2014not part of an institutionalized path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From personalized banners to interventions in every panel, Albania was presented more as a story of \u201cstrong leadership\u201d rather than that of a \u201cfunctional state.\u201d
And this is exactly what soft power is not<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is no coincidence that our diplomacy lacks a permanent body for cultural promotion or a support system for the diaspora as a foreign policy instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Albania did not present a new platform for the Balkans, nor any initiative on security, energy transition, or digital transformation of the region.
The words spoken were direct\u2014but not new.
In this sense, participation marked audibility<\/strong>, not leadership<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
If not, then any claim to soft power is, at best, disingenuous\u2014and at worst, false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Otherwise, we remain a country photographed alongside great leaders\u2014without the capacity to influence great agendas.In international politics, as in life, image has value\u2014only when it matches the substance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"