Influence of“External Actors” In addition to the USA and Germany as major Western powers within NATO and the EU, citizens were also asked about their perception of the impact of so-called“third actors” or“external powers” on Albania's security, which includes those countries that over the last decade have mainly sought to extend their influence in the Balkan countries to rival with the EU and NATO. The citizens were asked the same question:“What is the influence of a certain country on your country’s security?” referring to Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab countries. Overall, the results show significant changes in perceptions compared to the 2019 barometer, perhaps influenced by international events. For example, the percentage of respondents who see Turkey’s influence as positive or very positive increased by about 17 percentage points compared to the 2019 barometer. There was also a decrease by 13.8 percentage points of those who think that Turkey has no role in the security of Albania and a slight decrease in the percentage of those who think it has a negative or very negative role, by about 5 percentage points. What is the influence of Turkey on our country's security? 60 52.1 48.79 50 40 30 25.8 20 12.02 10 0 Very positive Positive 30.22 16.4 Neutral 6.1 4.9 Negative 0.45 0.3 2.42 0.5 Very negative Don’t know 2019 2020 Graph 48. Perception of Turkey’s influence. 57