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Tag: Serbia

On narratives and fairytales: Serbia’s authoritarian leader’s playbook

The student protests that have shaken Serbian society in the wake of the Novi Sad disaster have so far led to only symbolic government changes. But the system itself remains intact and will not face a true reckoning without a direct confrontation with the political machinery built by President Vučić and his inner circle—a system sustained as much by repression as by a carefully crafted disinformation playbook.

February 13, 2025 - Leon Hartwell

Serbian students in the fight against the authoritarian regime

Serbia is currently experiencing a wave of protests following the death of 15 people in Novi Sad. The collapse of a canopy at the city’s railway station has led students to take to the streets across the country to fight for a better future.

January 29, 2025 - Tatjana Đorđević

Serbia’s shrinking civic space needs international attention

In recent months, Serbia has witnessed an alarming crackdown on its civic space. This has unfolded through a wave of arrests, smear campaigns, and repressive tactics aimed at silencing dissent and undermining democratic principles. These actions, exacerbated by growing Russian and Chinese influence, reveal a systematic effort of Serbia’s authorities to suppress civil society and stifle public dissent.

January 13, 2025 - Alma Mustajbašić Dragoslava Barzut

“Serbs suffer from some kind of eternal victim syndrome”

Interview with Ivan Milenković, Serbian philosopher and literary scholar. Interviewers: Iwona Reichardt and Nikodem Szczygłowski.

December 22, 2024 - Ivan Milenković Iwona Reichardt Nikodem Szczygłowski

Serbia: the construction accident that triggered nationwide protests

The construction disaster at the railway station in Novi Sad is much more than a tragic accident. It is a symbol of the incompetence and corruption of the current regime in Serbia. This undermines the main elements of government propaganda, which state that infrastructure investment will bring prosperity to the society.

December 21, 2024 - Marta Szpala

In Serbia, a controversial lithium mine project worries the European Union

The Serbian Jadar lithium mine project is one of the largest projects of its kind and has the potential to generate around half a billion US dollars in annual revenue. Yet, the environmental concerns that go along with such a project have led thousands to come out and protest in Belgrade and elsewhere. Nevertheless, President Aleksandar Vučić recently told the Financial Times that the mine is expected to open in 2028 and will produce 58,000 tonnes of lithium annually.

At the beginning of September, 21 Serbian activists were placed on a blacklist of the so-called "environmental terrorists" created by an anonymous group known as Kopaćemo (“we will dig”). This came in the wake of a large protest in Belgrade on August 18th, which drew a crowd of around 50,000 people. Following the protest, police arrested three activists and a judge promptly sentenced them to 30 to 40 days in prison. Surprisingly, the charges were not related to the blocking of railway traffic, which the activists had staged in protest of proposed lithium mines in southern Serbia, but rather an alleged assault on a journalist from Informer, a pro-government tabloid known for its sensationalist stories and support of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.

November 21, 2024 - Tatjana Dordevic

Why Serbia is a country of contradictions

Serbia has become well known for its geopolitical position between East and West. Despite this, sharp divides also exist at every level of the country’s society. While Belgrade has eagerly embraced a neoliberal model, it still promotes its role as a defender of traditional values. The effects of such contradictions can be seen throughout Serbia.

Serbia is a country of contradictions. It is very close to the European Union, in fact almost in the centre of Europe, but at the same time it is very far from it. Serbian labour migrants have always chosen Western Europe as a destination for emigration, but the heart of the nation beats in the East, with a cultural and sentimental link to Russia. In Serbia, joining the EU is more a matter of national and social prestige – joining a club of rich and well-ordered countries – than a necessity. To the contrary, many of the rules laid down by the EU are seen as an obstacle and a hindrance to EU candidates.

November 21, 2024 - Christian Eccher

The myth of the Serbian-Russian friendship

The Serbian-Russian friendship is a politically constructed myth that emerged during the Milošević era but gained prominence after changes in Russia and the strengthening of Putin's position. Serbia, with its anti-NATO and anti-western sentiments that were caused mainly by the 1999 bombings and the activities of the Hague Tribunal, became a useful partner for Russia, opening a window for renewed influence in the region.

After reading a series on Serbian history of the 19th and early 20th centuries by Slobodan Jovanović, a highly esteemed Serbian historian, lawyer, philosopher, literary critic, diplomat and politician from the early 20th century, one might wonder why the myth of Serbian-Russian friendship appears so enduring in contemporary Serbian policy, culture and society. Indeed, Russia's historical presence was less significant than that of other European powers. The answer lies in the political construction of this historical friendship over recent decades. This myth serves both nations. For Russia, it helps maintain influence in the Balkans and counter EU presence, while for Serbia it supports its position in the ongoing Kosovo issue and reinforces illiberal policies.

November 21, 2024 - Natasza Styczyńska

Montenegro’s fight for EU membership amid Serbian revanchism

The small Balkan state of Montenegro has been an official European Union candidate for many years. In spite of widespread support for integration, the political situation in the country has made accession an increasingly unlikely prospect. This challenge is compounded by growing influence of Serbia’s autocratic regime, which poses an immediate threat to Montenegro’s EU aspirations.

In a recent article, the New York Times suggested that Russia poses the primary external threat to Montenegro’s aspirations to join the European Union. This narrative, while appealing to many western officials and pundits, is misleading. Russia certainly plays a disruptive role in Montenegro and the broader Balkans, but it is Serbia, under the increasingly autocratic regime of Aleksandar Vučić, which presents a far more immediate and significant challenge.

November 21, 2024 - Leon Hartwell

Conscription mandates would be a disaster for Balkan entrepreneurs

Imagine being 27 years old, with a good job, a mortgage for an apartment, a wife, and two children, and suddenly receiving a call-up to mandatory military service with a compensation of 900 euros. This could soon become a reality for some men in Serbia and Croatia.

November 4, 2024 - Tea Kljajić

Russian aggression echoes Serbian aims regarding Kosovo

From the perspective of Kosovo, the aggression exerted by Russia against Ukraine is seen similarly as the acts committed by Serbia. The aim of both is territorial expansion. While Russia is trying to maintain its influence, Serbia aims to create what is called the “Serbian world”. Both call for greater autonomy for local citizens to justify their aggressive aims.

Kosovo and Serbia cannot agree on a sustainable political solution. The conflict between these two countries is deeply rooted and has not been resolved even after tense negotiations in Vienna in 2006-07. These negotiations produced a document known as the Ahtisaari Plan. Kosovo then declared its statehood in 2008 based on this agreement but Serbia did not accept it.

September 17, 2024 - Dorajet Imeri

A crisis for which nobody is prepared

A military intervention by Serbia into Kosovo would be the biggest upset to the political order in the Balkans since the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, with consequences that few have considered. Not only would such action do damage within Serbia, but neighbouring states and other powers could see similar repercussions as well. Even though such a scenario is not a certainty, these consequences must be considered.

The year 2008 is one that is singed into the mind of Serbs, both in Serbia and abroad. In February of that year, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. To the outrage of Serbs across the world, a part of the country regarded as integral to the Serbian identity itself left with minimal resistance and effort being made by the Serbian government. Since then, the question of Kosovo remains one of the most important political issues both within Serbia and major nations involved in the political order of the Balkans.

September 17, 2024 - Stefan Mandic

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