Start Date
4-23-2018 5:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2018 5:30 PM
Disciplines
Infra-Balkans Relations & External Relations of the Balkan Region
Description
Russian interference within Western Balkan affairs has successfully inhibited their accession to the European Union (EU). This paper explains how the relationship between Serbia and Russia developed since the end of the Cold War and what the foreign relations between the two countries, and other external actors, will look like in the future. Exploring this relationship will illustrate the importance of historical backgrounds within international relations and could give insight on what Serbia’s future accession to the EU will look like. The first part of this paper will present a brief background on EU relations with Serbia and the power of Serbian minorities in neighboring countries. Afterwards, a comparative event history analysis and quantitative data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian National Bank, Eurobarometer and the Observatory of Economic Complexity will be used together to present evidence of Russian interference throughout different institutional aspects of Serbia. Agreements, public opinion, direct and indirect actions will be used to assess the amount of Russian interference and its effect on Serbia and the Serbian minorities that exist in other countries within the Western Balkans. Additionally, an analysis of Serbian political parties and the recent elections bolsters the finding that the current two-track policy, which involves extensive cooperation with Russia and Serbia, will reach a breaking point and Serbia will have to choose one primary ally.
Serbian and Russian Relations: The Future Implications for Serbia’s Accession to the European Union
Russian interference within Western Balkan affairs has successfully inhibited their accession to the European Union (EU). This paper explains how the relationship between Serbia and Russia developed since the end of the Cold War and what the foreign relations between the two countries, and other external actors, will look like in the future. Exploring this relationship will illustrate the importance of historical backgrounds within international relations and could give insight on what Serbia’s future accession to the EU will look like. The first part of this paper will present a brief background on EU relations with Serbia and the power of Serbian minorities in neighboring countries. Afterwards, a comparative event history analysis and quantitative data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian National Bank, Eurobarometer and the Observatory of Economic Complexity will be used together to present evidence of Russian interference throughout different institutional aspects of Serbia. Agreements, public opinion, direct and indirect actions will be used to assess the amount of Russian interference and its effect on Serbia and the Serbian minorities that exist in other countries within the Western Balkans. Additionally, an analysis of Serbian political parties and the recent elections bolsters the finding that the current two-track policy, which involves extensive cooperation with Russia and Serbia, will reach a breaking point and Serbia will have to choose one primary ally.
