Who Are Belgrade’s Most Desired Allies?
Narrative on the European Union, China and Russia during Serbian Parliamentary Campaign of 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.18.2021.73.05Keywords:
Serbia, parliamentary elections, political parties, EU integration, Covid-19 pandemicAbstract
Serbia presents itself as a country skillfully balancing between the European Union (EU), Russia, and Asia, trying to maintain good political and economic relations with the biggest players on the international arena. The Covid-19 pandemic and China’s media-publicized assistance to Serbia has affected the perception of which countries are seen as Belgrade’s true allies. At the same time, Serbia remains a EU candidate country (membership negotiations officially started in 2014) and the European Union is not only Serbian biggest trading partner, but also the biggest donor. The main aim of the article is to compare the distinctive meaning that EU membership and cooperation with non-EU countries (mainly China and Russia) has for Serbian political parties, taking into account that the Covid-19 pandemic and the ‘vaccine diplomacy’ influenced the Serbian public discourse and perception on who is the Belgrade’s most trustful partner.
Downloads
References
Almond G.A., Bingham Powell B., Comparative Politics: A Development Approach, Boston 1966.
Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Serbia Parliamentary Elections, 2021, at https://www.csis.org/programs/european-election-watch/serbia.
Conely H et al., “Becoming a Chinese Client State. The Case of Serbia”, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 2020, at https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/200924_Chinese_Client.pdf.
Election Guide, at https://www.electionguide.org/countries/id/242/.
“Serbian Parliament Left without Clear Opposition as the Ruling Party Wins Partially Boycotted Elections”, European Western Balkans, 22 June 2020, at https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/06/22/serbian-parliament-left-without-clear-opposition-as-the-rulingparty-wins-partially-boycotted-elections/.
Izvestaj o ukupnim rezultatima izbora 2020, at https://www.rik.parlament.gov.rs/extfile/sr/9419/Izvestaj%20o%20ukupnim%20rezultatima%20izbora%2020201.doc.
Jedinstvena Srbija, Program, 2011, at http://www.jedinstvenasrbija.org.rs/program-stranke.
Koalicija oko Srpske Napredne Stranke „Za Naszu Decu”, 2020.
Matura T., “Chinese Investment in Central and Eastern Europe: A Reality Check”, Central and Eastern European Center for Asian Studies, April 2021.
Mikucka-Wójtowicz D., „Europeizacja partii oraz systemów partyjnych Serbii i Chorwacji –
między rzeczywistością a iluzjami”, Politeja, vol. 12, no. 5(37) (2015), pp. 161-191, https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.12.2015.37.11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.12.2015.37.11
Miteva S., “Populism and Cozy Ties with Russia and China: Vučić Takes Serbia Further away from the EU”, EURACTIV, 20 April 2021.
Mladenov-Jovanović S., “‘One out of Five Million’: Serbia’s 2018-19 Protests against Dictatorship, the Media, and the Government’s Response”, Open Political Science, vol. 2 (2019), pp. 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1515/openps-2019-0001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/openps-2019-0001
N1, Deklaracija SPAS-a i SNS, 29 May 2021, at https://rs.n1info.com/vesti/deklaracijaspas-a-i-sns/.
Pokret Socialista, Program, at http://pokretsocijalista.rs/page/osnivacki-program/programpoliticke-partije.html.
Rudge M., Oertel J., “Serbia’s Coronavirus Diplomacy Unmasked”, European Council of Foreign Relations, 26 March 2020, at https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_serbias_coronavirus_diplomacy_unmasked/.
Savez Vojvođanskih Mađara, Izborni program 2020-2024, at https://www.vmsz.org.rs/sr/izbori-2020 accessed 17.03.2021.
Socijalisticka Partija Srbije, Statut, 2018.
Socijalisticka Partija Srbije, Program, 2014.
Srpski Patriotski Savez, Program, 2020.
Srpska Narodna Partija, Program 2020, at http://srpskanarodnapartija.rs/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/program_SNP.pdf.
Srpski Pokret Obnove, Program, 2014, at http://www.spo.rs/doc/program-spo-eds.pdf.
Stranka Pravde i Pomirenja, Programska načela 2017, at http://spp.rs/?page_id=2590.
Stranka Demokratske Akcije Sandžaka, Program, 2009.
Subotić J., “Europe is a State of Mind: Identity and Europeanization in the Balkans”, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 55 (2011), pp. 309-330, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00649.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00649.x
Szpala M., “Wybory w Serbii – manifestacja dominacji Vučicia”, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, 24.06.2020, at https://www.osw.waw.pl/pl/publikacje/analizy/2020-06-24/wyboryw-serbii-manifestacja-dominacji-Vučićia.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia, Final Results of Parliamentary Elections in Serbia Announced, 6 July 2020, at https://www.srbija.gov.rs/vest/en/158391/final-results-of-parliamentary-elections-in-serbia-announced.php.
Ozturk T., “Russian Sputnik V Vaccine Arrives in Serbia”, Anadolu Agency, 30 December 2020, at https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russian-sputnik-v-vaccine-arrives-in-serbia/2093707.
Za Naszu Decu, 2020, at https://zanasudecu.sns.org.rs/#srbija2025.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
