(Socialist Yugoslav Republic of) Serbia: Once Upon a Time There Was One Country (VIRTUAL)

Liridona Veliu, PhD Candidate, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

The chapter fits within the wider frame of the PhD project titled “Back to the Future: ‘Balkanization’ and the Euro-Atlantic Integration Processes of the Western Balkans”. The main research question I aim to answer is “How does ‘balkanization’ impact the Euro-Atlantic integration processes of the Western Balkans?”. I argue that EU and NATO integration policies towards the Western Balkans continue to be underpinned by the ‘balkanization’ discourse which perpetuates pejorative conceptualizations of the region. Serbia is one of the two case studies of the project, the other being North Macedonia. Each case study is elaborated in two separate chapters which cover different historical key events that are considered crucial in shaping the relationship between the Western Balkans, EU, and NATO, starting from the breakup of Yugoslavia. The main insight derived from the chapter attached and titled “(Socialist Yugoslav Republic of) Serbia: Once Upon a Time There Was One Country” is that the more ‘balkanized’ the Balkans are, the more unified is the West. This, I argue, can also be genealogically located in older historical articulations and continues to be reflected within a Euro-Atlantic integration context which is a reflection and descendent of the same.

For the pre-circulated materials or more information, contact Gary Goertz.