This presentation uses the case study of Serbia to demonstrate that perceptions of ‘the other’ in the context of public diplomacy, as well as preferences of leading political elites matter in the management of foreign relations between states and regional institutions.

The 2012 presidential elections in Serbia inaugurated a new era for the Western Balkans—a geo-political space in Southeast Europe which over 400 000 Australians associate with their ancestry. The victory of Serbia’s Conservative President Tomislav Nikolic in May 2012 facilitated a shift in both Russia’s and the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy towards the Western Balkans, and Serbia in particular.

The EU member states are signalling a desire for a slow-down in the EU enlargement, and openly demanding, for the first time, that the Serbian Government ought to recognise the break-away province of Kosovo as a precondition for the EU membership. In Serbia, a decline in public support for European integration is becoming increasingly evident. Analysts are also predicting a larger role for Russia in the Western Balkans for the foreseeable future.

» Markovic HRC seminar flyer (PDF)

Speaker

Nina Markovic is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the ANU Centre for European Studies. She holds a combined Master degree from the ANU in Arts (International Relations) and Diplomacy, and Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Italian and Political Science from the University of Western Australia. Her PhD research project examines political and diplomatic relations between the European Union and Serbia from 1962 to 2012. Ms Markovic is a published poet and fluent in four European languages.