Serbia’s Security Relations with the EU and China in the Evolving International Environment

Đorđević, Branislav and Nedić, Pavle (2024) Serbia’s Security Relations with the EU and China in the Evolving International Environment. In: The 4rd “Dialogues on China” International Academic Conference: Harvesting the winds of change: China and the global actors. Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, pp. 491-510. ISBN 978-86-7067-339-7

Text iipe_dijalozi_kina-2024-4-2-ch24.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (226kB)

Abstract

Serbia’s foreign policy relies on simultaneously developing positive relations with key global actors, including the EU, the US, Russia, and China. This approach has been designated as a four-pillar foreign policy, a semi-official stance of the country’s leadership for the last decade and a half, regardless of the political faction in power. The EU is a traditionally important actor because Serbia aspires to become a member of the Union. Additionally, the role of the EU is crucial due to its status as the leading economic partner for Serbia and its role in the facilitation of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue. On the other hand, the Serbia-China partnership has been constantly on the rise. The significance of the relations Belgrade has been developing with Beijing is growing, and the role of China as a partner in the economic and increasingly in the security and political spheres cannot be neglected as well. This paper aims to offer a retrospective on the relations of Serbia with these two key partners, the EU and China, mainly focusing on the security sphere, the domain where the relations have been developing at a slower but consistent pace. It will explore how these relations with both actors are affected by evolving global circumstances, given that the security area is particularly vulnerable to the changes stemming from the increasingly divergent positions of the dominant global players in the international system.

Actions (login required)

View Item