Whenever and however the current conflict in Ukraine comes to an end, there’s no doubt that the Western Balkans and Serbia will be hit hard by the outcome. Previous elections, but also the current steps Serbia is taking in the foreign policy domain, will have political, economic and social ramifications for every citizen, but they will be decided by just one person.
What does the conflict in Ukraine imply when it comes to the new geopolitical division of the world map? What repercussions does it have for the position of Europe, and for the position of the region and Serbia? Will we ultimately end up closer to the East or the West, or pushed even further to the margins? Does this conflict create the possibility of changing the stances of America and Europe regarding Kosovo and the organising of Bosnia-Herzegovina, or is it a topic that’s being used by the ruling party to homogenise the electorate? On whom does Serbia’s positioning in the international community depend? These are undoubtedly issues that have entered our lives, whether we’re talking about decisions made at the top of the Serbian government or everyday conversations within families, among friends and on the street. Here our interlocutors – historians, foreign policy commentators, economists and political scientists – attempt to shed light on the possible consequences of the Ukrainian conflict for the reconfiguring of the geopolitical space and, thus, on the place of Serbia and the wider region on this new world map, with an awareness that the situation on the ground could shift before this edition of CorD even finds itself in front of readers.