Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.65243/s.9.2.5
The Origins of Contemporary Serbian Geopolitics: Strategic Vacuum and Identity Conflict
Hrvoje Vuković
; Fakultet filozofije i religijskih znanosti Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sažetak
This article analyses contemporary Serbian geopolitics through the lens of strategic vacuum and identity conflict. Building on theoretical assumptions regarding political will, foreign policy coherence, and narratives of collective identity,
it highlights the gap between Serbia’s declared commitment to European integration and its persistent orientation towards Russia. By critically examining
Serbia’s foreign policy moves since 2000, as well as the cultural and historical
patterns shaping national self-perception, the article argues that Serbia does
not balance between East and West out of pragmatic geopolitical reasoning,
but rather due to the absence of a clear and sustainable strategy. The strategic
vacuum is further intensified by an identity conflict between pro-European aspirations and a mythologized image of Serbia as a historical victim of the West.
Three empirical cases are analysed—Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), and Montenegro—along with the practice of multi-directional
foreign policy after 2012, which together confirm that Serbian elites reproduce
indecisiveness as a political resource. In a comparative framework, Serbia is
contrasted with Croatia, Hungary, and Turkey, underscoring the difference
between multi-vector policies with an anchor and multi-vectorism without one.
The article concludes that contemporary Serbian geopolitics rests on the combination of strategic vacuum and identity conflict, producing contradictions,
institutional misalignments, and symbolic confusion, thereby limiting Serbia’s
long-term capacity to define a sustainable foreign policy orientation.
Ključne riječi
Serbia, geopolitics, strategic vacuum, identity conflict, multivectorism
Hrčak ID:
342334
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.12.2025.
Posjeta: 513 *