Authors

Discussion

The research discusses German foreign policy towards Serbia in the post-Milošević era. The work aims to define unique relations between Serbian Prime Minister Djindjić and German decision-makers from the fall of Milošević to Djindjić’s assassination in 2003. The focus will be mainly on the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (the President of the European Council in 1999) and German Foreign Affairs Minister Joschka Fischer, the promoter of the Stability Pact for the Western Balkans. The object of analysis is the dynamics of Serbian foreign policy (various internal visions) and Belgrade’s reaction to Berlin’s strategies, proposals, and ideas. For instance, as most significant dossiers, the research studies the following topics: the Serbia-EU accession process, the question of Montenegro, the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the status of Kosovo, and the Serbian geostrategic position.

The work considers the year 2000 as a watershed, the time of democratic changes, when the Serbian (Yugoslav) regime, previously involved in the 90s wars, after election fraud and successive massive riots, resulted in the overthrow. The new political elite came into power led by democratic, pro-European, liberal, civic, and political forces supported by the Western world – the USA and the EU (Germany, among others). The research question is: What was the role of Germany in the democratic changes in Serbia in the post-Milošević era? Moreover, in 2000, in Zagreb, the EU held the first Summit with the Western Balkans, defining the prospective accession. Furthermore, the goal is to reconstruct German positions via a conditionality policy amid the transition post-war period in Serbia. Hence, the aim is to analyse Berlin’s reactions to the Serbian maneuver and vice versa in the context of multiple crises.

The historical-analytical method underpins the work, drawing from various primary sources. These include archival documents from esteemed institutions such as the Dr. Zoran Djindjić Archive at the State Archives of Serbia, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Archive, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Archive, Grünes Gedächtnis Archive, and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Archive. Published documents, including Parliamentary Acts from Bundestag, and Narodna skupština Republike Srbije, further enrich the research.

The research activities include interviews with Milovan Božinović, former Yugoslav ambassador in Berlin, and Goran Svilanović, former Yugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs. Besides, the work utilises memoirs and monographies of Serbian and German politicians. Additionally, part of the research will be developed in Germany at Humboldt University in Berlin at the Institute for Southeast European History.