Regional integration – Western Balkan neighbors are increasing collaborations
History: Serbia was shaped as a nation by the numerous external invasions it suffered; starting in the 4th century BC with the Celts overthrowing the Illyrians, the arrival of the Romans and the Slavs in the sixth century AD. A crucial event in AD 395 was when Roman Emperor Theodosius I gave Serbia to the Byzantines, together with the fact that Sts Cyril and Methodius converted Serbia to the orthodox religion, resulted in the country being locked into Eastern Europe.
The Serbians were crushed in 1371 by the Ottoman Turks who eventually took Kosovo and Smederevo, which effectively ended Serbia´s independence. Belgrade was captured in 1521.
During the following centuries, many rebellions took place against the Turks. Thanks to Russia, the First National Uprising of 1804 was successful but the Russians made peace with the Turks, and the Serbian rebellion failed once again. The second National Uprising of 1815, in which the Turks allowed Serbia some autonomy, was the path to Serbia´s independence. Serbia became a kingdom in 1882.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 by a Bosnian Serb was used as a reason to invade Serbia, which triggered WWI.
In 1918, the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was formed, which included Serbia, Montenegro and Dalmatia, Croatia-Slavonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina, which were South Slav territories.
In 1929, King Alexander I declared the new state a dictatorship which was renamed Yugoslavia. From the start, there were tensions between Croats and Serbs, and in 1934 King Alexander was assassinated.
Yugoslavia joined the fascist Tripartite Alliance. This was a short-lived pact, triggering a military coup and a sudden withdrawal from the alliance. The Germans bombed Belgrade and invaded Yugoslavia in 1941. Belgrade was liberated by the Communist guerrilla led by Josip Broz Tito, together with the Russians, and a Communist regime was introduced. After Tito’s breaking with Stalin, Yugoslavia became independent. With the death of Tito in 1980, the system began to crumble, and Yugoslavia finally broke up in 1991-92.
Serbian nationalists defended a Greater Serbia encompassing Serbs in the other republics. The Communist Party leader in Serbia, Slobodan Milošević who became president of Yugoslavia in 1997, adopted this doctrine and violence followed between the Albanians of Kosovo and Serbs. The demands of the U.S., Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Germany and France to cease fire and to withdrawal, Serbian forces from Kosovo were not met by Milošević. NATO began a bombing campaign which expanded to Belgrade and lasted 11 weeks. In the presidential elections of 2000, Vojislav Koštunica declared victory and restored ties with Europe.
Serbia became a stand-alone sovereign republic in 2006 after Montenegro voted in a referendum for independence from the Union of Serbia and Montenegro. This marked the historical end of the separation of the six republics of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia which comprised Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia. From the start, Serbia suffered the recession of 2009, but today the economy is growing. The 1st Intergovernmental Conference with Serbia in January 2014 indicates the beginning of Serbia’s negotiations to become part of the EU.
Geography: The sovereign republic of Serbia is at the crossroads of Southeast and Central Europe. It has borders with Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, and Albania through Kosovo.
It has access to the Adriatic Sea through Montenegro, and shipping access to inland Europe as well as the Black Sea is possible through the Danube River.
Serbia’s terrain is extremely varied with rich and fertile plains to the North, limestone basins and ranges to the East and ancient hills and mountains to the Southeast. The Northeast is rich, and fertile thanks to the Danubian Plain drained by the Danube, Morava, Sava, and Tisa river systems, all of which, together with the Drina River, conform Serbia’s main rivers.
Four mountain systems converge in Serbia: the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Dinaric Alps, and the ancient mountains of the Rilo Rhodope mountain system. The Balkan Mountains create the natural border with Romania and Bulgaria, the valleys and hills of the Dinaric Alps cut through Serbia west of the Morava River.
Climate: Serbia has a predominantly continental climate; cold winters and warm summers. The north of Serbia typically has a continental climate, while the South and South-West have a climate of Mediterranean influence.
Language: The official language is Serbian. Despite being spoken throughout the country, there are some exceptions; in southern Serbia, it’s the Torlakian dialect which is spoken by most Serbians. Other minority languages like Bosnian, Croatian, Slovak, Rusyn, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Albanian, and Romanian are officially recognized in Serbia.
Demographics: The total population in Serbia is 7.1 million (this does not include the population of Kosovo). Serbians are the largest majority when it comes to ethnic groups, while Hungarians are the largest minority followed by Roma people and Bosniaks. Croats, Slovaks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Romanians, Macedonians, and Bulgarians are other minority groups.
Natural Resources: Serbia has considerable natural resources but is lacking in mineral fuel, making the country dependent on Russia for crude petroleum and natural gas necessary to meet its domestic demand. It has one of Europe’s most abundant copper resources, located mostly in the Timoc District in northeastern Serbia. As well as copper, the industry produces iron and steel with significant production of gold, lead, coal, salt, and selenium. Lead and zinc production comes from Kopaonik, Raška. The southwestern regions of Serbia have timber and hydroelectric potential.
Politics: The framework under which Serbia functions is within a parliamentary democracy. The country is a parliamentary republic where the head of government is the prime minister, and the head of state is the president.
There are three branches of government in this parliamentary republic: judiciary, executive, and legislature. Serbia’s political system is based on the principle of separation of authority between these three.
The executive authority is held by the Government of the Republic of Serbia consisting of a prime minister, two vice presidents and 18 ministries.
As of 2017, Aleksandar Vučić is the President of Serbia and Ana Brnabić is the Prime Minister. Aleksandar Vučić became prime minister after a large victory in the parliamentary elections of 2014. He pledged an overhaul of Serbia’s economy and accelerated drive towards EU accession. Also to combat endemic corruption.
His reforms included diminishing the public sector, reforming the budget, privatizing state-owned enterprises and supporting the private sector. He won his candidacy for the presidency with a comfortable victory in 2017.
The prime minister leads a cabinet and exercises executive power. The president names the designate after deliberation with parliamentary leaders, and the National Assembly is in charge of choosing the prime minister. The prime minister nominates the cabinet ministers while the National Assembly confirms them. The president is elected by popular vote. It’s a five-year term, and it can be extended by-elections for two more terms at most.
The National Assembly wields legislative power and constitutional authority. It’s formed by 250 deputies who are elected by secret ballot.
Serbia has a system of civil law; the courts are not bound by precedent, but they solely interpret legislation. The Supreme Court of Cassation is the head of the judicial system. Other established courts are the Appellate, High, and Basic Courts.
The multi-party system in Serbia allows for many political parties, but because of the improbability for one party gaining power alone, there is a cooperation of multiple political parties forming coalition governments, helping to reduce the dominance of any one party. Elections are held every four years at three levels: local, provincial, and parliamentary. Presidential elections are held every five years.
Religion: The Constitution of Serbia protects the freedom of religion. Having the Serbian Orthodox Church at the head of the country’s religion, Christianity is the main religion with an 85% of the population adhering to the Orthodox faith. The Catholic Church is the second biggest religion. Islam is also present, mostly in Novi Pazar and southwest regions.
Cuisine: Serbian cuisine has been influenced by the rich mix of cultures passing through or living in the region. It is very diverse and can be described as a mixture of Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish and Hungarian cuisine. A centuries-old tradition is drinking coffee, and the national fruit is the plum, from which rakia is brewed.