Contemporary Russian-Serbian Relations: Interviews with Youth from Political Parties in Belgrade and Vojvodina
Serbia and Russia have a long historical relationship that continues to be both important and complicated in the post-Soviet era. This thesis studies how this relationship is viewed in Serbia by younger members of various Serbian political parties. The importance of this topic is that it may provide insights into future relations between the two countries. In fall 2013 I interviewed eleven young people with affiliations to different political parties in Belgrade and Vojvodina on topics such as historical relations with Russia, cultural connections, the role of economics, and geopolitics in order to determine the perception and influence of Russia’s role in Serbia today. Published materials and interviews with two experts in the field provided useful tools to analyze the collected data. My working hypothesis was that (1) participants would lack historical knowledge of relations with Russia and their opinions would adhere to those of their political parties; and (2) opinions about Russia were likely to have developed on the basis of emotional reactions to crises such as Kosovo. The interview data showed that several participants’ historical knowledge of Serbian-Russian relations was indeed strong, but that this influenced their perceptions of Russia less frequently, and, secondly, there was a wide range of opinions regarding Russia’s role and influence in Serbia. Participants tended to have extreme views of the relationship with Russia, signifying the important role that emotion plays in Serbian politics. Most participants recognized a cultural link between the two countries, but many favored a closer relationship with the EU over increased ties with Russia.
The Conflict over Kosovo: Why Milosevic Decided to Settle When He Did
Abstract : Since the end of the Cold War a decade ago, the armed forces of the United States have been committed to protracted, large-scale combat operations only twice: Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Operation Allied Force in 1999. In both conflicts, U.S. and allied air operations played a key role in securing allied war aims with minimal friendly casualties. Because U.S. military and civilian leaders will also want to conclude future conflicts at minimal cost, it is important that they understand the circumstances and operational effects that were instrumental in producing the successful outcomes of the past. This book examines the reasons Slobodan Milosevic decided on June 3, 1999, to accept NATO's conditions for terminating the conflict over Kosovo. Among other issues, the study analyzes (1) the assumptions and other calculations that underlay Milosevic's initial decision to defy NATO's demands with regard to Kosovo, and (2) the political, economic, and military developments and pressures and the resulting expectations and concerns that most heavily influenced his subsequent decision to come to terms. Because bombing was the primary instrument used by the NATO allies, particular attention is necessarily given to identifying and assessing its different coercive effects on the Serb population and leadership.
Same Same But Different - also in Europe! A New Methodological Approach in Cross-Country Analysis of Communication Structuresapplied to five EU member states
The EU still lacks a truly European public sphere. On this level, there is still a clear lack of integration between individual member states. This means that national public spheres and cultures are still of great importance for European communication and media professionals. Comparative research into the similarities and differences between different nations is therefore valuable for cross-border PR communication activities. This paper lays out the methodological foundation for such research, discussing possible approaches and difficulties associated with comparative research. The author then introduces a potential heuristic framework for comparative analysis: the International Corporate Communication Compass. This framework is applied to five case-study EU countries (Denmark, Germany, France, Poland and the UK), showing the differences and similarities in a range of different contexts that affect public communication in all its forms. The conclusion examines how the results of such studies could be used in order to compare communication identities of different countries. This can potentially help in the development of a European public identity on the long run and in a first step can led towards a better, more adapted communication structure about European citizenship. Ultimately, communication structures within the EU might become more Europeanized than they