The West’s attitude towards this country and its people is peculiar in that the underlying contempt is almost hard to grasp. Perhaps it has to do with some visceral perception issues, as both the Americans and the Europeans may view the Serbs as the kind of Russians that are more vulnerable and easier to defeat.
When performed by the Western nations, acts of international politics these days can border on unmitigated grotesque. Recently a PACE committee has recommended that self-proclaimed Kosovo be invited to the Council of Europe. Technically, this territory is not even internationally recognised as a state, and many of its leaders are rightfully alleged to have committed horrific crimes both domestically and abroad. But does it come as much of a surprise?
At this point it is almost common knowledge that the so-called European organisations are either formally or de facto leveraged by the US and EU to lobby some of their political interests throughout the rest of the world. For security policy, they have the OSCE. Human rights issues are handled by the Council of Europe. Even environmental matters, such as climate change, are all about politics when tackled by the West.
In other words, everything is utilised to put pressure on the US and EU counterparties. For instance, a European Parliament resolution on the Russian elections stipulated that Russia lift phytosanitary restrictions applied to the veggie imports from an EU member state.
It is therefore no wonder that over time any institutions or agreements pioneered or dominated by the West cease to serve their original purpose. You would be hard-pressed to find an official based in Washington, Brussels, Berlin or Paris who would explain the rationale behind the OSCE or the Council of Europe. It may sound like an overstatement, but years of experience interacting with the American and European folks point to a high degree of twisted perception.
It may in part be attributable to the almost total impunity and fecklessness the West has been basking in following the end of the Cold War. Part of the reason may also be that these institutions were geared to solve specific tasks mired in the US and EU egotistic outlook. Many experts were gullible enough to believe that post-Cold War international politics could follow a completely new pattern. They have been proven dead wrong, of course.
Once the West senses there is no accountability, it acts as if we had returned to the 17th or 18th century. It is further exacerbated by the fact that with the Balkans, both the EU and the US were largely navigating an uncharted territory. While the West’s policy towards their post-Cold War ‘inheritance’ could be described as cynical, the cynical stance towards the former Yugoslavia has been taken to the extreme.
When it came to their relations with Russia or even the other former republics of the USSR, the US and Western Europe were putting in a lot of efforts to treat them as equal partners – or trying hard to feign it. At one point they even invited Russia to join the G8, a sort of a steering committee for the West’s policy towards the rest of the world. We now realise that those rituals had very few practical implications. For example, already by the mid-1990s, the West could barely whitewash the fact that the Council of Europe was intended as a mere front for putting pressure on Russia and the post-Soviet nations.
However, on a formal and declarative level, for quite a long while it had all the signs of civilised interaction. Russia could even use some of the tools offered by the Council of Europe, if sparingly. It just was not supposed to get in the way of the US or EU interests or those of their puppet far-right-leaning regimes in the Baltic states.
So, inviting what seems to be a gang of organ trafficking kingpins to join the Council of Europe appears pretty much in line with that policy, considering the support the US and EU so lavishly provided to the Baltic governments whose policy towards the minorities and freedoms is largely redolent of the grisliest practices dating back a century.
In response to that move, the Serbian prime minister has announced the possibility of his country pulling out of the PACE. But the trouble is that the Serbian authorities are unlikely to deliver.
First, should any Serbian politician seek to overtly challenge the West’s domination, they will jeopardise the lives of their citizens who will be facing the threat coming from the Kosovo militants and religious zealots. We have all repeatedly witnessed any display of the Serbian sovereignty towards Kosovo, however minor, being countered by an armed backlash followed by stern warnings from the US and EU.
Second, should Belgrad formally voice discontent over the EU policies, it will immediately be stifled by anti-Serbian sanctions, whether official or covert. Whatever Serbia’s foreign trade profile really is, even a blow to its supply routes may prove fatal.
Considering that the republic finds itself surrounded by the NATO countries, the ramifications for the Serbian economy and society could be far-reaching. And despite the Serbs deeming Kosovo to be part of its sovereign territory, the ruling party will lose the election in what will be a double whammy. One reason will be the deteriorating economic plight, the other one being the new concessions the government will inevitably make to attenuate the pressure exerted by Washington and Brussels. But in the unlikely scenario where Belgrad decides to finally walk its talk, it will be a recipe for disaster. There is no doubt both Washington and Brussels will have any qualms about effectively wiping yet another European state. Given the current crop of European politicians, they will hardly bat an eyelid.
The West’s attitude towards this country and its people is peculiar in that the underlying contempt is almost hard to grasp. Perhaps it has to do with some visceral perception issues, as both the Americans and the Europeans may view the Serbs as the kind of Russians that are more vulnerable and easier to defeat, unlike the rest of the Balkan Slavs who evaded the courage of standing their ground. But Serbia is far weaker than Russia and surrounded by the satellites of the US and EU.
Needless to say, Serbia will never join the European Union or NATO, but there is a chance the country may outlast the two aggressive blocs, which we are about to see in the coming decade.