GEO-POWER-EU at The Ohio State University: Exploring Serbia’s Democratic Crossroads

On 22nd October, the Mershon Centre for International Security Studies at the Ohio State University, in partnership with the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Belgrade and the Serbian Educational Alliance, will host a discussion titled “Serbia Between Turmoil and Hope: Student Protests and Geopolitical Crossroads”.

The talk will explore the ongoing student and citizen protests that have challenged the country’s increasingly authoritarian regime. It will examine the horizontal and decentralised nature of Serbia’s student movement, its rejection of corruption and authoritarianism, and its demands for democracy, rule of law, and accountability. Drawing on data and analysis within the GEO-POWER-EU findings, the talk will highlight insights into public perceptions of Serbia in an increasingly geopolitical Europe, the country’s foreign policy hedging since the Russia–Ukraine war, and the role of economic interdependence and corrosive capital in shaping domestic political dynamics and state capture.

The discussion features Prof. Filip Ejdus, Professor of Security Studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, and a researcher of the GEO-POWER-EU project, whose work examines the intersections of identity, memory, and security in world politics. He will be joined by Dr Marko Kovačević, Assistant Professor of International Security at the same faculty, whose research focuses on international relations theory, critical security studies, and regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.