IN THIS EPISODE
For 14 years, Aleksandar Vučić shaped Serbia. On Sunday, October 25, a movement with no leader, no party and not a single student on its ballot ended that era. More than two million voters backed a list drawn up in university lecture halls and neighborhood assemblies over one of Europe’s most formidable political machines.
Is this Serbia’s democratic breakthrough, or the start of its hardest test? On #BalkansDebrief, host Ilva Tare speaks with journalist and historian Misha Glenny, author of The Fall of Yugoslavia, The Balkans and McMafia, about what comes next.
In this conversation, Glenny takes on the key questions facing Serbia’s new Student List government: What tipped the vote, and why did Vučić concede within hours? Is this the end of Vučić, or the start of a comeback? Can a government of newcomers run institutions built by the old regime and break ties with organized crime? EU accession, Russia, Washington and Kosovo: which way will Belgrade turn? What could this mean for Albania after five months of protests?
Glenny tells Tare that he sees “a lot of goodwill, both regionally and in Europe,” and says it’s now up to the Student List to decide how to manage it. And the headline that would surprise him most a year from now? “Serbia seriously on the path to EU membership.”
ABOUT #BALKANSDEBRIEF
#BalkansDebrief is an online interview series presented by the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and hosted by journalist Ilva Tare. The program offers a fresh look at the Western Balkans and examines the region’s people, culture, challenges, and opportunities.
Watch #BalkansDebrief on YouTube and listen to it as a Podcast.
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The Europe Center promotes leadership, strategies, and analysis to ensure a strong, ambitious, and forward-looking transatlantic relationship.