Spoljnopolitički aspekti mogućeg pristupanja Republike Srbije NATO
Foreign Policy Aspects of The Republic of Serbia’s Accession to NATO

Summary/Abstract: The Pro-European orientation of the new Serbian government has been clearly stated in the inaugural exposé by Prime Minister Koštunica.1 However, the presented program makes not a single reference to a possibility of Serbia’s membership in the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization. Without going into the conceivable meanings of this issue’s absence from the priority agenda, one can still notice that the Serbian public is nevertheless engaged in a debate as to whether or not Serbia should join NATO. One of the arguments most frequently invoked by promoters of Serbia’s NATO membership is the “unofficial Copenhagen condition” for entry into the EU, i.e. the fact that ever since the end of the Cold War the Union has not admitted a single post-socialist state unless it had previously joined NATO. Bearing in mind that, according to Prime Minister’s statement, Serbia’s cooperation with and membership of the EU takes a high second place on the list of priorities, this argument merits special attention. Furthermore, other foreign-policy aspects of the possible membership should also be taken into account as part of a more extensive “cost benefit” analysis. We shall, in this text, try to present the analysis of foreign policy arguments “pro” and “contra” Serbia’s accession to NATO drawing, among other things, on the experience of other states, although mindful of the specific nature of NATOSerbia relations. This specificity, in the first place, has to do with the historical heritage deriving from the 1999 bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO troops’ presence in the southern Serbian province Kosovo and Metohija (KiM).

• Details
• Contents