GEOPOLITICS IS LOCAL: RAMIFICATIONS OF CHINESE PROJECTS FOR HUMAN SECURITY IN SERBIA
GEOPOLITICS IS LOCAL: RAMIFICATIONS OF CHINESE PROJECTS FOR HUMAN SECURITY IN SERBIA

Author(s): Maja Bjeloš, Vuk Vuksanović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Sociology, Health and medicine and law, Environmental interactions, Geopolitics
Published by: BCBP Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
Summary/Abstract: The research was conducted in three Serbian cities with large PRC investments -Smederevo, Bor and Zrenjanin - to establish the impact of these projects on local communities and how they affect human security, understood in terms of human rights and human dignity. In that regard, several forms of human security endangerment were observed in the course of the research project:• Environmental hazards: Since the arrival of the PRC investments, cities of Bor and Smederevo have recorded a major surge in the emission of various harmful particles. Environmentalists have so far filed several criminal charges against Chinese companies for air pollution, including pollution of the river Mali Pek. The future will bring further environmental challenges for the inhabitants of Zrenjanin, as the Linglong tyre factory could endanger the nature reserve Carska Bara as well as the food production in Vojvodina.• Public health: Serbia is a country with the highest rate of pollution-related deaths in Europe. Cities of Bor and Smederevo have experienced a rise in the rates of cancer and various other respiratory and heart diseases connected with industrial pollution.• Socio-economic and human rights: A feature of Chinese projects is the influx of labor from Asia to Serbia. A whole range of exploitative practices against foreign and domestic workers has been recorded in all PRC projects, including human trafficking of Vietnamese workers for the purpose of labor exploitation. Despite public pressure, the Serbian authorities are ready to tolerate violations of labor and human rights in order to maintain foreign direct investments, employment and political rating.• Rule of law: PRC projects are often declared as those of ‘national interest’ and are characterised by the lack of transparency and public scrutiny. PRC investors enjoy privileged treatment by local authorities and administration that adjust the legal framework and make numerous concessions at the expense of citizens and local communities.• Cross-cultural issues: The fact that Chinese workers are not trying to integrate and interact more profoundly with the local communities remains a big problem. In the absence of interpersonal communication and intercultural exchange, inter-ethnic and sexual assault-related incidents have also been recorded in some cases.• Surveillance: Chinese cameras equipped with face recognition technology have not been utilised in these cities to date, but local population fears that cutting-edge technology could be used as the PRC presence grows

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