Between the past and the future: Right Wing Populists and the EU integration of Serbia

Since 2009, Serbia has been an official candidate to become a member of the European Union, but the accession negotiations only began in 2014. It is estimated that the vast majority of the trade and direct investment in Serbia comes from EU member states but since the start of the accession process, Serbia has been perceived as one of the most Eurosceptic countries of the post-Yugoslav sphere. Anti-EU attitudes are fuelled by nationalism but also rising populism and anti-establishment rhetoric. The central issue that is present in both the public and political discourse, not only in the context of EU integration, is the status of Kosovo and the evaluation of the 1999 NATO intervention in Serbia. The political arena is divided between the advocates of ‘direction West’ and their adversaries, who not only underline their anti-EU stance but also a need to strengthen ties with Russia and economic cooperation with China. Both attitudes are embedded in the past and make great use of modern and contemporary history to motivate and justify their claims. The main aim of this paper is to map and analyse the claims and stances towards the European Union and European integration of Serbia as voiced by selected right-wing populist political actors. We will examine the relevant political parties and movements that contest EU integration and check to what extent their arguments are identity and history driven, as well as what is the alternative they propose. The paper is be based on research conducted by using qualitative methods, primarily discourse and content analysis.