Greece, Serbia, Bosnia: From Balkan Wars to Economic & Security Promises of European Union

Dialogue

Thessaloniki, Greece Belgrade, Serbia Sarajevo, Bosnia Summer II, 2025

Led by

Denis Sullivan

The 2025 Balkans Dialogue investigates conflict and post-conflict reconstruction in the former Yugoslavia (“FY”) plus the interconnectedness of FY states (notably Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia) and Greece.

This interconnectedness is especially apparent as FY states seek to join the EU and as Balkan states continue to manage refugee and migrant “flows” throughout the “Balkan Route” – starting in Greece (a member of the EU and a Balkan country) and continuing through North Macedonia and Serbia (two non-EU, Balkan states) and back again into the EU. Building upon the 1990s wars and post-war transitions we examine the domestic and international drivers of civil wars, foreign interventions, and war crimes trials in former Yugoslavia, as well as their relevancy for modern wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the rise of identity politics in the West (e.g., Balkan influences on white supremacists’ Islamophobic terrorism; ICC indictments against Vladimir Putin and Middle East actors). We also examine the increasing global interest (“meddling”) in the Balkans, from the European Union, NATO, Russia, China, Arab States, Iran, Israel, and Turkey. This “interest” is measured by large-scale economic investments, diplomatic initiatives, military partnerships, “soft power” projects (universities, cultural centers, and others), as well as strategic dimension of migrations and Coronavirus-related international assistance. Ultimately, we discuss how the US-China competition and wars in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East (Israel-Hamas, Israel-Hizballah/Lebanon, etc.) impact the Balkans.

Prof. Sullivan was the founder of the Dialogue of Civilizations program at Northeastern. He has been leading Dialogues for 30 years, starting in the Middle East. He created the Balkans Dialogue in 2011 in partnership with Dr. Mladen Mrdalj (who received his PhD at Northeastern and who continues to co-lead the program).

For more information, please visit the Global Experience website found here.

Upcoming Information Sessions for Summer 2024: