The Commission needs to rephrase its demands on Serbia.
YellowStars blog
Posted by ESLaPorte on September 16, 2006 08:24 AM
http://yellow-stars.com/blog/2006/09/the_commission_needs_to_rephra.html
Now - Serbia's reformers, like Vojislav Kostunica, are a very brave lot,
and
their take their lives in their hands just by working for "a European
Serbia." Pro-European reforms in Serbia are dangerous and the
assassination
of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic by the old militant-nationalist elements
is
a graphic example of this ever-present danger. There is a fine line that
is
being occasionally stumbled over by the actions of the ICTY, its charges
of
"failure to cooperate with the tribunal," and the actions of especially
the
Commission in blocking further Europeanization of Serbia. The latent
militant-nationalist supporters of General Mladic often gain political
ground when declarations by the ICTY set back the European Serbia project
and the Commission puts further associations to the Stabilization
and Association Agreement on hold and issues other counter-productive
threats...
The last research project I did (July 2006) was on the relationship
between
what is now
Serbia and the European Union. The theoretical perspective was from social
constructivism, which embraces the ideas that a nation's associations with
international organizations can help change the political and cultural
landscape of that nation, like Serbia. Part of this framework is that
national political-cultural landscape plays a big part in European
integration and this must be considered as a dynamic. There is no better
demonstration of how national political-cultural dynamics can play a part
in
European integration then the relationship between what is now Serbia and
the European Union, chiefly the Commission.
Two of the major recommendations of the research paper are that the demand
on Serbia to produce Mladic reworked and that Serbian political culture be
reconsidered. Also - another related finding is that the "to start with"
national-political contexts do not appear to be considered by the European
Union. It would be much easier if these "to start with" national
political-cultural contexts were give consideration BEFORE the Commission
places its association demands on a highly troubled nation like Serbia.
The
truth is that the FURTHER integration, including more aid and support for
European Serbia, would purge Serbian violent militant nationalism from
Serbian life and bring General Mladic out of hiding.
The real goal here, which is being neglected by the Commission itself, is
supposed to be further European integration for the European project - and
this is a far larger and more important goal than having General Mladic in
The Hague.
The truth is that the staunch demands by the Commission to produce General
Mladic benefits only General Mladic and his brand of militant-nationalist
supporters. The further integration of Serbia into European structures -
which include such things as the opening of Serbian national boarders, as
well as the Europeanization of Serbian political culture - will remove the
safe hiding places for General Mladic and his supporters. So as long as
this
staunch demand is in place and the - Commission acts on this demand -
General Mladic is safe and his brand of militant-nationalism remains a
factor in Serbian political -cultural life. The Europeanization of Serbian
political and cultural life will have a powerful sanitizing effect on
militant-nationalism.
The European Union gave aid and support to Serbian reformers before the
fall
of Milosevic - and it would be a crime for the European Union to leave
Serbia twisting in the wind. So as long as the demand to produce General
Mladic remains the only demand - and the Commission acts on this demand -
the whole European project itself is set back. This is a tragedy not just
for Serbia, especially the memory of slain PM Zoran Djindjic, it is a
tragedy for the European project. The Commission's action on this demand
also serves to cheapen the European project and keeps militant-nationalism
entrenched in Serbia. The only real answer for Europe as well as for the
European project is to rework the Mladic demand and create the
Stabilization
and Association Agreement FIRST- and the capture of Mladic will follow
from
there. A further lesson for Europe in future relations with other European
nations seeking European integration is to choose demands more carefully
and
restate those demands if they impede the larger European project, just as
the Mladic demand is now doing.
Research paper on EU - Serbia relations and findings:
"The Building of European Serbia: How the European Union is winning in the
Balkans." By ESLaPorte. 14 July 2006 (pdf -22 pages)
http://www.yellow-stars.com/Publications/EU-Serbia.pdf
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