SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS

International Scientific Conference Proceedings

 LIBRARY
SPECIAL EDITIONS

Scientific Board
Prof. Ivica Radović, PhD (Serbia)
Prof. Vladimir Marinković, PhD (Serbia)
Prof. Nikola Tanić, PhD (Serbia)
Jonathan Fighel, PhD (Israel)
Prof. Xu Mingqi, PhD (China)
Shaul Shay, PhD (Israel)
Prof. Ephraim Lapid, PhD (Israel)
Prof. Chang Jiadong, PhD (China)
Prof. John Nomikos, PhD (Greece)
Prof. Liliana Popescu Birlan, PhD (Romania)
Prof. Wu Xueming, PhD (China)
Prof. Rastislav Kazansky, PhD (Slovakia)
Prof. Teodora Ivanusa, PhD (Slovenia)
Prof. Klaus Lange, PhD (Germany)

Program Board
Prof. Vasko Stamevski, PhD (Macedonia)
Prof. Darko Dimovski, PhD (Serbia)
Prof. Zoran Dragišić, PhD (Serbia)
Jelena Stanojević, PhD (Serbia)
Uroš Zdravković, PhD (Serbia)

Editors-in-Chief
Nebojša Kuzmanović, PhD
Darko Trifunović, PhD

Reviewers
Prof. Srđan Milašinović, PhD
Prof. Ivica Radović, PhD
Prof. Želimir Kešetović, PhD

© Copyright: 2019, Arhiv Vojvodine • © Copyright: 2019, Archives of Vojvodina

 SERBIAN–AMERICAN
RELATIONS
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
PROCEEDINGS

National Assembly – Republic of Serbia

Belgrade, September 11, 2019

Novi Sad / Beograd

2019
 Co-Chairmen of the Conference

Dragan Šormaz, Member of the Serbian National Assembly, Head of

Serbian–American Parliamentary Caucuses
Vladimir Marinković, PhD, Deputy Speaker of the Serbian National
Assembly, Founding member of INIS
Darko Trifunović, PhD, Director of the Institute for National and
International Security – INIS

Opening

H. E. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia

Keynote speakers

H. E. Kyle Randolph Scott, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia

Major General John C. Harris Jr., Assistant Adjutant General, Ohio Army
National Guard
H. E. Ivica Dačić, The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Serbia
H. E. Nebojša Stefanović, Vice President of the Serbian Government and
Minister of Police
H. E. Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Defense, Serbia
H. E. Mladen Sarčević, Minister of Education, Science and Technological
Development, Serbia
H. E. Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Mining and Energy, Serbia
 STRIDE TOWARD VALUE
EDITORIAL FOREWORD

Oxford Dictionary researchers have stated that the past year’s “word
of the year,” that is, the most often used word on the planet, was adjec-
tive “toxic” meaning “poisoned.” It referred to both natural and social
phenomena and interpersonal relationships. This information uniquely
alerts that the tendency to destroy both natural environments and the
broadest cultural values is, in fact, a global phenomenon that is in un-
predictable movement and momentum. Many factors contribute to this
atmosphere, but in our opinion, certainly one of the most significant
is a limited or controlled supply of unlimited knowledge horizon for
humans. One adjusts, through media monopolies and educational poli-
cies, to accept the picture of reality that translates the basic human need
for knowledge into indolent adoption of recommended norms that dull
curiosity and perceive activism as a threatening tendency.
A unique and striking response to this narrative is to stimulate the
development of research work and face all the possible controversies
and issues that can arise in the process. Also, the model of dialogue and
democraticity when presenting adopted views is the most adequate form
of mutual respect and tolerance which knocks the bottom out of the can-
onization of any scientific advances and reluctantly rests upon axioms.
The need for constant review of and doubt in existing achievements is
proof that scientific discipline evolves and before them becomes void
and unworthy skepticism out of malice, that is, abuse of responsibility
and commitment of researchers. We believe that with these Proceedings
which refer to most often tabooed and otherwise very complex relations
between Serbia and the USA, the scientific community in Serbia, as well
as the state supporting it, makes another great stride in the interdisci-
plinary approach to shedding light on thematic and problematic strong-
holds that have marked national correlations.
 The most significant contribution of this particular project seems
visible, on the one hand, in the openness employed in its writing with-
out reservation due to possible criticism, and on the other hand, in the
presented accountability of the pronounced that instantly unmasks any
unscientific attack as an ideological mimicry of strikingly short dura-
tion. This avoided the anachronous character of the manuscript, as well
as its negative context in the form of a stereotype about implied “truths.”
The existing contradictions of the Serbia–US relations are part of a pro-
cess of reciprocal relationships that have lasted for more than a century
and have had their own negative and positive implications. The ambiv-
alent relationship was motivated by numerous state and national inter-
ests, and a considerable number thereof was, in our view, a consequence
of underdeveloped communication and the lacking need for nurturing
existing cultural heritage in interrelationships.
In this act, the Serbian and American social elites bear equal respon-
sibility, and further research is to indicate the circumstances that have
led to them and the character of their manifestation, without hesitation
and with the willingness to accept critical challenging, but not belittling.
That way, the burden of incompleteness and acceptable fabulations will
be forced to retreat before research sharpness. Its role is decisive in the
simultaneous processes of suppressing irrational projections and nur-
turing of an analytical approach in geopolitical reflections.
Scarce existing research into Serbia–US relations, with one of the
most significant being the work by Professor Dragoljub Živojinović: U
potrazi za zaštitnikom, studije o srpsko-američkim vezama 1878–1920,
will be significantly enriched by the coming works. The interdisciplin-
ary character of the works and different authors’ research interests indi-
cate a particular satisfaction with the role of spiritus movens these Pro-
ceedings can provide. Historical research, geopolitical analytics, legal
contextualisation of relationships, issues of student future, new contents
of the archives institution activities, bold dividing reflections, as well
as other topics presented in the Proceedings, in our opinion, offer an
openness in the texts written precisely to intrigue debate and initiate
the affirmation of scientific interest. It is this targeted purpose that is the
only way to confront approximate estimates and unfounded, but easi-
ly acceptable half-truths that have neglected the holistic approach and
fostered segregation of data according to their own intentions. It is also

6
the path to, as our renowned philosopher Mihailo Đuric wrote, “true
humanistic education” which “does not erase or nullify, but preserves
and refines national differences and peculiarities.” On this path, “no
universal man who was previously not instilled awareness of a man of
a particular nation, of a particular language, of a certain history, can be
brought up.”1 Attached to their traditional values being rediscovered by
both Serbian and American society in the main streams of their mod-
ernization, they build a future ready for challenges of both many antin-
omy layers and the revival of alliance and mutually aligned interests.

Nebojša Kuzmanović, PhD

Darko Trifunović, PhD

1
Mihailo Đurić, „Ogledalo srpsko“, Srbija i Evropa između prošlosti i budućnosti:
letopis jugoslovenske tragedije, BIGZ, Beograd – Bonart, Nova Pazova 2003, p. 55–56.

7
 INTRODUCTION

The Serbian–American Relations Conference, that will be held in

the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, organized by the Na-
tional Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Institute for National
and International Security – INIS, is another confirmation that the re-
lations between the two countries are headed in a good direction and it
shows that cooperation can be brought to a level that they were when
the two countries and their people were allies. It is important to note
that apart from politicians and businessmen, several scientists will also
be taking part which means that cooperation will extend from econom-
ic and political fields to science, education, innovations, new technolo-
gies and culture.
This speaks volumes about how a great amount of people in the Re-
public of Serbia are interested in cooperating with the USA, fully realiz-
ing the importance of this country as the largest political and economic
force in the world but also the strongest democracy whose values, and
principles that it was founded on, include the highest standards in all
fields of social life. The USA and it’s citizens create a large amount of
ideas every day, as well as initiatives, businesses and innovations that
benefit the whole planet. The American economy is an example of a
long-lasting process, permanent progress and the growth that creates
an environment for personal development, constant growth of the spirit
of entrepreneurship, culture and work ethics, which creates competi-
tion and new possibilities for citizens under equal conditions and equal
chances to achieve prosperity, development and progress.
Serbia is located in a very complex geopolitical position but is de-
termined to modernize, advance and to create a quality environment for
the life of its citizens. In the last 5 years, highly successful economic and
political reforms have been implemented whereby Serbia today is a lot
stronger and influential then a few years before, which is all thanks to
President Vučić who created the reforms and at the same time did a lot
with regards to strengthening the international position of our country
that has been completely devastated from 2000 to 2012. He managed
to rebuild economic and political alliances with many countries and of
course with the USA whose companies are investing more and more in
Serbia while members of the political establishment are interested in
creating stronger alliances with our country.
It is without a doubt that our people can’t forget the disagreements
and conflict with the USA in the not-so-distant past but surely there
exists a crucial group that is interested in developing relations, and it
is very important that a good will and an outstretched hand is present
at the other side. I am sure that the leadership of President Trump and
President Vučić will result in our countries becoming once again close
and trustworthy partners which will positively reflect on the lives of the
citizens of Serbia and on the position of our country in the international
framework. The USA and the people of America are one of the most im-
portant donors to our country, whereby American companies employ
around 17 000 of our citizens, the USA strongly supports the European
integration of Serbia and most importantly they take into consideration
Serbia and our legitimate interests.
Every chance for strengthening cooperation with the USA is very
important, including every new partnership, investment, friendship in
the House of Representatives, Senate, State Department, universities,
theater, sport club... As responsible people we will continue to work in
the interest of our own country and cooperation with the USA and pos-
sible strategic partnership will surely bring us into an alliance like the
one we had a hundred years ago, in both good and harsh times. This
conference will be a small step and I’m positive that it will be a quality
contribution to achieving the goal and a new era of good relations be-
tween Serbia and the USA.

Vladimir Marinković, PhD

Republic of Serbia
National Assembly Deputy Speaker,
President of Serbian–Israeli Parliamentary Caucus,
President of Serbian–American Congress

10
 SERBIA HAS CLEARLY SHOWN THAT IT WANTS TO
ADVANCE ITS RELATIONS WITH THE USA

Your Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure of mine to be able to greet you all at today’s
conference, which deals with a very complex topic, and which happens
to be one of our priorities concerning foreign policy.
Serbian–American relations have a long history together, are very
complex and, since they were established in 1881 to this very day, have
gone through several phases which were sometimes very different by its
characteristics.
In a historical sense, our countries and our people are connected by
our alliances in the two world wars as well as a relatively close cooper-
ation during the Cold War period. During the break up of the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and the 1990s, our relations have
worsened and, unfortunately, certain negative narratives have been cre-
ated whose effects can be felt even today.
That is why it is important for us to remember the positive exam-
ples from the long history of Serbian–American cooperation. The rela-
tions between the USA and the Principality of Serbia, and afterwords
the Kingdom of Serbia, were paved with sympathetic views on both
sides and an understanding by Washington for the fight of the small
and distant Balkan nation, not only of its freedom but for the freedom
of other Southern Slavs. The highlight of our positive relations came
during our alliance in the First World War, which is testified by one of
the most touching moments when, on the 28th of July 1918, in honor
of our people, the Serbian flag was raised over the White House as well
as all American public institutions. On that day, an announcement by
American President Woodrow Wilson was read in churches across the
USA and published in all popular newspapers. President Wilson, moved
by the great number of victims and the heroic deeds of the Serbian peo-
ple, showed his admiration “to the brave Serbian people” which “for its
love of freedom, went to battle against a significantly stronger enemy”.
Last year I had the honor to commemorate this day in Washing-
ton, at the US Congress, and in Belgrade, while remembering with our
American partners the historical ties of our two nations.
It is necessary for us to remember that the relations between the
USA and the countries of Southern Slavs, for whom Serbia both self-
lessly and naively sacrificed its people and statehood, were dependent
on foreign political events and also on the complex structures of these
countries. Still, from this period we hold to another alliance, one from
the Second World War, as well as the relatively good relations during
the hard period of the Cold War where the Yugoslav state successfully
balanced between two great powers of the day.
However, the last three decades of our relations have been a tough
period but also a reminder that, because of the challenges we face, it is
necessary to constantly strive towards dialog and better cooperation by
identifying topics that are of mutual interest.
By taking into consideration the reality of the situation but also ac-
cepting our differences, the Republic of Serbia has clearly shown that it
wants to improve relations with the USA, which should be based on our
rich history together, the alliances in two world wars and, above all else,
our mutual strategic decisions towards securing our region as a safe and
economically stable and democratic part of the united European asso-
ciation of states.
Thanks to this, our current relations with the USA are character-
ized by a positive trend and, with the goal of continuing this progressive
trend of bilateral relations, we demonstrate constant interest for main-
taining regular high level political dialogue with American officials.
At the same time, with these actions, the Republic of Serbia wants to
confirm itself as an active and trustworthy partner as well as the prime
example of regional stability. Our country clearly shows its readiness to
accept its part of the responsibilities on the international scene, begin-
ning with further development of regional relations and stability of the
Western Balkans, by taking an adequate stance towards questions con-
cerning the migrant crisis and international terrorism by participating
in peacekeeping missions. It is the USA, by developing bilateral relations

12
as well as military cooperation, whereby it is important to note the state
partnership programs between Serbia and the National Guard of Ohio,
that can be an important basis for Serbia’s tendency to be a trustworthy
partner in the future both regionally and internationally.
Therefore we appreciate the support that so far the USA has provid-
ed us in our attempts to achieve all of the aforementioned goals and we
hope and expect they will continue to do so in the future.
In closing, I would like to note that the positive trend of our bilat-
eral relations with the USA is high on our list of priorities concerning
foreign policy, not only because of current challenges but also because
of the values that we share and the ones that our forefathers fought for
during the majority of our common history.
That is why we are required to overcome the negative views of our
recent past together and to build up our cooperation based on mutual
values and interests of our two countries and our people.

Thank you for your time.

H. E. Ivica Dačić,
The First Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia

(The speech by the first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica
Dačić at the International Scientific Conferrence “Serbian–American Relations”)

13
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
*
Gregory R. Copley
International Strategic Studies Association – ISSA (USA)

A NEW STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR

US–SERBIAN RELATIONS

A Rare Window of Opportunity Opens for the US in the Balkans

Abstract: The author notes that this period in history provides a unique
opportunity for the advancement of US–Serbian relations. Mutual contribu-
tions between Serbia and the US are mentioned as well as their gradual decline
during Socialist Yugoslavia. Other countries, such as Russia, PRC and Turkey,
are taking the opportunity to spread their influence in the region, and the US
should take the opportunity to do the same. Among the ways that the US can
contribute is in their support for a solution between Serbs and Albanians con-
cerning Kosovo. One of the solutions that is emphasized is given by Darko
Trifunović, Head of the Institute for National and International Security. Fur-
thering relations with Serbia would put the US in a favorable position in the
entire Balkan region.
Keywords: US–Serbian relations, Kosovo, Turkish influence, border ad-
justments

The new Trifunović Plan1 to provide the basis of a resolution of the

long-festering question of the future of Kosovo – and therefore of Serbia
and Albania – possibly cannot gain traction without the active support
and efforts of the United States. It is one of the few areas in the current
global framework which is uniquely suited to the arbitration skills of the
US, because of Washington’s rôle during the past three decades in the

*
[email protected]
1
Described below.

15
region, and therefore offers a positive opportunity for the US Adminis-
tration of US Pres. Donald Trump.
As a prelude to studying this opportunity, it is fair to say that 95 per-
cent of the history of US–Serbian relations over the past 150 years – to
the extent they were active at all – was marked by warmth, cooperation,
and shared values. And, as is mostly the way in asymmetric relation-
ships, when one power is strategically more powerful than the other, the
junior partner gives disproportionately to the senior in terms of blood
and loyalty.
The junior partner is highly conscious of the senior, but the senior
usually shows little understanding and appreciation of the junior.
This is not atypical in the history of strategic relationships and alli-
ances.2
It is because of that failure by the US to understand and appreci-
ate Serbia that a decade of the past 150 years of their relationship was
marred by actions which profoundly damaged the strategic welfare of
both states. Washington, in particular, is now paying a heavy price for
that misunderstanding. It did not help that for 45 years of that relation-
ship Serbia was virtually forgotten by the US in the period when Serbia
was obscured within a communist Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Repub-
lic. Arguably it was also forgotten by the US as a separate entity as well
during the years of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1918 until World
War II. So any understandings of mutual warmth and Serbian support
for the US also slipped into obscurity in the minds of the US politicians
and public.
Arguably, the creation of the Yugoslav federation in 1918 was the
worst thing that could have happened to US–Serbian relations, because
the very name of Serbia was subordinated or forgotten in the US. But
the final 45-year communist period as the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia was the worst of the worst for the US–Serbian relationship.
Forgotten was the fact that Serbia had earlier provided a significant
portion of its population to the United States at critical times in the history
2
See, Copley, Gregory R.: Chapter 19, “Loyalty and Survival”, in The Art of Victo-
ry. New York, 2006: Simon & Schuster Threshold Editions. The maxim reads: “Mutual
loyalty exists only between equals. In all other instances, loyalty flows only in any du-
rable form from the weaker to the more powerful.”

16
of both countries. Serbia’s great scientist, Nikola Tesla3, disproportionately
contributed to setting the US on its path toward the modern era – the era
of electricity and electronics – in a way which was pivotal to the urbaniza-
tion and scientific progress of the US. Tesla was a decisive, disruptive fig-
ure who, more than almost anyone else, put the US into economic, social,
and scientific efficiency, enabling the US to emerge as the world’s most
powerful economy. Tesla’s contributions outweighed many others.
But what would have happened if Tesla had been able to evolve
his genius in Serbia rather than the US? Would the Serbian culture of
that time have nurtured his abilities and actions in the way that the US
environment did? But regardless of any such speculation, Tesla was a
gift to the US in the same way that countless other Serbs contributed
enormously to the industrial and fighting strength of the US, including
their participation in the aerospace industry and particularly the Apollo
space program. Or that Serbian–Americans as a group won the greatest
number of the highest US award for valor: the Congressional Medal of
Honor. This is all basic knowledge to the Serbian people, even if it is less
known and appreciated in the US.
Indeed, the very fact that this contribution was less known and less
appreciated in the US is what allowed the rupture in US–Serbian rela-
tions to occur at the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Yu-
goslav state which contained Serbia. It was the near-total ignorance in
the US polity toward Serbia in 1990-91 which allowed US Pres. William
Clinton (1993–2001), for reasons which had more to do with his own
views and domestic political challenges than because of US strategic
interests, to intervene in the affairs of the Balkans in a way which pro-
foundly damaged the strategic wellbeing of Serbia.4 Much of that dam-
age has yet to be rectified.
3
Tesla, Nikola; b. July 10, 1856, in Tecna (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Em-
pire); died January 7, 1943. He emigrated to the US in 1884.
4
See, for example, Copley, Gregory R.: “The New Rome & The New Religious
Wars”, in Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy, March 1999. The report gave some
of the background to the US interventions against Serbia and Serbs. It also cited the
remark in the 11–12/1992 edition of Strategic Policy in which this author also noted:
“Incoming President Clinton will be tempted to take fast, populist decisions on the
Balkans crisis, and these could be fatal for any chances for peace there. ... Bill Clinton
campaigned for the US Presidency without touching on strategic issues. Now he must
learn to lead the US through the most dangerous global morass for perhaps 70 years.”

17
 And even following that period – after, say, the 1990–2019 time-
frame, a three-decade era – the US remains largely ignorant of the histo-
ry of Serbian support for the US and the West; it remains largely ignorant
of the strategic importance, geopolitically, of Serbia in the heartland of
South-Eastern Europe; and it remains totally ignorant of the historical
and recent underpinnings of the war in which Washington became im-
placably opposed to its onetime Serbian ally.
In other words, the critical elements of the US–Serbian relation-
ship have still not been addressed adequately by the US. And Serbia
itself has not acted comprehensively to correct this situation. Nonethe-
less, because the US now finds itself strategically challenged globally,
it is prepared to look Serbia in the eye to at least some degree. The US
is in significant competition with other powers to retain influence in
Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe, and the Eastern Mediterra-
nean. And Washington is now somewhat more humbled than when it
began its offensive against Serbia in the 1990s. That is not to say that
the US yet comprehends South-Eastern Europe at the priority level it
merits, but – particularly with the collapse of US–Turkish relations and
the substantial rise in Russian and Peoples Republic of China regional
engagement – Washington now sees a need to restructure its capabilities
in the broader Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean.
What is perhaps one of the few fortunate openings for Washing-
ton in recent years is that events have conspired in the Eastern Med-
iterranean to open a new strategic opportunity for the United States,
essentially allowing it to fill the vacuum caused by the loss of Turkish
allegiance and the rise of Russian, PRC, and Iranian influence.
Turkey, by moving further toward Russia as well as making its own
bid to revive the Ottoman sphere of influence and a new pan-Turkism,
has forced the US to consider strengthening its strategic and military
relationship with other, long-neglected allies in the region. Washington
has already begun rebuilding military-political ties with Greece – par-
ticularly with the election of the New Democracy Government of Prime
Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – and Cyprus, and has begun to rebuild a
relationship with Serbia. Washington has supported the trilateral Isra-
el–Cyprus–Greece economic and military relationship, and encouraged
its expansion to include Egypt in some aspects because of overlapping
energy exploitation interests. And it is no coincidence that the Serbian–
Israeli links have deepened over recent years.

18
 Washington, indeed, has little choice but to revisit the region and to
consider new relationships.
Serbia had been a great historical ally of the US, and then had be-
come merely a curiosity for it during the communist 45-plus years of So-
cialist Yugoslavia. And because of that interregnum and isolation from
US thinking, Serbia was, even after the fall of communism, abandoned
by the US in the break-up of Yugoslavia and the war which followed in
the 1990s. The US Clinton Administration delivered unspeakable insults
to its old ally by ensuring the erosion of its rights and its territory in the
Dayton Accords of 1995, which cut the territory of the Bosnian Serbs
by half; the Rambouillet “agreement” which was unilaterally thrust on
Yugoslavia in 1999 (with Yugoslavia’s rejection of it being the basis for
NATO to start the war against Serbia), and then in carving out of Ser-
bia’s heartland in 2008 a new, artificial “nation”, based on a population of
illegal Albanian immigrants: Kosovo.
And yet today Kosovo offers the US no real benefits, but only innu-
merable ongoing problems. Even the US base in Kosovo, Camp Bond-
steel, has little strategic purpose, and which, despite the huge cost to the
US taxpayer, now houses only around 1,400 US National Guard troops.
Kosovo’s sovereignty has not been universally recognized, especially
by Serbia, as the US had hoped, and even Kosovo’s initial recognition by
many states has been regretted by governments which originally recog-
nized Kosovo merely as an act of support to the US. Some governments
have gone to the extreme length of withdrawing recognition. This has
led to the point where today the governments of Albania and Kosovo
have begun the creation of joint diplomatic legations internationally, so
that Kosovo could, in essence, “piggyback” on Albania’s more ready ac-
ceptance as a sovereign nation-state.5
In this lies the seed of a solution for all parties.
5
Kosovo and Albania on July 3, 2019, signed an agreement on unifying and co-
ordinating their foreign policies, which would include joint embassies. As the website,
Balkan Insight reported (by author Blerta Begisholli, from Priština), Kosovo Foreign
Minister Behgjet Pacolli said: “This is a big step ahead to come together in front of the
world and act as a [single] nation,” he continued, referring to the fact that both Balkan
countries are mainly ethnic Albanian. Albanian Foreign Minister Cakaj said he felt
honored to conclude such an agreement. “It opens new horizons for joint institution-
al action as we move ever closer towards deep national integration,” Cakaj wrote on
Twitter.

19
 At the same time, we have seen Serbian Pres. Aleksandar Vučić sub-
stantially step up the search for a creative solution to the Kosovo problem.
Serbia, despite being weakened by the results of the war of the 1990s,
remains a critical and stable hub of South-Eastern Europe, as witnessed
by the campaign by Russia to build its influence with Belgrade. Can Rus-
sia have Turkey and the Balkans both? Would this provoke the US and
EU too far?
And can Turkey, after its past several years of escalating hostility
toward the US, expect to be rewarded with revived dominance over the
Balkan states?
In all this, what are some of the key factors which lead to a strategic
opening for the US, Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo, as well as providing
a solution which would substantially ease the challenge of the Balkans
for the European Union and NATO, and key regional states such as
Greece?
• Turkey’s Alliance with Russia: Turkey, which sees itself as the
key benefactor of Islam and as traditional overlord of the Bal-
kans, has now created a de facto alliance of necessity with Russia.
This is inimical to US, EU, and NATO interests, and particularly
to the interests of Greece;
• Turkey’s Alliance with Iran: The Turkish Government in 2019
created an express and explicit alliance with Iran to challenge
US and Western interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and Per-
sian Gulf. Iran has been, with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others, a
principal driver in the use of the Balkans as a hub of Islamist-ji-
hadist activities.

• The Kosovo Problem: The existence of a separate state of Koso-

vo has emerged as a problem for the US, a disaster for Serbia, and
what is now emerging as an unrealizable dream for Albania. It
has also emerged as a reality which cannot be resolved by merely
attempting to force Serbia to accept the loss of lands which have
the deepest and most iconic sense of centrality to Serbia’s nation-
al saga of identity. How do all parties to the dilemma, including
Russia (if it wishes to retain any of its historical friendship and
leverage with Serbia), proceed toward resolution?

20
 In July 2019, Serbian professor Dr Darko Trifunović proposed a
formula which could circumvent the need for Serbia to formally recog-
nize Kosovo, but which could still provide both the Albanian Govern-
ment and Kosovo Albanians with a unique opportunity to create a far
more important geopolitical entity. At the same time, the move would
substantially and positively impact the stability and strategic viability
of Serbia while limiting the construction of a landbridge of Islamist ac-
tivity of the type favored by Turkey and Iran into the heart of Europe.
Dr Trifunović, who heads the Institute for National and Interna-
tional Security (INIS) in Belgrade, and who is a Senior Fellow of the
International Strategic Studies Association, publisher of the Defense &
Foreign Affairs reports, on July 27, 2019, proposed a framework of ter-
ritorial exchanges.
These exchanges, the basis of a normalization between Serbia and
Albania, would see the northern, ethnically Serbian, area of Kosovo re-
turned to Serbian control and a corridor of traditionally Serbian-popu-
lated Western Albania handed to Serbia to give it back its access to the
Adriatic sea, in exchange for an acceptance of the merger of the Kosovo
“state” into Albania, substantially expanding the geography of a “greater
Albanian” state.
The area of Northern Albania ceded would be the traditionally Ser-
bian lands, including, for example, the historical medieval Serbian city
of Skadar, and its region, now called Shkoder. Albania would receive the
Kosovo region south of the Ibar River.6
6
Prof. Trifunović was quoted in the Serbian news site, www.alo.rs, on July 27,
2019, as saying: “This is our opportunity. A fair proposal should be made to [US Pres.
Donald] Trump because he is pragmatic. The proposal would consist in the fact that
we should have a dialogue directly with Tiranë and not with Priština. How could we
talk to someone suspected of war crimes (such as [Kosovo Pres. and Kosovo Liber-
ation Army founder/leader Hachim] Thaçi, [Kosovo Liberation Army leader] Kadri
Veseli, and [Kosovo Liberation Army leader Ramush] Haradinaj ... The proposal is that
Serbia would exchange territories with Albania; that is, in exchange for what is south
of [the] Ibar [river], Serbia would receive the Shkoder region with [the ancient Serbian
city of] Shkodra [Skadar]. Serbs in enclaves should receive the maximum protection
[as is] enjoyed by Albanians in Serbia, and the same should apply to monasteries.”
Asked if he feared whether individuals would accuse him of making the “Greater Al-
bania” through such a land exchange, he replied: “How do I make a Greater Albania
when I advocate that Serbia go out to sea? It is a fair proposal and a compromise and
so everyone would get something and everyone would lose something. And then we

21
 Such an internationally-accepted enlarged Albania would resolve
the issue for Albania and the Kosovo authorities of legitimizing the
combined entity internationally.
This would provide Tiranë with the greatest Albanian strategic ad-
vance in centuries (while perhaps still not fully sating the craving for a
“Greater Albania” which seeks parts of Northern Macedonia and even
Montenegro), but would also re-establish Serbian stability and prosper-
ity to help guard the South-Eastern European framework of logistics,
via the Danube-Sava rivers, and down to the Adriatic/ Mediterranean.
There is no question that many Albanians and many Serbs will argue
that such an exchange does not satisfy deep-seated historical quests, or
restore iconic national heartlands (for Serbia), but such a gesture would
be a strategic win-win for Serbia and the Albanians (of Albania and the
Albanian diaspora in Kosovo). And it would resolve fundamental issues
for Europe (not just the European Union), and the US.
Quite apart from current and projected geopolitical realities, the US
has a particular historical engagement which it needs to consider: the
commitment of the US by Pres. Woodrow Wilson, on January 6, 1918;
the 14-point “Program for the Peace of the World”.
This was at the heart of Prof. Trifunović’s proposal insofar as en-
gagement of US good offices toward the resolution of the Kosovo dis-
pute was concerned. Wilson fully recognized the uniquely heavy burden
which Serbia shouldered in opposing the Triple Alliance powers around
Germany in World War I, losing the largest number of its troops and
civilians of any combatant power in the war. He ordered the Serbian flag
to be flown over the White House as an unprecedented mark of respect.
Point XI of the 14 Points notes: “Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro
should be evacuated [by foreign forces]; occupied territories restored;
Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea ...”

would not have to recognize Kosovo. We should deliver this proposal to [Pres.] Trump
as soon as possible, and we can do it through our friends in Israel. I am convinced that
the US President would support this proposal. Any party which rejected the resolution
would have America on its back and would then be pressured by sanctions. Such a
solution can in no way affect Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), which was made on the basis
of the Dayton Agreement, because the proposed understanding with Albania would
be a mutual exchange of territories.”

22
 The longer the Kosovo problem degrades, from the US perspective,
the more difficult it becomes for the sole US base in the Balkans, Camp
Bondsteel, in Kosovo, to retain its utility. A resolution of the Kosovo
situation in which Serbia recognizes an enlarged Albania which would
include most of what is now Kosovo enhances the security and strategic
viability of all. Greece, though remaining cautious of Albanian inten-
tions toward both Greece and Northern Macedonia, could be expected,
too, to support the outcome.
Prof. Trifunović noted: “A fair proposal should be made to [US Pres.
Donald] Trump because he is pragmatic. The proposal would consist in
the fact that we should have a dialogue directly with Tiranë and not with
Priština.”
A win-win-win situation for Albania, Serbia, and the US would also,
in fact, provide tangible benefits for the European Union, strengthening
the stability of its south-eastern extremities at a time when the most
vulnerable EU border with the east is with Turkey. This is particularly
significant at a time when Turkey may once again prove to be a volatile
element, possibly stimulating a resurgence in refugee and migrant flows
from the Middle East into Europe.
As well, in June 2019, Kosovo Pres. Hashim Thaci started a new dis-
course about Kosovo joining Albania, after his former call for “border
corrections” between Kosovo and Serbia failed to get traction. Clearly,
with Kosovo ready to talk “border adjustments”, and Kosovo and Alba-
nia discussing the merger of their states in some respects, the time is
right for all parties to come to the table with a constructive plan.7 Clear-
ly, the viability of Kosovo lies in being part of its fellow Albanian state,
Albania, even if some in Tiranë might be concerned that the aggressive
KLA-based leadership could take a disproportionate share of power in
a united state.
Would the Trifunović Plan – which could be good for Serbia, Al-
bania, Kosovo, and the US – necessarily be seen as a negative strategic
proposition for Russia or the People’s Republic of China (PRC)? No, not
necessarily. Indeed, given Belgrade’s historically open relationships with
7
As well, on July 2, 2019, Hashim Thaci noted: “New circumstances are being
created, and the best solution would be that two parliaments, of Kosovo and Albania,
approve the statements of the people’s wish to live in a single state.”

23
Moscow and Beijing, it could well be that the improved strategic viabil-
ity of Serbia (and Albania) resulting from the accommodation would
also be seen as favorable for Russia and the PRC.
What is significant is that although Russia currently benefits from
the dynamic of the new Russia–Turkey relationship, and while the PRC
might be open to dealings with Turkey, the reality is that both Russia
and the PRC are anxious to see a reduction in Turkey’s flirtation with
jihadist, Islamist, and pan-Turkist or Ottomanish terrorism and with
its political interventions into the Caucasus (in the case of Russia) and
Xinjiang (in the case of the PRC). Indeed, Moscow and Beijing are hap-
py to have improved ties with Turkey – for separate strategic realities
– but equally each wishes to see Turkish Pres. Reçep Tayyip Erdoğan
constrained.
Neither Russia nor the PRC wish to see Erdoğan’s ambitions ful-
filled to revive Turkish influence in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula,
or Red Sea/Horn of Africa regions. That would potentially disrupt the
nascent pax-Russo-Sinica which is replacing Western influence in that
part of the Middle East.8 Russia and the PRC each clearly see the inalien-
able linkage between the Middle East – including the Red Sea/Suez sea
lane (SLOC) – and the Eastern Mediterranean. And the Eastern Medi-
terranean’s inherent linkage with the Balkans.
But there is little doubt that both Russia and the PRC would wish to
see any short-term US advantage in the Balkans remain just that: short-
term.
In the meantime, Serbia is in a position to act as a neutral and in-
creasingly influential center for the consolidation and mediation of is-
sues within the Eastern Orthodox Christian communities, given the re-
cent polarization caused by the creation of autocephaly by some of the
Orthodox community in Ukraine, at the expense of Russia. And now,
once again, Orthodoxy is playing a significant rôle in the outcomes in
the Red Sea as the end occurs of some 45 years of communist secularism
in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

8
See, particularly, Bodansky, Yossef: “The Dawn of the Chinese Gulf: Saudi Ara-
bia and the UAE move away from the US as Iran cements its ties with Beijing and
Moscow”, in Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis, August 12, 2019.

24
 The linkages between Orthodox Christian societies is, in the case of
Serbia and Ethiopia, paralleled by the historical linkage between Serbia
and Ethiopia during the Yugoslav Tito years and the era of Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. If the Middle East-Mediterranean linkage is
critical to the strategic thinking of Russia and the PRC, then the iconic
rôle of Serbia as a player in this – thanks to Tito, Haile Selassie, and the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – is relevant today.9
Indeed, though the Non-Aligned Movement is now departed, the
rôle of Belgrade as a bridge or a space between the Eastern and Western
powers has remained, and this makes Serbia, once again, the “neural
ground” which can provide an acceptable buffer between the PRC-Rus-
sia bloc and the West.
So in some senses, post-Soviet Russia has for some time had a view
of Russian-Serbian relations while the US has not had a commensu-
rate view of US–Serbian relations. But the US has begun to awaken to
the need for a cohesive policy toward Serbia. The visit to Serbia in July
2019 of a US State Department-sponsored public diplomacy mission by
aerospace veteran (and Serbian–American) David Vuich, to pay tribute
to the rôle of Serbian Americans in the Apollo space program, was a
hesitant start to this revival.
It is yet to become apparent whether or not the US Trump Admin-
istration, or, indeed, the inertia-dominated bureaucracies of the State
Department and the Defense Department, comprehend the need to see
Serbia as a centerpiece for a new US Balkan strategy to counterbalance
the “loss” of Turkey.
But it is clear that the Trifunović Opportunity gives great impetus
and urgency to Washington to seize an opportunity to find a rare and
important strategic victory at a critical time in history. It would not only
start to correct some of the damage the US committed in the Balkans in
the 1990s, it might also provide a significant and positive foreign policy
action which could impact the November 2020 US elections.

9
See, Copley, Gregory R., et al: Rise of the RedMed: How the Mediterranean-Red
Sea Nexus is Resuming its Strategic Centrality. Alexandria, Virginia, 2016: the Interna-
tional Strategic Studies Association and the Gusau Institute.

25
 References

Bodansky, Yossef . “The Dawn of the Chinese Gulf: Saudi Arabia and the
UAE move away from the US as Iran cements its ties with Beijing
and Moscow”, in Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis, August
12, 2019.
Copley, Gregory R. “The New Rome & The New Religious Wars”, in De-
fense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy, March 1999.
Copley, Gregory R. “Loyalty and Survival”, in The Art of Victory. New
York: Simon & Schuster Threshold Editions, 2006.
Copley, Gregory R., et al: Rise of the RedMed: How the Mediterra-
nean-Red Sea Nexus is Resuming its Strategic Centrality. Alexandria,
Virginia: International Strategic Studies Association and the Gusau
Institute, 2016.

Gregori R. Kopli

NOVA STRATEŠKA OSNOVA ZA AMERIČKO-SRPSKE ODNOSE

Jedinstvena prilika pruža se Americi na Balkanu

Rezime

Autor naglašava da ovaj period u istoriji stvara jedinstvenu mo-

gućnost za napredak američko-srpskih odnosa. Pominju se međusobni
doprinosi između Srbije i Amerike kao i njihovo postepeno opadanje
za vreme socijalističke Jugoslavije. Druge države, poput Rusije, NRK i
Turske, koriste ovu šansu da prošire svoj uticaj na region i Amerika bi
trebalo da iskoristi mogućnost da učini isto. Sjedinjene Američke Drža-
ve mogu da doprinesu time što će pomoći u iznalaženju rešenja među
Srbima i Albancima u vezi sa Kosovom. Jedno od rešenja koje je nagla-
šeno, dao je Darko Trifunović, direktor Centra za nacionalnu i među-
narodnu bezbednost. Unapređenje odnosa sa Srbijom stavilo bi SAD u
dobru poziciju u balkanskom regionu.
Ključne reči: američko-srpski odnosi, Kosovo, turski uticaj, korekcija
granica

26
 UDC 327.54(497.11:73)

Darko Trifunović, PhD, associate professor*

Zoran Dragišić, PhD, full professor
Institute for National and International Security – INIS (Serbia)

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS – SECURITY

AND GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS

Abstract: Serbia and the United States have always been allies with the
exception of the last few decades during the rule of pro-Bolsheviks headed by
dictator Slobodan Milosević and his wife Mirjana Marković. President Wil-
son was a key person, together with Serbian and American scientist Mihajlo
Pupin, to emphasize the importance of American–Serbian relations. The US,
headed by President Wilson, took significant part in defining borders of the
new Kingdom of Serbs, Croat and Slovenes. US support was namely directed
toward Serbs with great respect to Serbia’s desire to include, within the new
kingdom, those Slavic nations which were defeated in WWI. During WWII
and despite the fact that the US and it’s allies abandoned the heroic General
Mihailović and his units, who saved hundreds of lives of US pilots, our West-
ern allies play their cards on Josip Broz Tito and his troops on the territory
of Yugoslavia. Tito was the only leader who opposed Hitler and Stalin at the
same time. During the Cold War, US policy concerning Yugoslavia was clear-
ly directed in such a way as to demonstrate that Yugoslavia, a communist lat-
er socialist country, can be an ally of the West with all possible benefits. The
greatest success of the neo-Stalinists is the turning of Serbia, and the Serbian
people, against the West and putting all of us in the service of Russia’s foreign
political interests. Serbia and the Serbian people are the biggest victims of the
ideologists’ propaganda which is why Serbia needs help.
Keywords: Serbia, US, relations, security, geopolitical, cooperation,
Cold War, Yugoslavia

*
[email protected]

27
 Introduction

Serbian–American relations had different phases. From great

friendships, understandings and alliances to our modern history where
two countries were on the opposite side. America was a dream for many
Serbs who were leaving the Balkan Peninsula. Many Serbs have realized
their dream in America. The first of these was George Šagić (George
Fisher), followed by the Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin, as the most
famous examples. Nine congressmen, four Pulitzer Prize winners, Os-
car winners and six thousand heroes of the US Army made the Serbian
community in US one of the smallest yet one with the most remarkable
impact on US society. Serbia and the United States have always been
allies with the exception the last few decades during the rule of pro-Bol-
sheviks headed by dictator Slobodan Milosević and his wife Mirjana
Marković. The United States was among the first countries in the World
to established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Serbia in 1882.
H. E. Mr. Eugene Schuyler was the first US Ambassador designated to
Serbia on November 10th, 1882 from Athens, Greece.1

President Woodrow Wilson and Serbia

The United States had joined the Allied Powers in fighting the Cen-
tral Powers on April 6th, 1917.
President Woodrow Wilson addressed to the nation in a famous
speech known as the Fourteen Points.2 In his speech to Congress, Presi-
dent Wilson declared fourteen points which he regarded as essential for
long-lasting peace in the World. Serbia as ally was mention in chapter
XI. “Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied
territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea;
and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined
by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and
nationality; and international guarantees of the political and econom-
1
Department of State Publication: Department and Foreign Service series, Depart-
ment of State, Washington D.C, US, 1948, p. 342.
2
President Woodrow Wilson, The Fourteen Points Speech, CreateSpace Indepen-
dent Publishing Platform, Scotts Valley CA, US, 2017 .

28
ic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states
should be entered into”. In this historical document, Serbia was granted
free and secures access to the sea. For Serbia, this support from a great
ally was very important. Above all, reintegration of occupied territories,
free and secure access to the sea and international guarantees for polit-
ical and economic independence in the geopolitical and security sense
for Serbia has great importance.
President Wilson personally monitored a famous operation in the
Adriatic Sea in September of 1918. Austria-Hungary had addressed a
peace note to the United States, but President Wilson was suspicious of
its sincerity and rejected it. In the following month, Austria-Hungary
joined Germany in requesting a peace treaty on the basis of Wilson’s
Fourteen Points. By this time, Wilson had already recognized the Czech
National Council and was sympathetic to Yugoslav national aspirations
to the point that the opportunity for autonomous development, that
Wilson’s Tenth Point had asserted to the peoples of the Austrian-Hun-
garian Empire, was no longer enough. Wilson had already gone further
and had tacitly recognized the intention to dissolve the Austro-Hun-
garian Empire, even as its authority and military capabilities were rap-
idly dissolving. Unaware that the armistice was to go into effect after a
24-hour hiatus, the Austrian Army laid down its weapons as the Italian
Army moved forward and captured some 300,000 prisoners and plenty
of loot in that period. Meanwhile, the area that Austria-Hungary had
ruled along the Adriatic had been divided into various territories, but
during the war a very active group of local political leaders had pro-
moted unification of these territories into a single state. These leaders
formed a national council and declared a union to form the state of the
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Emperor Karl I of Austria and Karl VI of
Hungary granted the former Austro-Hungarian Navy to the Yugoslav
Council.3
Thomas Woodrow Wilson becomes the 28th President of the United
States in 1913 in the eve of Great WWI. United States under the leader-
3
John B. Hattendorf, The United States Navy in the Mediterranean During the
First World War and its Immediate Aftermath (1917–1923) pp. 190–191. https://
www.academia.edu/37059995/The_United_States_Navy_in_the_Mediterranean_
During_the_First_World_War_and_its_Immediate_Aftermath_1917-1923 Retrieved
29/07/2019.

29
ship of President Wilson also become a World Super Power. At the same
time President Wilson was a key person together with Serbian-Ameri-
can scientist Mihajlo Pupin to emphasize importance of American-Ser-
bian relations. In fact, Serbian–American friendship could be seen also
as Wilson-Pupin friendship. Dr. Pupin worked days and nights to gather
support for the Serbian people, stressed about the starvation of Serbian
people as well as the great military success against common enemies.
President Wilson was amazed by this small nation fighting for its own
freedom against this evil. His sympathy and gratitude toward Serbian
people were show at all possible place. The United States of America
officially celebrated July 28th, 1918 as “Serbia Day.” On July 27th, U.S.
Secretary of State Robert Lansing called on every American citizen to,
“gather on Sunday, July 28th in their churches in order to express their
sympathies toward this enslaved nation (Serbia) and their oppressed
brothers in other countries and to invoke the blessing of the almighty
God for them and cause that they are fighting for.” Thanks to a report by
the Serbian Ambassador to the United States and an article published
in Detroit News, we know today that, “over the White House and other
public institutions waved the Serbian flag for the first time.” Other than
the American and Serbian flags, only one other has been flown over the
White House. That was the French flag, on the 131st anniversary of the
fall of the Bastille, on July 14th, 1920.4
It was very clear that the US headed by President Wilson took sig-
nificant part in defining borders of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croat
and Slovenes. US support was namely directed toward Serbs with great
respect to Serbia’s desire to include in this new kingdom those Slavic
nations which were defeated in WWI.
During the negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles, the United
States were represented by a delegation which was fully pro-Serbian
oriented. During the process of defining new borders, Dr Jovan Cvijić
was elected to represent Serbia and to show maps to the American del-
egation in an effort to persuade them to endorse the restored occupied
territory of Baranja, East Banat, and other regions previously occupied

4
The Day When the Serbian and U. S. Flags Flew Together Over the White House,
US Embassy in Serbia, https://rs.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/day-when-the-ser-
bian-and-u-s-flags-flew-together-over-the-white-house/ Retrieved 29/07/2019.

30
by Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romanian invaders into the newly
formed Serbia borders.5 Thanks to all of above mentioned joint efforts,
but primarily to President Wilson, Serbia regained its own territory pre-
viously occupied by Austro-Hungarians and their ally.

US Presidents Harry S. Truman, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan

and Serbia (Yugoslavia)

During World War II, the US had a multi-layered relations with

the conflicting parties in the territory of present-day Yugoslavia. Al-
though the only legitimate military formation in the territory of Yu-
goslavia at that time was the Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats
and Slovenes, and the remains of Chetnik units led by General Draža
Mihailović, Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslavian Army Force, the
US also maintained contacts with the Partisan-communist units led by
Josip Broz Tito. During WWII Serbia was the only country in South
East Europe together with Greece to oppose Hitler and the first Euro-
pean resistance to defeat Hitler’s troops. At that time Serbian resistance
movement led by General Mihajlović was glorified in the US and other
Western media. Unfortunately, General Mihailović and his troops at the
end of the war were abandoned and betrayed by the allies despite of the
fact that Chetniks played an important role against the Nazis and saved
hundreds of allied pilots. Josip Broz Tito’s communist regime prosecut-
ed and sentenced General Mihailović to the death. French President De
Gaulle did everything in his power to save General Mihailović’s life but
with no result. That was the main reason why Tito and De Gaulle, two
prominent leaders of the resistance movement and two notable states-

5
See more: Tatjana Korićanac, The Belgrade Atlas of Jovan Cvijić Century and a
half since the birth 1865–2015, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Belgrade City
Museum, Belgrade, Serbia, 2015.
As a scientific expert and a person of great influence, Cvijić took part in important
state missions for the Serbian Government in exile, during the crucial moments for
the Serbian people, assisting the Serbian Supreme Command in working out military
strategic plans including the plan for the withdrawal of the Serbian army across
Albania, not to mention his contribution in determining the most favorable borders
for the newly formed Kingdom of SCS by using scientific argumentation before the
Allies in Versailles.

31
men of their day, ended their rule and life (Tito the same day, who is
closer to dictators, unlike De Gaulle, who himself withdrew from power
for life, which was determined in a democratic way) without ever hav-
ing met. Tito wanted but De Gaulle refused. This is because of Draža
Mihailović. Gendral De Gaulle awarded general Draža Mihailović with
the “Crox de Guerre” in 1943.6 At the same time President Truman hon-
ored Draža Mihailović with the Chief Commander Legion of Merit two
years after his murder.7 English Intelligence Service SOE opened its ar-
chives recently and announced that Draža Mihailović was innocent of
all charges and never was a Nazi collaborator but rather a patriot and the
first anti-fascist leader in occupied Europe8. US President Richard M.
Nixon in his statement dated April 21st, 1966 described General Draza
Mihailovic as a patriot, brave soldier and gallant ally of the United States
and every nation that went to the war in the early forties to destroy the
tyrannies that sought to enslave our world. Hundreds of American pilots
owe their lives to General Mihailovic and his forces and the American peo-
ple will never forget that debt. As long as there are patriots in any nation,
the name of General Mihailovic will be remembered and revered. Ronald
Reagan, 40th President of the United States (1981–1989): “The ultimate
tragedy of Draza Mihailović cannot erase the memory of his heroic and
often lonely struggle against the twin tyrannies that affected his peo-
ple, Nazism and Communism. He knew that totalitarianism, whatever
6
Dušan Bataković, La Serbie et la France – une alliance atypique, Balkanološki
institut SANU, Beograd, Serbia, 2010, p. 360.
7
Vladislav A. Tomović, Canadian Serbs: a History of Their Social and Cultural
Traditions: (1856–2002), Batlik, 2002, p. 472.
8
The aforementioned communist infiltration into SOE has been given some
credit in historiography, but the evident influence of the communist group in the
SOE – favouring a shift from supporting Mihailović towards sending military aid to
Tito – was heavily overstressed, both in historiography and public debate. Rather than
relying on the SOE activities, the British policy of supporting resistance movements
in Yugoslavia was much more defined through evidence of the chetnik collaboration
with the fascists provided by the German reports deciphered in Bletchley Park.
See: R. Bailey, Communist in SOE: Explaining James Klugmann’s Recruitment and
Retention, Intelligence and National Security, vol. 20 (2006), 72–97; see also J. Cripps,
Mihailović or Tito? How the Codebreakers Helped Churchill Choose, in: Action This
Day, edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Erskine, London: Bantam Press, 2001, pp.
237–263.

32
name it might take, is the death of freedom. He thus became a symbol
of resistance to all those across the world who have had to fight a similar
heroic and lonely struggle against totalitarianism. Mihailovic belonged
to Yugoslavia; his spirit now belongs to all those who are willing to fight
for freedom” (September 8th, 1979).

Document No. 1 US President Richard M. Nixon statement dated

April 21st, 1966

33
Document No. 2 Letter of US President Ronald Reagan regarding the first
anti Nazi leader in Europe General Draza Mihailovic
 Despite the fact that the US and its allies abandoned the heroic
General Mihailović and his units that saved hundreds of US pilot’s lives,
Western allies played their cards on Josip Broz Tito and his troops on
the territory of Yugoslavia. Tito was the only leader to oppose Hitler and
Stalin at the same time. Such a policy launches great interest to Western
powers and their allies. Josip Broz Tito’s policies were the only one in
Yugoslavia. It was a policy of communism that grew into socialism. Yu-
goslavia played a major role in the creation of Non-aligned countries.9 It
received huge financial assistance from the West in order to attract more
and more Third World countries as far away from Russia and the USSR.

Cold War US – Yugoslavia

The Serbian people lived all across the former Yugoslavia togeth-
er with other nations and nationalities. US policy over Yugoslavia was
clearly directed in such a way as to show that Yugoslavia, a communist
later socialist country, can be an ally of West with all possible benefits.
The US wanted to create a division between the USSR and other com-
munist countries. Fighting totalitarian communist regimes became one
of the key pillars of US foreign policy from President H. Truman to
President Reagan and even to this day. It is very well know that Presi-
dent H. Truman stated: “there isn’t any difference in totalitarian states. I
don’t care what you call them, Nazi, Communist or Fascist”.10 It was Pres-
ident Truman who initiated the Marshal Plan and NATO as a response
to aggressive communist’s policy. It is also important to note that it was
President H. Truman who recognized the state of Israel only 11 minutes
after its creation. The decision was greeted with enthusiasm in Yugo-
slavia, especially from the Serbian people, who together with Jews and
Roma people survived the Holocaust during WWII. During the Cold
War US helped Yugoslavia enormously despite the fact that Yugosla-
via was a communist and later socialist country. The Cold War was not
only ideological but it was also a geopolitical war. Russia and the USSR
9
Alvin Z. Rubinstein, Yugoslavia and the Nonaligned World, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, NJ, US, 2015.
10
Thomas G. Paterson, Meeting the Communist Threat: Truman to Reagan: Tru-
man to Reagan, Oxford University Press, USA, 1988, p. 3.

35
considered Yugoslavia as one of the greatest obstacles in their foreign
policy of speeding their poisoned ideology. Regardless of the heavy US
presence and assistance in former Yugoslavia, Russians had developed a
Russian special agent network. It was a matter of high ranking members
of security services and politicians who directly received instructions
from Moscow. They were known as “Yugoslav Red Orchestra” headed
by General Aleksandar Vasiljević.

After the Cold War

After the death of Josip Broz Tito, nationalistic movements devel-

oped in the whole of Yugoslavia. The peoples and nations which live
in former Yugoslavia were all poisoned by extreme ideologies of totali-
tarian regimes. This situation went to Moscow’s advantage in order for
it to dominate and managed the situation on the ground more easily.
Proponents of these policies were leaving the traditional friendship with
America and turned towards the Russian-German intelligence circles
that had their strongholds in the local political, economic and securi-
ty nomenclatures. The aim of the Russian service in Yugoslavia was to
break up and open hot spots in South East Europe with the aim of stop-
ping NATO. Neo-Stalinist political nomenclature in Serbia and Croatia,
in conjunction with the Islamist exponents in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
smashed Yugoslavia before the eyes of the whole World. It was Stalin
who sent KGB assassins several times to kill Josip Broz Tito.11 Histor-
ically, from Ohrana, Checka, NKVD, KGB or FSB all of those services
had instructions from above, from political arenas to keeping Serbia
and the Serbian people far away from the West, Western civilization,
culture and influence. Throughout history every Serbian politician or
ruler who wanted to move Serbia closer to the West were killed or as-
sassinated, from Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, King Aleksandar
Obrenović, King Aleksandar Karadjordjević to Serbian Prime Minister
Dr. Zoran Djindjić. The situation remains unchanged even today. The
current situation reminds us of the Cold War. Russia and certain Eu-
11
Jussi M. Hanhimäki, Odd Arne Westad, The Cold War: A History in Documents
and Eyewitness Accounts, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 451.

36
ropean countries in the surroundings claim that the North Stream II is
against the US and its partners in East Europe. War of ideologies, influ-
ence, dominance, energy, war to win the minds and feelings of people
is underway.

Conclusion

Serbia and the Serbian people must decide in which direction they
want to pursue their policies. One option coming from the East is the
ideology and distorted reality option based on conspiracy theories. The
past and the present teach us that the bearers of that policy of the East
robbed the Serbian people and ruined the state and its institutions. This
option led the Serbian people into direct confrontation with the most
powerful Western powers. In the clash between Russia and the West,
the Serbs and their children paid with their lives and loss of territory.
The greatest success of the neo-Stalinists was the turning of Serbia and
the Serbian people against the West and putting all of us in the service
of Russia’s foreign political interests. Serbia and the Serbian people are
the biggest victims of the ideologists’ propaganda and that’s why Serbia
needs help. Russia cannot be blamed for the situation in Serbia in this
paper. Russia is a great power and has a legitimate right to pursue its
interests. Just as long as all Serbs disappear from the face of the earth
in order to preserve Russia, this is fully justified from the position of
Russian politics. Already, the historical tactics of Russian foreign policy
have proven to be very effective. Whoever wants to invade Russia, it’s
best to first “get stuck in the Balkan mud” at the cost of Serbs disappear-
ing. That was a proven strategy in World War I, II and of course in the
early 1990s.

References

Dušan Bataković, La Serbie et la France – une alliance atypique, Bal-

kanološki institut SANU, Beograd, Serbia, 2010.
Jussi M. Hanhimäki, Odd Arne Westad, The Cold War: A History in Docu-
ments and Eyewitness Accounts, Oxford University Press, 2004.

37
John B. Hattendorf , The United States Navy in the Mediterranean During
the First World War and its Immediate Aftermath (1917–1923).
J. Cripps, Mihailović or Tito? How the Codebreakers Helped Churchill
Choose, in: Action This Day, edited by Michael Smith and Ralph Er-
skine, London: Bantam Press, 2001.
Tatjana Korićanac, The Belgrade Atlas of Jovan Cvijić Century and a half
since the birth 1865–2015, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Belgrade City Museum, Belgrade, Serbia, 2015.
Thomas G. Paterson, Meeting the Communist Threat: Truman to Reagan:
Truman to Reagan, Oxford University Press, USA, 1988.
Alvin Z. Rubinstein, Yugoslavia and the Nonaligned World, Princeton
University Press, Princeton, NJ,US, 2015.
Vladislav A. Tomović, Canadian Serbs: a History of Their Social and Cul-
tural Traditions: (1856–2002), Batlik, 2002.
Woodrow Wilson, The Fourteen Points Speech, CreateSpace Indepen-
dent Publishing Platform, Scotts Valley CA, US, 2017.
Department of State Publication: Department and Foreign Service series,
Department of State, Washington D.C, US, 1948.
Internet source:
The Day When the Serbian and U.S. Flags Flew Together Over the White
House, US Embassy in Serbia, https://rs.usembassy.gov/our-rela-
tionship/day-when-the-serbian-and-u-s-flags-flew-together-over-
the-white-house/Retrieved 29/07/2019

Darko Trifunović
Zoran Dragišić

SRPSKO-AMERIČKI ODNOSI – BEZBEDNOSNI I

GEOPOLITIČKI POGLEDI

Rezime

Srbija i Sjedinjene Američke Države oduvek su bile saveznici, sa

izuzetkom poslednjih nekoliko decenija tokom vladavine proboljševi-
ka na čelu sa diktatorom Slobodanom Miloševićem i njegovom ženom

38
Mirjanom Marković. Predsednik Vilson je bio ključna osoba, zajedno sa
naučnikom Mihajlom Pupinom, koja je naglašavala važnost američko-
srpskih odnosa. SAD su, predvođene predsednikom Vilsonom, imale
značajnu ulogu u određivanju granica nove Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i
Slovenaca. Podrška SAD se uglavnom fokusirala na Srbiju sa velikom
obzirnošću prema srpskoj želji da uključi, u novu kraljevinu, slovenske
narode koji su izgubili u Prvom svetskom ratu. Tokom Drugog svetskog
rata, i uprkos tome što su SAD i njeni saveznici napustili junačkog ge-
nerala Mihailovića i njegove jedinice, koji su spasli živote stotine ame-
ričkih pilota, naši zapadni saveznici su odlučili da podrže Josipa Broza
Tita i njegove jedinice na teritoriji Jugoslavije. Tito je bio jedini vođa
koji se suprotstavio Hitleru i Staljinu u isto vreme. Tokom Hladnog rata,
američka politika u vezi sa Jugoslavijom bila je takva da je pokazala da
Jugoslavija, komunistička a kasnije socijalistička država, može da bude
saveznik Zapada sa svim mogućim benefitima. Najveći uspeh neostalji-
nista jeste to što su okrenuli Srbiju i srpski narod protiv Zapada i što su
nas sve stavili pod ruske spoljnopolitičke interese. Srbija i srpski narod
su najveće žrtve propagande ideologa, zbog čega je Srbiji potrebna po-
moć.
Ključne reči: Srbija, SAD, odnosi, bezbednost, geopolitički, sarad-
nja, Hladni rat, Jugoslavija

39
 UDC 327:911.3(497.11:73)

Steven Oluic, PhD, U.S. Army retired*1

SERBIA – GEOPOLITICAL DIRECTIONS,

EAST OR WEST?

Abstract: Russia’s resurgence, displayed by its success in Syria, and the

rise of China, manifested in the “Road & Belt Initiative,” challenge the United
States and the West on every front: economically, militarily, and geopolitically.
The “unipolar moment” enjoyed by the U.S. following the collapse of the USSR
is long gone; one could argue that the American Century has been eclipsed by
global competitors long waiting to challenge post-1989 U.S. global hegemony.
Serbia finds itself in a geopolitical predicament that is both domestic and glob-
al. Should this small republic look East or West to select its “geopolitical way”
forward? Adding to the challenges of these major powers are lesser regional
powers, such as Turkey, and antagonistic Balkan neighbors, such as Albania
and Kosovo. There are competing elements within and without Serbia pursu-
ing the patronship of Russia, China, or the West (namely the United States)
– how is the current geopolitical landscape shaping Serbia’s future in Europe?
The legacies of the recent past and potential opportunities of the future will
continue to inform Serbia’s geopolitical way forward.
Keywords: Serbia, USA, geopolitics, transit route, Kosovo, international
relations

Setting the Geopolitical Stage

The Republic of Serbia, a small landlocked country of some 77,474

square kilometers and approximately 7,100,000 inhabitants, sits across
the geographic crossroads of empires and competing powers. It has sat
long in what is called a “shatter belt” region of the globe. A former Yu-
goslav Republic, Serbia lost its unfettered access to the Adriatic Sea with
Montenegro’s abrupt secession from the remnant Serbia & Montenegro

*
[email protected]

41
in 2006. It is now a European “land island” surrounded by eight, some
assert seven, countries that are ambivalent if not outright hostile to Ser-
bia’s economic and political future. Of those countries, four are mem-
bers of the European Union and five members of NATO. Serbia is a truly
a borderland European state, lying outside of the benefits offered by true
membership in the West.

Figure 1 – The Republic of Serbia (CIA World Factbook)

The Balkans and Serbia in particular, are overwhelmed and bur-

dened by history. From the vantage of a Serbian national perspective,
Serbia fought as a victorious Western Ally in two world wars to only be
betrayed by its former allies at the turn of the century. Serbia, includ-
ing the short-lived Yugoslavia, was attacked and invaded three times in
the 20th century. The current Serbian resentment is a natural outcome

42
of recent history and cannot but help to impact, to whatever level, the
relationships Serbia has with other countries. While many academics,
policy makers, and pundits in the international relations community
will downplay such statements as irrelevant, I would beg to differ as pol-
icy and international relations are always imbued by a sense of history
and open to short-term political necessities. They are components of
the great power’s policymakers and strategic leaders; both friendly and
hostile.

Figure 2 – Major inland road and railway freight corridors (Kovacevic, 2017)

While Serbia has a favorable geographic location straddling the

critical overland transit route from the Near East and Turkey to West-
ern Europe (see Figure 2), this geographical asset is severely diminished

43
by the lack of European Union (EU) membership and the antagonis-
tic neighborhoods to the north and west. Serbia cannot economically
leverage this transportation corridor given the political realities of today
that have been shaped by the legacy of Yugoslavia’s breakup and subse-
quent turmoil and remaining lingering tensions.
Serbia’s significant diaspora communities in neighboring Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and the greatly reduced diaspora populations in Croatia
and Kosovo, continue to impact its internal political environment and
that of these neighbors. While many countries around the globe, espe-
cially China and Russia, support Serbia’s adamant opposition to Kosovo’s
recognition, including several EU member states, Serbia’s access to the
West, whether via the EU or even NATO membership is doomed. Serbs
found outside of Serbia proper face severe hardship and discrimination in
Croatia and Kosovo and are under duress in Bosnia & Herzegovina given
their unwillingness to support a unitary Bosnian state. Indeed, Bosnia to-
day is in the grey zone of failed state status and would predictably become
a crisis without continued Western involvement.
The question of Kosovo’s recognition by Serbia drives much of the
West’s fraught relationship with the country. Those countries, primarily
Western, that were eager to see Yugoslavia’s destruction are now tired of
dealing with the “Balkan Issue(s)” and crave an end to the interminable
tensions, irredentism, and revanchism. Donor fatigue, loss of patience
with continued inter-ethnic squabbling, and geopolitical events outside
of the Balkans dominating Western attention will only exacerbate this
situation.
Drug trafficking and organized crime have leveraged the region-
al instability. Long argued as a position to halt Kosovo’s international
recognition, these criminal elements emanating from Kosovo, and to
a somewhat lesser extent Albania proper, are readily recognized in Eu-
rope as a major threat. According to the annual report of the United Na-
tions Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for 2017, Albanian gangs
are the world’s No. 1 heroin and cannabis smugglers and the world’s
No. 3 cocaine traffickers. (Ruci, 2018) Some estimate that over 90% of
Western Europe’s heroin trade is controlled by Kosovo Albanian orga-
nized crime networks. Serbia and its allies argue that this factor alone
provides solid evidence of the failure of a Kosovar state and that it must
be returned to the Serbian state. Others posit that the lack of diplomatic

44
recognition and full economic integration into the global community
will continue to inhibit economic development, hinder governmental
transparency, and foster continued graft and corruption in the greater
region and allow illegal activities to flourish.
The realities of the 1990s Yugoslav civil wars and post 9–11 growth
of Islamic radicalism have nurtured what some regional security offi-
cials term the “green transversal,” a radical extremist Balkan thorough-
fare into the heart of Western Europe from Southwest Asia.
Chancellor Angela Markel’s 2015 decision to fling European doors
open to unvetted migrants and refugees fleeing conflict in Afghanistan,
Iraq and Syria has only complicated this issue and opened Europe to cul-
tural and extremist violence. The repatriation of many former ISIS fight-
ers and radicals from these countries over the past year adds veracity to
this conclusion. The strengthening of the EU’s external borders, the rise
of European populism, and Croatia’s and Hungary’s “hard borders” with
Bosnia and Serbia have led to a decrease in the flow of nefarious actors
into the West; however, the “promise” or “target” of the West will con-
tinue to draw migrants and extremists to the Balkan overland route into
Europe.
It is an uncomfortable and often overlooked fact by U.S. and West-
ern media outlets, think tanks, and government policy makers that the
Balkan Muslim diaspora members in the West have taken active roles
in terrorism in the U.S. and EU. The 2007 Fort Dix, New Jersey plot,
the attempted 2009 New York City bridge bombing, and most recent-
ly, the arrest of Bosniak-American ISIS supporters corroborates this
unpleasant reality. (Oluic, 2014) (Goudie and Tressel, 2019) In fact,
Kosovo “…has seen a greater percentage of its citizens fight for IS than
any country in Europe.” (Klapper, 2019)
The unsettled political status of several Balkan states, specifically
Kosovo, and until recently the Republic of Northern Macedonia, has
permitted migrant waves from southwest Asia into Western Europe.
The lack of a comprehensive approach and legal regime towards border
control and security has fostered this phenomena’s growth. This prob-
lem has to be resolved by both the EU and Balkan states. This land cor-
ridor, from Thessaloniki to the Danubian plains of Croatia and Serbia
has always served as a human migrant and travel corridor. Germany’s
Chancellor Angela Merkel open invitation to those fleeing war-torn Syr-

45
ia and Iraq to come to Germany, and by default, Western Europe and
elsewhere, increased the use of the corridor and enabled many to profit
from the misery of refugees and to deliver the aspirations of radicals and
criminal networks.

Great Power Politics – a new version & location for the

“Great Game?”

Today Serbia finds itself the target of international economic and

political influence by China, Russia, and even Turkey; the United States
is conspicuously absent and the lack of EU membership all but makes
any EU investment and trade irrelevant. Serbia’s economic interaction
with the United States is almost non-existent; there is no impactful
American foreign direct investment and import/export activity. As of
2017, Russia is Serbia’s 4th largest export and import partner, with Chi-
na being its 3rd largest importer. (CIA World Factbook, 2019) Domestic
Serbian politics and international relationships have set political par-
ties within Serbia against one another. This political atmosphere has led
to unrest and tension to slowly develop in the political affairs, internal
and external, of this small Balkan country. Serbia’s desire to successfully
leverage its location to benefit economically is being nullified by the pol-
icies and demands of the West, namely Kosovo’s recognition. This situ-
ation has permitted China and Russia to build their favorable economic
and political influence in Serbia and the region.
According to Reuters, China’s ongoing infrastructure investments
in Serbia total over five billion Euros. (Vasovic, 2019) China envisions
Balkan countries as part of its ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative
which will open trade links for Chinese companies and expand its re-
gional influence. Chinese economic and financial interest in Serbia is
not a new development, in the last ten years Chinese companies pur-
chased Serbia’s only copper mine, a steel plant and invested in electric
power production. Of interesting note, the presence of thousands of
Chinese tourists and workers in Serbia has led to the Chinese providing
police officers to assist the Serbs in dealing with issues that arise in many
Serbian cities and worksites. (Vasovic, 2019)
China is not alone in its Serbian investment. Russia plans to con-
struct the South Stream gas pipeline that will cut the Balkan’s reliance
on the Central European Gas Hub in Austria and strengthen Russia’s

46
economic and therefore political power in the region. (Kovacevic, 2017)
While the Balkan gas market is not expected to grow substantially soon,
Russian development in the region will continue to reinforce its eco-
nomic power and political influence in the West. The transit fees will
greatly aid in improving Serbia’s economic position and fiscal situation,
allowing it to finance the ambitious infrastructure plans of President
Vucic. China and Russia displacing the West as the chief investors and
political supporters of Serbia in the international arena.
In October 2019, the Washington Post asserted that, “Russia and the
West are engaged in a pitched battle for the allegiance of Serbia, a pivotal
Balkan nation that has declared a desire to join the European Union but
also counts Russia as an ally.” Serbia, indeed as the former Yugoslavia had
done, is pursuing a long-term strategy of leveraging the West and East
against one another. However, Russia and China, have made a far deeper
penetration into Serbia by using their “soft power,” typically an asset used
by the U.S. The Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Nis, while de-
cried by the West as a Russian intelligence gathering center in southern
Serbia, is an example of inexpensively purchased influence in the coun-
try as noted in the figure below. While seen by many Western intelligence
officials as a Russian intelligence gathering site, it has provided much in
the way of humanitarian and disaster relief support to the region.

Figure 2 – Serbian Perception of Top Foreign Donors (Birnbaum, 2019)

47
 The reality is, however, that the EU and the U.S. have provided far
more in terms of donations to Serbia from 2010 to 2016. The question
that begs to be asked is the “why?”, why do Serbs perceive Russian do-
nations are greater than the facts portray? There are several factors, in
many cases history and common Slavic culture, the role of the media,
and perhaps most significantly, who receives these “donations.” Many
non-governmental organizations that are perceived as anti-Serbian re-
ceive this aid and while many EU donations go towards infrastructure
projects, these are seen as benefiting actors in the region and Serbia that
do not support Serbian national goals – such as maintaining Kosovo as
an integral part of Serbia.
Why is the United States’ interaction and relationship with Serbia
held hostage to the tensions Serbia has with Kosovo? The recent import
tariffs on 100% of Serbian goods being exported to Kosovo highlights
this. The Kosovar government and leadership have been criticized by
the EU and U.S. over this measure as very damaging towards establish-
ing normal Serbian–Kosovo relations and are being actively countered
by Serbian officials. Normalization of relations between Serbia and
Kosovo are far from certain and will be a persistent challenge in the
foreseeable future.
Serbia’s relationship with most of the West, especially the United
States, will forever be scarred by its role played in the breakup of Yugo-
slavia and NATO’s Airwar against the rump-state of Yugoslavia in 1999.
Given how large history looms in the consciousness of nations, especial-
ly in Southeastern Europe, it is doubtful that improvement in relations
will be above an absolute minimal threshold required to aid Serbia’s
economy, political standing and global relationship(s) with the West.
In the recent July 2019 12-nation Balkan summit, Turkey’s President
Erdogan voiced his skepticism with Western Balkan integration and dis-
appointment with the European Union’s lack of follow-through to open
membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania in June. He assert-
ed that this weakens the region’s stability and doubts the blocs existing
strategy to counter a growing Russian and Chinese presence in the region.
(Sito-Sucic, 2019) Over the past several years Erdogan has been overtly
casting himself and Turkey as the historical leader and regional partner of
the Balkans; moreover, he has been the Balkan Muslim’s advocate.

48
 Erdogan has tied the recent European populism, albeit tangentially,
to allegedly European anti-Islam and anti-immigrant policies. Coupled
with Turkish revanchist rhetoric, closer religious and cultural ties, and
economic investment, one must wonder if the Turkey will gain from the
West’s absence in Serbia. Further exacerbating the already fragile soci-
eties in the Western Balkans is Erdogan’s tendency to trumpet Europe’s
so-called prejudicial stance towards Muslims by noting the EU’s contin-
ued recalcitrance toward Turkey’s EU accession and by attending annual
memorial events such as the Srebrenica Anniversary commemoration
in Bosnia this year.
Lastly, Serbia, as with many other countries in Eastern and South-
eastern Europe are increasingly facing criticism from domestic elements
of society demanding more transparency and less corruption in govern-
ment affairs. Whether perceived or real, these governments have been
challenged by open and at time violent demonstrations; many in Serbia
are calling for President Vucic’s resignation and are challenging his lead-
ership. (Stratfor, 2019)

The End Game

The legacy of the past – the relatively recent events of the 1990s and
early 21st century – will undoubtedly jaundice any relationship between
Serbia and the United States and West.
Unless America abandons the one-sided and critical rhetoric to-
wards Serbia and the uncompromising support of states anathema to
Serbian interests, it is hard to envision a positive relationship outside of
where it stands today. Coupling this sentiment with U.S. demands for
allies to share more “global policing” and security expenses, plus the
perceived isolationist tendencies of the current Administration, it is dif-
ficult to see a renewed American interest in the geopolitical gamesman-
ship in the region and Serbia specifically. (Shake, 2019) The current in-
ability of the U.S. to garner Western support in its ongoing and growing
conflict with Iran only serves to support this view.
In the grand scheme of international relations and geopolitics, Ser-
bia today does not rise to the level of a national security concern for the
U.S.; in fact, I would argue that Serbia and the Balkans have suffered

49
from a benign neglect on the part of America over the past decade. The
legacies and outcomes of the 1999 NATO Airwar and American role in
it, and its continued presence at Camp Bondsteel would suggest that the
U.S. is satisfied with the current regional status quo. As Balkan states
slowly gain entrance into the European Union and possibly NATO,
U.S. concern or interest with Serbia will further decline. Possibly
Serbia’s current political-military relationship with the Ohio National
Guard within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, is all that
is on the horizon for America’s geopolitical Balkan interests. As such,
this vacuum will slowly be taken advantage of by the competitive in-
terests of not only Russia, but of an increasingly assertive China and
revanchist Turkey.

References

Bender, Bryan. “Russia beating U.S. in race for global influence, Pentagon
study says.” 30 June 2019. Politico web site. News article.
Birnbaum, Michael. “Russia’s low-cost influence strategy finds success
in Serbia.” 3 October 2018. Washington Post web site. News article.
CIA World Factbook. 22 July 2019. Map.
Clancy, Sam. “Second St. Louis man admits to sending money to help
ISIS.” 3 April 2019. KSDK web site.
Conley, Heather A. and Matthew Melino. Russian Malign Influence in
Montenegro. Issues Report. Washington DC: Center for Strategic
and International Studies, 2019.
Goudie, Chuck and Christine Tressel. “Schiller park mother of four gets
prison time for ISIS terror ties.” n.d. ABC 7 Chicago web site. News
article. 26 July 2019.
Klapper, Bradley. “Kerry urges Kosovo to stick to deals on ethnic Serbs,
border.” 2 December 2015. NBC Montana Web site. The Associated
Press. Newspaper article.
Kovacevic, Aleksandar. Towards a Balkan gas hub: the interplay between
pipeline gas, LNG and. OIES Paper: NG 115. Oxford University.
Oxford: The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 2017. Document.
Oluic, Steven. “The Balkan Muslim Diaspora the U.S.” Cleveland, 12 July
2014. Presentation. Press, Associated. “Feds: Man who discussed
US attack arrested at gun range.”

50
Ruci, Ani. Albania declares war on drug trade. 27 October 2018.
Shake, Kori. “The Bill for America First Is Coming Due.” The Atlantic
27 July 2019.
Sito-Sucic, Daria. “Short-sited policies stall Balkans’ integration into
EU: Erdogan.” 9 July 2019. www.reuters.com. News article.
“SMA TRADOC White Paper – Russian Strategic Intentions.” May
2019. NSI web site.
Peterson, Nicole. NSI Inc. Document. 16 June 2019.
Stratfor. “Eastern Europe Witnesses a Quiet Revolution.” 15 July 2019.
STRATFOR web site.
Vasovic, Aleksandar and Fatos Bytyci. “Kosovo Serbs close shops to
protest import tariffs.” Reuters. 1 July 2019. News article.
Vasovic, Aleksandar. “Chinese police to help Serbia cope with its workers
tourists.” Reuters. Prod. Reuters. 2019. News article.
Vladimirov, Martin, et al. Russian Economic Footprint in the Westen
Balkans. Grant funded technical report. Sofia: Center for the Study
of Democracy, 2018. Document.
“Serbia wants billions in foreign loans to invest in infrastructure –
minister.” Reuters. 12 July 2019.

Stiven Oluić

SRBIJA – GEOPOLITIČKI SMER, ISTOK ILI ZAPAD?

Rezime

Povratak Rusije, demonstriran njenim uspehom u Siriji i uzdiza-

nje Kine, što se vidi iz njenog „Pojas i put“ inicijativom, predstavlja-
ju izazov za Sjedinjene Američke Države i za Zapad u svakom smislu:
ekonomskom, vojnom i geopolitičkom. „Unipolarni momenat“ koji je
SAD uživala nakon pada SSSR-a je davno prošao; neki bi mogli čak
da kažu da je vek Amerike pokriven svetskim konkurentima koji dugo
čekaju da dovedu u pitanje globalnu hegemoniju SAD u periodu nakon
1989. Srbija se nalazi u geopolitičkoj poteškoći koja je i domaćeg i glo-
balnog karaktera. Da li bi ova mala republika trebalo da gleda ka Istoku
ili ka Zapadu da bi odabrala svoj „geopolitički put“ napred? Dodatni

51
izazov, pored ovih velikih sila, predstavljaju i manje regionalne sile, kao
što je Turska i neprijateljski balkanski susedi poput Albanije i Kosova.
Postoje suprotstavljeni elementi (unutar i izvan zemlje) koji određu-
ju težnju Srbije ka pokroviteljstvu Rusije, Kine ili Zapada (konkretno
Sjedinjenih Američkih Država) – što je ilustracija toga kako trenutne
geopolitičke okolnosti formiraju budućnost Srbije u Evropi. Ostaci ne-
davne prošlosti i moguće šanse za budućnost nastaviće da formiraju
srpski geopolitički put napred.
Ključne reči: Srbija, SAD, geopolitika, tranzitna ruta, Kosovo,
međunarodni odnosi

52
 UDC 327(497.11:73)"20"

Orhan Dragaš, PhD*

International Security Institute (Serbia)

FIVE POINTS FOR BUILDING

NEW SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS
IN THE 21st CENTURY

Abstract: Relations between Serbia and the United States have a long his-
tory, marked by ups and downs, with extremes ranging from the most intense
friendship and brotherhood to armed conflict. Both countries have shown an
interest in improving their relations and overcoming the historically low point
of the last three decades, which is a necessary assumption to discuss ways in
which this should be achieved. The potential for improving Serbia–US rela-
tions is objectively limited by a group of factors, some of which (geographical
distance, vast disparity in power and potential) are inherent in many other
countries in the world, but there is also an exclusively bilateral disruptive fac-
tor, and these are relations from the recent past. In our view, two states and
two nations must find areas where progress will lead to a long-lasting strength-
ening of overall relations, which will not be affected by occasional differing
views in the political and economic spheres, which will certainly happen, and
which is not uncommon in contemporary international relations. These areas
are technology, security, culture, personal connections and historical connec-
tions. Both states and their people, their economic and cultural communities,
can make use of the vast space and upgrade existing links in these areas, with
the two state administrations encouraged to foster this connection.
Keywords: Serbia, USA, relations, cooperation, security, culture, technology,
diaspora, tourism, history, trade, partnership

*
[email protected]

53
 1. INTRODUCTION

“You Serbs started the last century with wars, you ended it with wars
... What nice things are you preparing for us in this century?”1 – this
question was asked by Henry Kissinger to Živorad Kovačević in the ear-
ly 2000s, when two old friends, great diplomats, met in America, where
they were introduced many years earlier – one as head of the State De-
partment and the other as a young ambassador for socialist Yugoslavia.
Indeed, what do Serbia and the United States have to offer each other,
in order to thoroughly redefine their relations the remaining four-fifths
of the 21st Century, and advance them to the level they have had in the
period from the beginning of Henry Kissinger’s question?
In pursuit of this answer, we will not primarily address the advance-
ment of political, diplomatic and economic relations, because their con-
stant upward dynamics simply has to be implied, given the position of
the two countries in the international environment – the US is the glob-
al leader in political and economic integration, and Serbia is strategi-
cally seeking to join the European Union, as one of the closest political
and economic partners of the United States. We see the political and
economic relations of the US and Serbia, that is, the relations of the
two governments and the directions in which they will lead inter-state
relations in the future, as a permanent and basic support for strength-
ening the overall relations, such as the two countries once cultivated,
and which have withstood the test of occasional political changes and
economic orientations.

2. LIMITATIONS

Here we will offer five answers to the question asked, five fields on
which Serbia, and the US, their governments, organizations and people
should work, in order to obtain long-lasting and close relations based
on ties that can easily withstand the test of possible political, diplomatic
disagreements, which will inevitably occur from time to time. In trying
to formulate these answers, we will start with several factors that make
1
A. Mijalković: The Man with Two Lives, interview with Živorad Kovačević,
Politika 2009.

54
it difficult to establish (renew) stronger bonds, but which we cannot
change. Those are:
A. Geography
B. Huge disparity in size
C. Close historical heritage
Serbia and the United States are geographically distant. This cir-
cumstance will always be a limiting factor when it comes to trade and
personal contacts, despite the steadily declining cost of transporting
goods and the ever-increasing availability of air travel.
By all parameters, human, economic, security, political... the US is
many times larger than Serbia. The individual economies of Manhattan
or California are larger than the economies of the whole of Russia. This
large disparity naturally limits many potentials for cooperation, because
size naturally, determines the priorities, including the interests and am-
bitions of each state. While the United States has long played a domi-
nant role on the global scale, and it is likely that it will continue to do
so in the future, Serbia, in line with its dimensions, wants to pursue its
interests primarily through integration with others, which is primarily
the European Union.
While the previous two factors are applicable to the relations of a
large number of countries with the USA, the third factor of “alienation”
of Serbia and the USA is exclusively theirs, bilateral. It is a difficult his-
torical legacy, only three decades old. Although brief in historical terms,
this burden on relations between the two states is characterized by its
strong intensity and negative effects on relations between the two states
and the two nations. Relations have deteriorated sharply since the be-
ginning of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, culminating
with the NATO bombing of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(Serbia and Montenegro) in 1999. During that period, relations between
the two countries went from disagreements in attitudes, then cooling
down, followed by termination of diplomatic relations, to open armed
conflict and the destruction of the US Embassy in Belgrade. Although
diplomatic, political, economic and cultural relations were restored
within a very short period of time, on the relations between the two
countries remained a deep mark, which continues to burden them, pri-
marily through perception in the Serbian public.

55
 What needs to be done, what can be done to make relations between
Serbia and the US get a new dimension of cooperation, partnership and
mutual respect, and for the rest of the 21st century to remain a period of
steady rise in Serbian–American relations? First of all, do the two coun-
tries have any interest in improving their relations at all?

3. INTERESTS

Serbia’s interest in this direction is indisputable. It should not be

measured by the usual benchmarks, such as the growth of trade, since
trade between the two countries is rather scarce, amounting to just over
$ 400 million in both directions,2 despite the fact that Serbian products
are duty-free again from last year in the USA. Serbia and the US will
never be major trading partners, and the first two previously mentioned
geographic factors are most responsible for this. The Serbian economy
is tied to the European Union market and it is the only possible space in
which it can achieve qualitative and quantitative growth. Two thirds of
exports (67%) Serbia markets to the EU countries, while as many as 60%
of total imports to Serbia come from these countries.3
Serbia’s interest in better relations with the US is to develop a strong
and comprehensive partnership with it, because the realization of all
direct and concrete priority interests of Serbia are derived from this fact
– whether Serbia is a US partner (in all fields) or not. It also depends on
how Serbia will be treated by the European Union, and Serbia’s eventual
progress towards EU membership, relations with its closest neighbors,
place and influence in all multilateral forums, as well as some specific,
extremely important internal interests, which is primarily the Kosovo
issue, and relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina / Republika Srpska.
The United States has no apparent interest in developing close rela-
tions with Serbia in particular and invest time, political and economic
influence in them. Serbia is economically irrelevant to the United States,
2
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, bilateral relations with foreign countries
(www.mfa.rs).
3
Benefits of Serbia’s trade with the EU, Delegation of the European Commission
to the Republic of Serbia (2018).

56
and the region to which Serbia belongs has already fully realized stra-
tegic partnership with the United States through EU membership (Bul-
garia, Romania, Croatia), or through NATO membership (all countries
in the region except Serbia and B&H). However, the interest of the Unit-
ed States in improving relations with Serbia exists, and it is not small.
The United States is one of the largest investors in Serbia, with a volume
of about US $ 1.7 billion.4
Otherwise, Serbia considers itself to be the number one country in
the Western Balkans, and at the very top in Southeastern Europe, in
terms of geographic, human and economic resources, and especially po-
tentials. Its position in the security architecture of Europe is especially
important in the fight against extremism, Islamic terrorism, arms traf-
ficking and narcotics... Having Serbia as a partner in this field alone is an
important interest of the United States. The interest of the USA in better
relations with Serbia is particularly expressed from the perspective, as-
suming that the transition to Serbia’s EU membership will be successful
and relatively quick. With a place in the EU, and advanced democratic
institutions, which in turn leads to strong economic growth, Serbia in
a short time becomes an even more important factor in Southeast Eu-
rope and a country with which the US must have close and partnership
relations.

4. FIVE POINTS FOR BUILDING

NEW SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS

Given that both countries have enough reason to commit to im-

proving their relations, we will try to locate specific areas whose promo-
tion would make the content of this partnership permanently enriched
and mutual relations vaccinated against the harmful effects of occasion-
al disagreements, which in today’s international relations are impossible
to avoid when it comes to any two states on the planet. In our opinion,
these are the following five areas:

4
State Department: US relations with Serbia, Bilateral economic relations (2018).

57
 4. 1. Technology

In the context of modern globalization, the one that followed the

global financial crisis of 2008 and often referred to as “Globalization
4.0” with a clear association with the fourth industrial revolution, tech-
nology is the factor that most strongly compensates developmental and
geographical differences between economic entities. With advances in
technology, Serbia and the United States would greatly reduce, if not
completely cancel out, the handicap of geographical distance (disruptive
factor No. 1) affecting mutual economic relations. The main capacity
and resource for advancing technological cooperation is undoubtedly
on the US side, as a global technological superpower, one of the five
most innovative countries in the world and an unrivaled global champi-
on in education and research. Most importantly, the US is home to the
largest technology companies, which will, in their current or different
form, retain long-term primacy for companies in general. The impetus
for technological transfer from the USA is of great interest to Serbia,
but these are also programs for studying, improvement, joint projects
and other forms of scientific and technical cooperation. In developing
this aspect of cooperation, Serbia can offer, above all, its potentially and
relatively strong sector in the field of IT, but also the research potential
of its universities and institutes, especially in the fields of electronics,
agriculture, basic sciences (physics, chemistry, mathematics…), and
medicine. The technological, organizational, and process “attachment”
of some large systems in Serbia to similar American systems can be a
field of return and long-lasting strengthening of the ties between two
states and two nations. What also connects us are decades of experience
and the departure of our experts to the United States, where they work
in the education, science or business sectors, and cooperation programs
such as Fulbright, which has connected in this regard several of our gen-
erations, both for the United States and the former Yugoslavia. Let’s just
mention an example in the field of medicine – the Institute for Mother
and Child “Vukan Čupić” in Novi Beograd, which gained the reputation
of a top institution just by applying and nurturing knowledge and prac-
tices from similar institutions in the United States.

58
 4. 2. Security

Although not a member of NATO, unlike all its neighbors (except

B&H and for some time Northern Macedonia), Serbia and the United
States have a strong mutual interest in developing security cooperation.
This cooperation is still at a rather enviable level, given the constant
joint activities, either bilaterally or at NATO level, but also through the
cooperation of police and investigative services, as well as the cooper-
ation of the Serbian Armed Forces with the Ohio State Guard. It is this
program that has been rated by the United States as one of the most suc-
cessful programs implemented by more than 60 countries worldwide.5
Still, the space to build a full partnership here is still huge. The United
States is by far the largest global security actor, but at the same time its
field of interest in security matters is global, which includes Serbia and
the Balkans. To protect their national interests, the United States pays
some attention to security cooperation with Serbia, bearing in mind,
above all, several challenges – international terrorism and extremism,
illegal migration, arms smuggling and narcotics. On all these issues,
Serbia is an extremely important country, primarily as an area of ​​transit
from Asia and from the Middle East to Western Europe. Serbia, for ex-
ample, remains at the center of Afghanistan’s largest heroin smuggling
route (accounting for 85% of world production)6 to Western Europe,
which accounts for a quarter of the world’s drug market. In 2015, almost
one million of the total 1.5 million refugees (migrants) from the Mid-
dle East to Western Europe crossed the territory of Serbia. These and
similar challenges place Serbia high on the list of countries with which
the US should have a strong security partnership, because managing
these risks is vital to US interests in Europe, above all. So far, Serbia has
shown extremely high performance in meeting these security challeng-
es, but given its economic resources, its security capabilities are below
what they deserve to be, given the seriousness of the challenges it faces,
especially in the technological context.

5
Serbian Army: Serbia–Ohio State Partnership Program, www.vs.rs
6
UNODOC: World Drug Report (2010).

59
 4. 3. Culture

We will understand culture here in its broader sense, not just as

so-called “elite”, but also in its pop-cultural, sports and even sub-cul-
tural aspect. The redefinition of US–Serbian relations probably has the
greatest potential in this area, and at the same time the greatest chance
of contributing to the strengthening of relations in all other fields by
strengthening cultural ties. Connecting nations and identifying one
with the other is the most challenging, but also most effective, precisely
through strengthening cultural ties. There is no doubt that, as a part of
what was once Yugoslavia, Serbia has been emphatically pro-American
from the cultural point of view since the 1950s. This was also reflected
in cultural creativity, and especially since the late 1960s and during the
1970s, especially in the world of theater, film, literature and popular cul-
ture (music, fashion, design...). It was precisely the period of the most
precious achievements in Serbian and Yugoslav literature, theater, film,
the visual arts and music, coinciding with the period of strong Ameri-
can influences and general positive attitude towards the USA in Serbian
and Yugoslav society, from the mid-1950s to the beginning of the sev-
enties when we began to feel the crisis with the certainty of the breakup
of the Yugoslav federation.
The vast majority of Serbian citizens share the cultural patterns of
the American people, which is only increasing with the development
of communication technologies and the availability of cultural content.
The cultural influence of the United States globally is undeniable and
elusive, but Serbia, though a small country, has its “trump cards” to offer
to the American audience. These are already world-famous sports stars
– Novak Đoković and basketball players, for example; or young fashion
designers (Roksanda Ilinčić), artists (Isidora Žebeljan, Vladimir Pišta-
lo…). Promoting cultural connections has particular potential in the
film industry, that is, in strengthening Belgrade and Serbia as destina-
tions for film-making, including the engagement of Serbian film profes-
sionals. The promotion of stars originating from Serbia in America has
a tremendous impact on perception of Serbia with US citizens, and such
positive perception inevitably spills over into Serbia itself, whose public
is glad to receive the news that in “great America” ​​they have paid respect
and admiration to an athlete/artist from Serbia.

60
 4. 4. Personal connections

Relatively few citizens of Serbia, and even fewer Americans have

personal experience with another country or its citizens. Considering
that the strength and scope of personal relationships is one of the most
important features of relations between the states, Serbia and the USA
would have a lot to do in this field if they are interested in improving
their overall relations. Here we will point out only two aspects of per-
sonal relationships that deserve promotion, which could significantly
improve the overall relations between the two countries. One aspect is
the Serbian diaspora in the US and the other – US tourists in Serbia.
The Serbian diaspora in the United States is numerous, but also very
heterogeneous, in terms of social, educational status, as well as attitudes
towards the motherland. What connects it, however, is the permanence
of their stay in the United States, which set it apart from the vast ma-
jority of Serbian emigrants in Europe, who are more likely to choose to
return to the country. According to official US estimates, slightly more
than 188,000 people of Serbian descent7 live in the US, while there are
no official data and estimates from Serbia, except for occasional me-
dia assessments, which speak of a much larger number. Practically the
entire Serbian diaspora in the United States (98.9%) has lived in the
country for more than one year, and as many as three quarters (72%)
were born in the United States, which is an indication of a firm, lasting
attachment to the United States, or a low likelihood that they will decide
to come to Serbia.8
The Serbian diaspora in the United States, however, does not have
enough confidence in the country of origin or its institutions, “thanks”
to the frivolous and unsystematic approach that the Serbian state had
for it for decades. There is no confidence in the extent to invest in it.
However, they would have much more confidence in Serbia if the US
and its institutions were lobbyists of the Serbian state to its immigrants
to the US. Of course, only if Serbia and its institutions deserve such
treatment by the US government, with their progress in building demo-
7
Selected Population Profile in The United States, American Community Survey,
US Census Bureau (2017).
8
Ibid.

61
cratic institutions and a market economy. Serbia today, by its own mer-
its, and probably the only former Yugoslav republic, does not have a
loyal diaspora in the US, but that can change if the United States, which
the American Serbs trust, assures the Serbs there that their motherland
has progressed in partnership with the US and that it is their worthy
partner.
On the other hand, the potential for developing personal connec-
tions also lies in stimulating and promoting the arrival of more Amer-
ican tourists to Serbia. The current figures are not encouraging, but to
dedicated partners this can also mean great potential and a field for ac-
tion. Of the 17.7 million US tourists who visit Europe annually (data
for 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Internation-
al Trade Administration, National Travel and Tourism Office), only
39.0009 or 0.2% “drop in” to Serbia. This percentage can certainly be in-
creased, but it is a task for tourist workers in Serbia. With regard to state
institutions, encouraging such efforts would be beneficial for the overall
relations of the two countries, as this would directly increase the num-
ber of people who gain personal experience with another country. We
see these efforts primarily in applying the same experiences of the con-
tinental states of the former Eastern Bloc, the Czech Republic, Slovakia
or Hungary, but also in the field of accelerating European integration,
which will remove borders with neighbors and speed up all administra-
tive procedures.

4. 5. Historical connections

Awareness and memory of the strong historical ties between Serbia

and the US and their people have been the biggest victims of the poor
political relations of two countries since the 1990s. Thanks to the an-
ti-Western and anti-American policies that have since created public
discourse, generations of young people in Serbia have grown aware that
the United States is the enemy of Serbia, that they wish it harm, and that
they systematically do so by favoring its enemies. Anti-Americanism
9
Statistics on tourism in the Republic of Serbia (January–December 2018), Min-
istry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications (2019).

62
did not exist as a widespread social sentiment even during the commu-
nist era, that is, before the 1990s. This regression made the collective
memories of the strong bonds that people and the two states have made
throughout history, and especially in mutually difficult moments, such
as World War I and World War II disappear. In these wars a strong alli-
ance was forged, spoken and taught, and which both responsible nations
sought to cherish as their valuable heritage. It is only in the last few years,
more and more through the efforts of the United States, that historical
ties are more strongly strengthened, and in their respect, attempts are
being made to build a new relationship between the two nations. We
should strive to rescue from oblivion the friendship between Mihajlo
Pupin and President Woodrow Wilson, which also resulted in a favor-
able American attitude toward Serbia after World War I. It is similar to
commemorating the anniversaries of the Halyard mission and promot-
ing the heroism that has been shown in the rescue of American aviators
in World War II. Since the end of World War II, the United States has
made tremendous efforts to rebuild Yugoslavia whose development re-
mained slow until the mid-1960s, due to the inherited poverty of pre-
vious times, the effects of the devastation of war and the loss of over
half a million human lives, and the failed economic policies of post-war
Yugoslavia. Serbia and the US have a duty to their citizens to make an
effort and to bring back from oblivion numerous examples of alliances
and friendships, since they are unknown in Serbia for the younger gen-
erations, and for those older, only a hazy memory of some earlier times.
The sense of historical alliance and partnership is something that,
in the long run, “colors” the relations between the two countries and
their nations and lays a solid foundation for building other forms of
partnerships. One of the significant foundations of our historical alli-
ance is precisely the experience that Serbia has gained in the Yugoslav
community, the only complex country, in state and social sense, which
has a similarity to the United States. Several generations of our expatri-
ates, thanks to this experience, have been able to assimilate and achieve
tremendous success in American society in economics, education, and
social mobility. If the American dream, based on reality, is the possi-
bility of Serbia’s integration into the European Union, that dream, even
when it comes to the EU, is based on the support and assistance of the
USA to European unification. Finally, the American experience could

63
again help us in the search for peace and new paths of cooperation with
our neighbors, because the area of application
​​ or understanding of the
Serbian language, and all other identical or similar Yugoslav languages,
covers a large market of about 30 million inhabitants, much of Southeast
Europe.

5. CONCLUSION

Serbia and the United States have a great challenge ahead, but cer-
tainly both will obtain great profits from building new, better relation-
ships for the 21st century. Many assumptions are already at hand, and
some must come with dedicated work and patience, which will not be
easy, given the complexity of relationships so far, and especially their
conflict phase over the last three decades. However, the interests of
better relations far outweigh the consequences of this difficult legacy,
which both governments should be aware of, which should also lead
this process. It will not be short or easy, but over time it will bring visible
and tangible fruits to both nations, which, by acquiring historical cir-
cumstances, are farther from each other than their past, and especially
the future, require and deserve.

References

Balkans Forward: A New US Strategy for the Region, Atlantic Council,

2017.
Živorad Kovačević, Amerika i jugoslovenska kriza, Filip Višnjić, 2007.
Nikola Samardžić, Limes – Istorijska margina i poreklo posebnosti Jugoi-
stočne Evrope, HeraEdu, 2017.
Serbia’s cooperation with China, the European Union, Russia and The
United States of America: Study, European Parliament, Director-
ate-General for External Policies, Policy Department, 2017.
Dragoljub R. Živojinović, U potrazi za zaštitnikom, Albatros plus, 2010.

64
Orhan Dragaš

PET TAČAKA ZA GRADNJU NOVIH SRPSKO-AMERIČKIH

ODNOSA U 21. VEKU

Rezime

Odnosi Srbije i Sjedinjenih Američkih Država imaju dugu istoriju;

ona je obeležena usponima i padovima, pri čemu su dostizani i ekstre-
mi – od najintenzivnijeg prijateljstva i bratstva, do oružanih sukoba.
Obe države pokazuju zainteresovanost da unaprede svoje odnose i da
prevaziđu istorijski nisku tačku koja traje poslednje tri decenije, što je
neophodna pretpostavka da se uopšte i diskutuje o načinima na koji to
treba postići. Potencijali za unapređenje odnosa Srbije i SAD objektivno
su ograničeni grupom faktora, od kojih su neki (geografska udaljenost,
ogromna nesrazmera u snazi i potencijalima) svojstveni i mnogim dru-
gim državama na svetu, ali tu je i jedan ekskluzivno bilateralan remeti-
lački faktor, a to su odnosi iz nedavne prošlosti. Prema našem mišljenju,
dve države i dve nacije moraju pronaći oblasti u kojima će napredak vo-
diti dugotrajnom jačanju ukupnih odnosa, na šta neće uticati povreme-
ni različiti pogledi u političkoj i ekonomskoj sferi, kojih će svakako biti
i što nije ništa neuobičajeno u savremenim međunarodnim odnosima.
Te oblasti su tehnologija, bezbednost, kultura, personalne i istorijske
veze. Obe države i njihovi narodi, njihove ekonomske, kulturne zajed-
nice, mogu u ovim oblastima da iskoriste veliki prostor i nadograde već
postojeće veze, pri čemu bi dve državne administracije trebalo da daju
podstrek tom povezivanju.
Ključne reči: Srbija, SAD, odnosi, saradnja, bezbednost, kultura,
tehnologija, dijaspora, turizam, istorija, trgovina, partnerstvo

65
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
UDC 28(497)
John M. Nomikos, PhD*
Research Institute for European and American Studies (Greece)

UNITED STATES – SERBIAN RELATIONS: A GREEK

PERSPECTIVE

Abstract: The author analyses the situation in the West Balkans with re-
gards to security and other challenges. The focus is primarily on Serbia and
its relations with other countries as well as its effects on the region. Some of
the challenges and threats that are mentioned are Muslim extremism and the
migrant crisis in the Balkans. Near the end of the paper, the role of the U.S. is
highlighted, as well as the fact that its cooperation with Serbia may be a stabi-
lizing factor in the region.
Keywords: US–Serbian relations, strategic significance, migration, secu-
rity, foreign policy, Islam in the Balkans

Introduction

The end of the Cold War created a world in which the relative sta-
bility between the two superpowers has disappeared. During the Cold
War, a country’s every action was conducted in the light of the adversary
relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. The cata-
clysmic changes that took place in Central and Eastern Europe inevita-
bly changed the face of politics in Europe and in the Western world as a
whole. The civil war in Yugoslavia was the first case of ethnic conflict in
Europe in the post-Cold War order.
On September 11th 2001, the international community was intro-
duced to a new type of international order, one that was truly global
in its organization and its impact. In both the European Union mem-
ber-states and the United States, it was immediately clear that an effec-
tive response would require a new level of cooperation across the Atlan-
tic and around the world.
*
[email protected]

67
 The post September 11th 2001 era has challenged governments, pol-
icy-makers, religious leaders, the media and the general public to play
both critical and constructive roles in international security, especially
in the Balkans and Mediterranean region.1
The goal of the paper will be to point out the strategic significance of
the Republic of Serbia as a stability factor in the tortuous history of the
Balkans as a hotbed of repeated crises and why US–Serbian relations is
important nowadays for the prosperity in the Balkan peninsula.
The security analyst thus approaches the Balkan countries, a theater
pregnant with instability and a permanent risk of war, with great trep-
idation. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, and the savage ethnic con-
flicts thereby provoked, the Balkan countries are again on the cusp of
reignited ethnic hatreds and religious conflicts. While the eastern part
of the Balkan Peninsula (namely Bulgaria and Romania) remains rela-
tively quiet – if the illegal immigration that began in summer 2015 and
particularly affected Bulgaria is overlooked – the “Balkan East” is no
imminent cause of concern. Not so with “Balkan West,” a region in great
distress containing Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herze-
govina, Serbia and Montenegro.2 Meanwhile, Greece, to the south, has
earned the dubious distinction of a stability factor for the security devel-
opment in the Balkan Peninsula.

Geography vs Security in the Balkans

Serbia is located along a historical trade route between the Middle

East and Western Europe. The so-called Balkan Route continues to be
a corridor for trafficking weapons, narcotics, and people.3 During the
early stages of Europe’s recent migration and refugee crisis, Serbia (like
Greece) became part of a land route for refugees and migrant from the
1
John M. Nomikos (2007), “Transatlantic Intelligence Cooperation, the Global
War on Terrorism and International Order”, Yiannis A. Stivachtis (ed) International
Order in a Globalizing World”, p. 161, (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, USA).
2
Slovenia, once part of Yugoslavia, is generally exempted from discussion of the
Balkans, see, for example, “Why Slovenia is not the Balkans,” The Economist, 20 No-
vember 2003, processed on 07/13/2019 http://www.economist.com/node/2206879.
3
“Serbia: Background and U.S. Relations”, (2018), Congressional Research Ser-
vice Report, processed on 07/14/2019 https://crreports.congress.gov R44955, USA.

68
Middle East and Africa bound for the rest of the European Union mem-
ber states, primarily Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavian states.
Law Enforcement analysts in the EU member-states and the US have
expressed concern that political and security stability remains tenuous.
Serbia has experienced political crises, sometimes involving third-par-
ty interference and stagnating economy, high unemployment and high
rates of emigration. In Serbia, these crises, have raised concerns that
any decrease in the European Union or the United States presence could
create a regional vacuum in which organized crime, radicalization and
terrorism could flourish. In addition, security analysts observed that
growing economic and political roles of Russia, China, and other states
agenda in the Western Balkans might conflict with the United States and
European Union interests in the Balkan Peninsula.
However, United States relations with Serbia have been rocky at
times because of the past interventions in the conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo
and United States recognition of Kosovo’s independence. Many observ-
ers believe that the European Union Commission has been preoccupied
by domestic issues such as eurozone crisis, exit of the United Kingdom
from the European Union, and illegal immigration crisis. These ob-
servers in both the United States and the Balkan states, believe that the
United States must reinvigorate its strategy of active engagement with
western Balkan states, and in particular its relations with Serbia.
On the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the rising of
the Serbian flag over the White House – United States President Wood-
row Wilson’s gesture was meant to honor the sacrifice of Serbia in the
First World War. Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Affairs Minister, stated “the United States and the Serbian capital togeth-
er recalled our two people’s historical alliances, but more importantly,
together we paved the way for further development of our partner rela-
tions. Serbia is committed to achieving regional peace and stability by
making efforts to become a part of a united democratic Europe, and that
is why the positive dynamics of bilateral relations with the United States
is at the top of our foreign policy priorities.”4
4
Serbia, US “paved way for development of partner relations”, July 30, 2018 Pro-
cessed on 07/14/2019 https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2018&mm
=07&dd=30&nav_id=104740.

69
 On the contrary, Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s visit to Serbia
on January 17th, 2019 poses an interesting question – are China and Rus-
sia making inroads into Serbia due to less active US involvement? The
numbers speak for themselves. The last US President to visit Belgrade was
Jimmy Carter in 1980. Russian President, Vladimir Putin has made his
fourth trip to Serbia since coming to power in 2000.5 Putin has met with
the current Serbian President, Aleksander Vucic fourteen times so far.
And the Russians have not been alone in courting Belgrade over
the past few years. Chinese President Xi Jingping paid an official visit to
Serbia in 2014 and he had five official bilateral meetings with his Ser-
bian counterpart since 2014.6 As Gordon N. Bardos pointed out: “why
policy-makers in Moscow and Beijing have been busy visiting Belgrade
is because they know how to read a map.7 The most important land
and riparian transportation corridors between Western Europe and the
Eastern Mediterranean and between the Baltic Sea and Aegean Sea, run
through Serbia.”
On the contrary, US policy-makers have over the past two plus de-
cades focused on Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina which in terms of
geography are strategically of secondary importance compared to North
Macedonia and Montenegro8 (mainly to promote NATO integration).

Security Challenges in the West Balkans

Twenty-eight years after the break up of Yugoslavia, we have a de-

veloped model of geostrategy in the Western Balkans again. Renovation
of rivalry is only one of the factors that will affect the already existing
elements of instability of the Western Balkans9 Security analysts strive
5
Gordon N. Bardos (2019), “Why America is Blind to Serbia’s Bright Future”,
processed on 07/14/2019 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-america-blind-
serbias-bright-future-41832.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Milan Balazic (2016) “Geopolitics of the Western Balkans 25 years After the
Breakup of Yugoslavia”, in (ed) Vladimir N. Cvetkovic The One Belt, One Road: The
Balkan Perspective – Political and Security Aspects, p. 181, (University of Belgrade,
Faculty of Security Studies, Serbia).

70
for predictability that are always obliged to work on probability. The
West Balkan condition is characterized by strong permanent elements
guaranteed to produce conflict provided that the right mix of triggering
element develops. During the past two decades, West Balkans stability
has been maintained largely due to the United States efforts at mobi-
lizing European initiatives in the area. The Western Balkans has never
been a priority for the European Union in comparison with other Eu-
ropean Union problems such as the Euro-crisis and the Brexit. Twenty
years’ worth of European Union has cultivated expectations in the West
Balkans which cannot be met.10 This state of affairs is a strong predictor
of conflict as popular dissatisfaction and frustration are funneled back
into ethnic strife, religious hatred, social isolation, economic malaise,
and political impasse.
Nowadays, the maritime routes from Turkey to West Balkans
through Greece have become the most traveled illicit migrant thor-
oughfare in the world. Although, this mass migration poses implica-
tions for security challenges, economic well-being, and political stabil-
ity throughout the region.11 The number of migrants hoping to make
their way into Europe show few signs of abating in the coming years. It
is essential that governments in Greece, Serbia, North Macedonia and
Bulgaria as well as policy-makers understand the implications of the
ongoing migration trends and mitigate the potential threats of mass
movements – for both states’ security and for the safety of the migrants.
Another serious security threat is the organized crime’s influence on
the migrant crisis that poses a transnational threat to the United States,
European Union, and West Balkan states. Organized criminals see the
mass influx of desperate populations hoping to cross a dangerous body
of water as yet another opportunity for profit. Vulnerable people – in
this case the migrants – employ any means, legal or otherwise, to reach
their destinations. As more European Union member states resist ac-
cepting migrants, organized criminal activity and the demand for their
10
John M. Nomikos and A. Th. Symeonides (2017), “Interesting and Balkan In-
stability: Repeating the Past or Moving in a New Direction”, p. 87, International Jour-
nal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Vol. 31, No. 1.
11
Lacey Bruske (2016), “Organized Crime’s Goldmine: Combating Maritime
Smuggling Routes from Turkey to Greece” p. 5, Research Institute for European and
American Studies Monograph, May 2016, Greece.

71
services increase. Turkish smugglers charge upwards of $ 1200 per per-
son for safe passage across the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.12
In the Balkans, one of the more notorious European criminal orga-
nizations, the Albanian Mafia, also serves as one of the criminal exploit-
ing migrants on the maritime from Turkey to Greece. It is notorious for
its human trafficking and heroin smuggling operations along the Balkan
Route. The lack of proper regulation of migrants and the smugglers who
assist them by the Turkish government has allowed organized crime
to flourish.13 Concurrently, the increased difficulties of reaching other
European Union member states (primarily Germany, The Netherlands
and Scandinavian countries) legally, and the various physical and legal
barriers to entry that have been erected have provided a greater need for
organized crime.
Confronting the security challenges in the Balkan region, the Ser-
bian government has taken initiatives (networks of cooperation) for the
improvement coordination and joint action between law enforcement
and intelligence agencies. The Western Balkan depends on the more
specific development of reforms in the judicial and law enforcement ar-
eas. Without these components, the fight against illegal immigration,
organized crime, human trafficking, corruption, smuggling of excise
commodities, radicalization and terrorism cannot be successful.14
Furthermore, the Serbian and Greek governments have pointed
out the need of information-sharing among the West Balkan states on
suspected smugglers and their networks. A more complete picture of
smuggling operations and organizations can assist law enforcement ser-
vices and state attorneys in catching and prosecuting criminals as well
as implementing collaboration between Interpol and Europol. Interpol
has significant intelligence gathering and analytical capabilities. It could
provide support to Europol by increasing information sharing. This is
particularly important with Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Docu-
ments (LTD) databases, which could assist Europol and the Schengen
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Gabriela Konevska (2007), “Policy Responses to Human Trafficking in the Bal-
kans” (eds) H. Richard Friman and Simon Reich Human Trafficking, Human Security,
and the Balkans, p. 127, (University of Pittsburgh Press, USA).

72
Information System15 to discover identification fraud such as illegal mi-
grants and human traffickers.

U.S. Foreign Policy towards Serbia

The important role of the Balkans, particularly Bosnia-Herzegovi-

na, in the early formation of radical – militant Islam during and soon
after the Second World War is being belatedly recognized by Western
mainstream scholarships.16
After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union,
the Clinton Administration resolved to prove the enduring relevance of
NATO and thus retain United States influence in Europe by dragging
NATO into the brewing fighting in the former Yugoslavia.17
However, as Yossef Bodanski has pointed out: President Clinton
decision to side with the Muslims against the Serbs was a most cyni-
cal gambit of greater significance. At the turn of the 21st century, Bos-
nia-Herzegovina remains central to the ascent of Jihadism worldwide.
In Bosnia, the veterans of the Jihad created and continue to provide
unique logistical, communication and clandestine travel services for
European Jihadists traveling to and from Chechnya, Iraq and Syria.18
Similarly, Darko Trifunovic has made observations regarding US for-
eign policy in the Balkans by stating that – the Balkans armed conflicts
from 1991 to 2001, greatly misrepresented in the Western public, were
the biggest defeat for the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, a great de-
feat for the European Union – but a victory for global jihad.19 Therefore,
15
Schengen Area signifies a zone where 26 European countries, abolished their
internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with
common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strength-
ening the common judicial system and police cooperation. Processed on 07/14/2019
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/.
16
Yossel Bodansky (2014), “Yossef Bodansky” in (ed) Darko Trifunovic “Islamic
Terrorism and Al Qaeda In the Balkans” p, 7. (ISSA–International Strategic Studies
Association, USA).
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Darko Trifunovic (2014), “Islamic Terrorism and Al Qaeda in the Balkans –
Testimony of a former Al Qaeda lieutenant” p. 11. (ISSA – International Strategic As-
sociation, USA).

73
the Trump Administration should take into consideration that radical
Islamist activity is endangering the security of not only Serbia, North
Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also the United
States, European Union member states and the world.
The instability and the chaotic situation that prevailed in the Balkans
for many years left their stamp and turned this arena into an optimal
operational theater for the Islamic terror organizations and Iran. They
view the Balkans as a springboard and a conventional front base for the
networking of terror infrastructure on European soil.20 As Shaul Shay
pointed out: The “Islamization” processes that the Muslim population
underwent in the Balkans during the war years (in Bosnia, Kosovo, and
North Macedonia), the bitterness against the West that failed to rush to
their aid, and the gratitude felt for their “Muslim brethren” who took
their side when they were in distress, all create a supportive political and
social environment for radical Islam. Thus, it would appear that most
of the Islamic movement in the Balkans currently strive to establish an
independent Islamic state, which will be built only after a prolonged and
intractable struggle against the Serbs21 and any other entity (including
the West) that constitute an obstacle.
Under the Trump Administration, United States intelligence needs
to re-invent its Balkan West wisdom, although the use of this term
sounds incongruous when reminiscing about the 1990s. The iconoclas-
tic beginning of such a reassessment project would be to downgrade the
“incentive” of eventual EU Membership as a primary tool of stabilizing
the Balkan situation. Yet, such a proposition would raise the hackles
of European traditionalists pushing for “more Europe” at a time when
calls for the dismantling of the European project, in its present form, are
increasing.22
At the end, other changes to conventional 1990s wisdom should
include the recognition that trying to satisfy Islam in the Balkans, in
the name of a “balanced approach” is a dangerous mistaken political
20
Shaul Shay (2007), “Islamic Terror in the Balkans” pp: 201–202, (Transaction
Publishers, London, UK).
21
Ibid.
22
John M Nomikos & A. Th. Symeonides ((2017), “Interesting and Balkan
Instability: Repeating the Past or Moving in a New Direction”, pp: 96–97, International
Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Vol. 31, No, 1.

74
assumption; that insisting of a non-negotiable acceptance by local so-
cieties of social myths cherished by the West is counterproductive; that
forgetting and forgiving the unpaid tolerating and not confronting war
criminals as national leaders is the inevitable price of “stability.”23

Concluding Remarks

Across a range of post-Cold War matters, globalization has un-

dermined many of the familiar mechanisms by which states formerly
provided their population and security.24 Indeed, illegal immigration,
human trafficking, transnational organized crime, drug-trafficking and
money laundering are serious threats in the Balkan peninsula.
International attention due to terror attacks, increase of organized
crime, economic instability, and social unrests has drawn a critical lens
of the migrant crisis in Europe. The millions of individuals streaming
into Greece through the maritime route, whether as refugees from con-
flict or economic migrants, have greatly strained the European Union
member state’s institutional capacity, and its people patience.
Law Enforcement and intelligence regional cooperation among the
Balkan states, but especially between Serbia and Greece, is the most im-
portant weapon in the battle to contain the Islamic terrorist networks in
the West Balkans. Intelligence and law enforcement issues are now more
prominent than ever in Western political discourse as well as the wider
public consciousness. Much of this can be attributed to the shock of ter-
rorist acts in Burgas, Bulgaria (2012), Paris (2015) and Brussels (2016).
Confronting security challenges in the West Balkans, modern se-
curity and intelligence is a multinational activity, US homeland security
and intelligence community along with the EU member states and In-
terpol must increase foreign intelligence cooperation. There are several
parameters that need to be applied such as: US support to the EU’s fi-
nancial intelligence units; formalize the financial intelligence branches
23
Ibid.
24
John M. Nomikos (2007), “Transatlantic Intelligence Cooperation, the Global
War on Terrorism and International Order”, Yiannis A. Stivachtis (ed) International
Order in a Globalizing World, p. 179, (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, USA).

75
within Interpol and Europol; and increase the use of social media as a
means to counter radicalization in the West Balkans.
In addition, another security issue is the return of foreign fighters
from the Middle East (Syria) in the West Balkan states which are con-
fronted with the challenge on how to use criminal rehabilitation pro-
grams as a model for reintegrating violent extremists back into society.
Serbia and Greece realize that rehabilitation programs are designed to
ease former radicals and gang members back into society in order to be
adapted for use with repentant extremists. Judiciary and penitentiary
systems need to be reformed in the West Balkans to ensure that reha-
bilitation and reinsertion work starts in prison.25 Psychological support
structures must be strengthened. There should be a special focus on
children and youths recruited by extremists to ensure their rehabilita-
tion. In the West Balkans, the European Union could play a distinct role
by enabling a review of rehabilitation programs that have emerged and
where this approach is being taken in order to be able to demonstrate
the social and economic benefits of such programs and to promote them
across the European Union.
Nowadays, US foreign policy in the West Balkans should take into
consideration the comments by Gregory Treverton who has called –
intelligence the craft of solving puzzles, mysteries and complexities.26
The West Balkans offer all three abundance. Outside forces are at work,
sometimes quite openly, in efforts to co-opt dissatisfied domestic non-
state entities.27 They manipulate them to create threats to incumbent
political leaders, then later profess that they are the saviors of central
government power, thereby securing a manipulation advantage to pur-
sue their own politico-strategic aims.
At the end, the Unites States realizes that West Balkans is a region
that needs special attention and Serbia is an important nation for the
25
Debating Security Plus – Conflict, Competition and Cooperation in an Inter-
connected World Report, Autumn 2018, 6th Edition, p: 21, (Friends of Europe Think
Tank, Brussels, Belgium).
26
Gregory F. Treverton (2014), “The Future of Intelligence: Changing Threats;
Evolving Methods”, In Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Ben de Jong and Joop van Reijn, (eds) The
Future of Intelligence Challenges in the 21st Century, p. 28, (Studies in Intelligence
Series, Oxon, Routledge, UK).
27
Ibid p: 30.

76
stability of the region by promoting an innovative approach to law-en-
forcement and intelligence sharing information which is necessary to
confront emerging security threats and thwart the strategies of deviance
of refractory countries in the Balkan peninsula.

References

Milan Balazic (2016), “Geopolitics of the Western Balkans 25 years

After the Breakup of Yugoslavia”, in: Vladimir N. Cvetkovic (ed.),
The One Belt, One Road: The Balkan Perspective – Political and
Security Aspects, Belgrade: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Se-
curity Studies.
Gordon N. Bardos (2019), “Why America is Blind to Serbia’s Bright Fu-
ture”, processed on 07/14/2019 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/
why-america-blind-serbias-bright-future-41832.
Lacey Bruske (2016), “Organized Crime’s Goldmine: Combating Mar-
itime Smuggling Routes from Turkey to Greece”, Research Institute
for European and American Studies Monograph, May 2016, Greece.
Gabriela Konevska (2007), “Policy Responses to Human Trafficking in
the Balkans”, in: H. Richard Friman and Simon Reich (eds.), Human
Trafficking, Human Security, and the Balkans, University of Pitts-
burgh Press, USA.
John M. Nomikos (2007), “Transatlantic Intelligence Cooperation, the
Global War on Terrorism and International Order”, in: Yiannis A.
Stivachtis (ed.), International Order in a Globalizing World, Ashgate
Publishing Ltd, USA.
John M. Nomikos (2007), “Transatlantic Intelligence Cooperation, the
Global War on Terrorism and International Order”, in: Yiannis A.
Stivachtis (ed.), International Order in a Globalizing World, Ashgate
Publishing Ltd, USA.
John M. Nomikos and A. Th. Symeonides (2017), “Interesting and Bal-
kan Instability: Repeating the Past or Moving in a New Direction”,
International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Vol.
31, No. 1.
Shaul Shay (2007), Islamic Terror in the Balkans, Transaction Publishers,
London, UK.

77
Gregory F. Treverton (2014), “The Future of Intelligence: Changing
Threats; Evolving Methods”, in: Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Ben de Jong
and Joop van Reijn (eds.), The Future of Intelligence Challenges in the
21st Century, Studies in Intelligence Series, Oxon, Routledge.
Darko Trifunovic (2014), Islamic Terrorism and Al Qaeda in the Balkans
– Testimony of a former Al Qaeda lieutenant, ISSA – International
Strategic Association, USA.
Debating Security Plus – Conflict, Competition and Cooperation in an
Interconnected World Report, Autumn 2018, 6th Edition, Friends of
Europe Think Tank, Brussels, Belgium.
“Serbia: Background and U.S. Relations”, (2018), Congressional Research
Service Report, processed on 07/14/2019 https://crreports.congress.
gov R44955, USA.
“Serbia, US ’paved way for development of partner relations’”, July 30,
2018 Processed on 07/14/2019 https://www.b92.net/eng/news/pol-
itics.php?yyyy=2018&mm=07&dd=30&nav_id=104740
“Why Slovenia is not the Balkans,” The Economist, 20 November 2003.

Džon M. Nomikos

AMERIČKO-SRPSKI ODNOSI: IZ GRČKE PERSPEKTIVE

Rezime

Autor analizira situaciju na zapadnom Balkanu u vezi sa bezbedno-

šću i drugim izazovima. Fokus je uglavnom na Srbiji i na njenim odno-
sima sa drugim zemljama, ali i na posledicama u regionu. Naglašene su
razne pretnje i izazovi za bezbednost, poput muslimanskog ekstremi-
zma i migrantske krize na Balkanu. Pri kraju članka ističe se uloga koju
SAD imaju, kao i činjenica da njihova saradnja sa Srbijom može da bude
stabilizirajući faktor za region.
Ključne reči: Američko-srpski odnosi, strateški značaj, migracije,
bezbednost, spoljna politika, islam na Balkanu

78
 UDC 355(=163.41)(73)
*
Jefferson Adams, Professor Emeritus
Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, New York, USA)

FOUR PORTRAITS OF RARE VALOR: SERBIAN–

AMERICANS IN THE US MILITARY

Abstract: The author notes four examples of great valor shown by Ser-
bian–Americans in the 20th century. These examples include people such as:
Rade Grbitch, Jake Allex, Mitchell Paige and Lance Sijan who received Medals
of Honor for their heroism. Operation Halyard is also mentioned as an exam-
ple of great courage by Serbs during the Second World War, as well as the role
that Serbian–Americans played in the operation.
Keywords: Serbian–Americans, Medal of Honor, courage, Operation
Halyard

In an age that has spawned a multiplicity of various awards, the US

Medal of Honor possesses a unique distinction.1 Established by Con-
gress in 1861, it first applied to sailors and marines and was then extend-
ed to soldiers the following year. Today it serves as the highest award
recognizing valor in combat for all members of US armed forces. In the
intervening years, the criteria underwent a number of revisions. Initial-
ly, during the American Civil War, the medals were loosely bestowed
with only minimal requirements. Later in the century, a more stringent
selection process evolved to acknowledge “gallantry and intrepidity.” By
1897, for example, an application for the award could no longer be sub-
mitted by the person in question, and the heroic deed to be commemo-
rated required at least one eyewitness testifying under oath.
*
[email protected]
1
Although some incorrectly refer to the Congressional Medal of Honor, the of-
ficial name from the outset has been the Medal of Honor. Because an act of Congress
brought the medal into existence, which is also presented in the name of Congress, this
confusion is understandable.

79
 More exacting measures followed in the twentieth century. Not only
were hundreds of prior awards revoked, predominantly from the Civ-
il War era, but in 1963 an act of Congress specified the distinction be
limited to valor in military combat. Previously heroic acts – such as
those of the aviator Charles Lindbergh and the Artic explorer Admi-
ral Richard Byrd – merited this high recognition as well. With these
increased restrictions also came, as compensation, the introduction of
several lesser awards including the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross,
the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and
the Purple Heart. In these instances, approval can be granted by the sec-
retary of defense or the appropriate service secretary.
By contrast, the Medal of Honor requires the approval of the pres-
ident himself, who generally presides at the official ceremony. As a fur-
ther distinguishing feature, the medal, unlike other military awards, is
worn around the neck, suspended by a blue ribbon. The actual design
on the medal depends largely on the service branch. Whereas a five-star
general such as Douglas MacArthur was a recipient, the overwhelming
number have had a far more modest background. Such is the case with
these four Serbian Americans who, at a critical moment, unhesitatingly
displayed a special kind of bravery or self-sacrifice. Each comes from
a different time period, and each represents a different service branch.

PRELUDE (Rade Grbitch – US Navy)

For the USS Bennington, it seemed an auspicious arrival in San Di-

ego harbor on 19 July 1905. Having just completed a rather turbulent,
seventeen-day voyage from Hawaii, the crew of the yellow-and-white
patrol gunboat looked forward to a few days of on-shore leisure. But an
emergency order to aid a distressed ship near Santa Barbara cancelled
any such prospect. The steam-powered Bennington was neither new nor
large, even though it had managed to claim possession of Wake Island
during the Spanish-American War while en route to the Philippines in
1899.
Yet before its departure from San Diego harbor, a horrendous explo-
sion occurred in one of the four boilers. As the ship shuddered violently,
scalding steam moving at a gale-force velocity immediately filled the

80
decks and living compartments. To compound matters, the ruined boil-
er also produced intense flames that could potentially detonate the store
of munitions onboard. When the magazine doors were opened as a pre-
caution, the sudden influx of seawater caused the ship to list starboard.
Although other vessels in the harbor offered assistance, more than 60
people perished, while the large number of injured overwhelmed the
limited medical facilities and trained personnel in the city. Extensive
inquiries by the Navy afterward failed to ascertain the precise cause of
the explosion, and charges of negligence were eventually dropped. To
mark the event, a 60-foot gray granite obelisk was installed several years
later near the gravesites on Point Loma.
Eleven surviving members of the crew received Medals of Honor.
One of them was Rade Grbitch, a Serb who was born in Dalmatia in
1870, emigrated to the United States, and joined the US Navy in Ohio.
He had been on deck when the explosion occurred and, uninjured him-
self, immediately went below to aid his stricken shipmates and then vol-
unteered to return to the boiler room to stop a leak. His official citation
simply reads: “On board the USS Bennington, for extraordinary heroism
displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San
Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.”2 Dying at an early age only five years later,
Grbitch was buried at the San Francisco National Cemetery.

FIRST WORLD WAR (Jake Allex – US Army)

The outbreak of hostilities in August 1914 – following the assassina-

tion of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo – escalated into
one of the defining events of the twentieth century. Especially fateful
was the set of fortified trenches that eventually extended from the Swiss
border to the North Sea coast of Belgium. Both the Central Powers and
the Allies found traditional military offensives nearly impossible to ex-
ecute, and little ground was gained. Staggering casualties mounted as a
result. In the Battle of the Somme alone – fought on a 15-mile front in
1916 and lasting nearly five months – more than a million soldiers were
either wounded or perished.
2
Medal of Honor Recipients – Interim Awards,1901–1911. history.army.mil

81
 Born in 1887 in Streska, Serbia, near the Sar Mountains, Jake Al-
lex (or Jake Allex Mandusich) left his homeland for the United States
at the age of 15. After settling in Chicago, he enlisted in the US Army
following the country’s abandonment of neutrality and belated entry
into the war in 1918. Assigned to Company 11, 131st Infantry, he soon
found himself in the critical battle-torn region of northern France. On 8
August, the Allies launched the Hundred Days Offensive, which was to
prove instrumental in the final victorious outcome of the war. Sizeable
gains – more than seven miles of territory – occurred on the first day of
battle, causing a dejected General Erich Ludendorff, the heralded victor
of Tannenberg on the Eastern front, to call it a “schwarzer Tag” (black
day) for his German troops.
Even in the face of declining morale, German resistance stiffened.
The first phase of this offensive saw the Battle of Amiens, which involved
a massive force of 75,000 men, more than 500 tanks, and nearly 2,000
planes. On 9 August, Allex’s platoon came under intense attack near
Chipilly Ridge. After finding all of its officers either killed or wounded,
he took command and led his platoon in the direction of the enemy
position. When bursts of heavy machine gun fire forced his men to
take cover, Allex advanced alone for thirty yards and killed six German
soldiers outright. In the process, his bayonet broke, but using the butt of
his rifle as a club, he subdued fifteen more men.
At a ceremony in Luxemburg on 22 April 1919, General John J.
Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces
in France, presented Allex with the Medal of Honor. Numerous other
countries including France, Great Britain, Italy, and Yugoslavia likewise
acknowledged his extraordinary courage with military decorations.
Following his death in 1959, he was buried in the cemetery of the Serbi-
an Orthodox Monastery of Saint Sava in Libertyville, Illinois.

SECOND WORLD WAR (Mitchell Paige – US Marines)

The military career of Mitchell Paige began well before the outbreak
of the Second World War. Born on 31 August 1918 in the western Penn-
sylvania mill town of Charleroi to Serbian emigrant parents named Pejic,

82
he later graduated from McKeesport High School. The lack of job pros-
pects during the Great Depression caused him to join the US Marines
after hitchhiking more than 200 miles to the nearest recruiting station
in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in
December 1941, his postings included the Philippines and China.
As the War in the Pacific began in earnest, the Solomon Islands,
located east of New Guinea, took on critical significance. The Japanese,
anxious to establish bases that could interdict the supply lines between
the United States and Australia and New Zealand, had dispatched thou-
sands of troops to the British protectorate. Mitchell was sent to the Pa-
cific attached to the 7th Marines, which landed first at Apia, British Sa-
moa, before moving on to Guadalcanal in September 1942. Supported
by carrier-based bombers and fighters, Japanese soldiers had amassed
near Henderson Field, hoping to retake this key strategic facility.
The battle for the airstrip inflicted heavy losses on both sides, but the
Marines held their defensive position. On 26 October, the third day of
fighting, Japanese troops attempted yet another assault. Mitchell, then a
platoon sergeant, commanded a machine-gun section of 32 Marines on
a crucial ridge west of the airstrip. Severely outnumbered – and strug-
gling against the general prevalence of malaria – the Americans found
themselves being overpowered by the Japanese troops. Mitchell, howev-
er, maintained steady fire by moving from one empty machine gun po-
sition to the next. At one critical point, he narrowly escaped 30 rounds
himself when confronted by a Japanese gunner less than 25 yards away.
Undeterred, he next attacked and eliminated an enemy command post.
At dawn the next day, the battalion’s executive officer found Paige alone
on the ridge, ready to lead reinforcements for the final attack that forced
the Japanese to retreat.3 According to Marine estimates, nearly 300 Jap-
anese died near Paige’s position; the Americans suffered 14 dead and 32
wounded.
After his promotion to second lieutenant in December, Paige re-
ceived the Medal of Honor five months later at a ceremony in Mount
Martha, Australia, from the commanding general of the First Marine Di-
3
Paige’s description of the battle for Henderson Field is contained in his memoir,
A Marine Named Mitch: An Autobiography of Mitchell Paige, Colonel, US Marine Corps
Retired. (Great Barrington, MA: Vantage books, 1975), pp. 121–160.

83
vision, Alexander Vandegrift. The closing words of the citation praised
“his great personal valor and unyielding devotion to duty.” Paige’s mil-
itary service continued with additional tours before his retirement in
1959 with the rank of colonel. Tapped later by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, he aided the effort to track down imposters either wearing
or selling the Medal of Honor. He died of heart failure in 2003 and was
buried in Riverside, California.

EXCURSUS (Operation Halyard – OSS)

It would be remiss not to include brief mention of an extraordi-

nary and little known airlift spearheaded by Serbian Americans serving
in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1944. While attempting to
bomb enemy targets in the Southern theater, increasing numbers of US
airmen, flying from bases in Italy, had to abandon their mission over
Yugoslavia. Some were taken prisoners by German occupation forces,
but many others found a warm reception among Serbian villagers, who,
at considerable risk, concealed them and shared their meager food sup-
plies. Given the randomly chosen code name Halyard (known in Serbi-
an as Airlift), the operation was conceived by George Vujnovich, a Ser-
bian American OSS operative based in Bari, Italy. Having himself been
trapped behind Axis lines while studying medicine in Belgrade, he felt
a particular kinship with both the stranded airmen and the local Serbs.
Vujnovich selected a three-man team, headed by George Musulin,
a fellow Serbian American, that would parachute into enemy territory
and handle the logistics. Aware that the guerilla army of Draza Mihai-
lovich had been providing protection for many of the downed airmen,
the OSS team received firm instructions not to become embroiled in the
fierce struggle between Mikhailovich’s Chetniks and the partisans of Jo-
sip Broz Tito. Once in the remote mountain village of Pranjani, Musulin
directed the rapid construction of a landing strip using only the make-
shift tools available. A newly devised radio code established confidential
contact with the Bari base.
In early August, the first C-47 cargo planes landed on the precar-
iously short and bumpy airstrip and, as a first priority, returned those
needing medical attention to Italy. To defend against attack by the Ger-

84
man Luftwaffe, sophisticated US fighter planes – the P-51 Mustang and
P–38 Lightning – functioned as escorts on occasion. Word of the airlift
soon circulated in the environs, drawing additional numbers of Allied
airmen to Pranjani to await rescue. At a later point, Nick Lalich, another
Serbian American, replaced Musulin as leader of the team. In sum, an
OSS mission that was scheduled to last only several weeks continued for
five months and rescued 432 US airmen and 80 personnel from Brit-
ish, Canadian, French, Italian, and Russian units.4 No fatalities occurred
throughout this entire period. Not until 2010 – 65 years later – was a
Bronze Star awarded to Vujnovich at a ceremony in the Serbian Ortho-
dox Cathedral of St. Sava in New York City. A museum and seven his-
torical markers documenting the event can now be found in Pranjani.

VIETNAM WAR (Lance Sijan – US Air Force)

The Vietnam War counts as the most sustained military engage-

ment in American history. Controversy has not abated over the strate-
gic errors that led ultimately to the fall of Saigon in 1975. The number of
total casualties also varies widely; among American military personnel,
an estimated 50,000 died, primarily due to small arms fire, enemy booby
traps, and aircraft crashes. Afterwards, many of the earlier strong an-
ti-war sentiments found their way into the popular culture of film and
fiction. Consequntly, US servicemen were frequently characterized in
a lurid light – an addicted army ravaged by drugs and displaying un-
restrained and sadistic brutality. The example of Lance Sijan, however,
provides a compelling corrective to that highly distorted image.
After emigrating to the United States, Sijan’s Serbian grandparents
settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they established a neighborhood
tavern that his father continued to operate. Born on 13 April 1942, he at-
tended Bay View High School, becoming known for his outgoing person-
ality, ruggedly handsome appearance, and athletic dexterity, especially on
the football field. The family was tightknit, although he and his younger
4
For a partial list of the airmen rescued, see Gregory A. Freeman, The Forgotten
500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Escape Mission of
World War II (New York: NAL Caliber, 2007), pp. 281–284.

85
brother later came to hold opposing views on the war in Southeast Asia.
Keen to enter the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado,
Sijan attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Maryland af-
ter high school graduation to enhance his chances of admission. Once a
cadet, he tenaciously overcame certain obstacles – the washout rate was
quite high at the time – and graduated in 1965 as a second lieutenant.
After undergoing pilot training, Sijan was assigned to the 480th
Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Wing at Da Nang Air Base in
South Vietnam. One of its prime tasks involved aerial bombing strikes
against the camouflaged artillery positions of the North Vietnamese
Army (NVA), which had recently shifted from north of the demilita-
rized zone to the Ho Chi Minh Trail inside Laos. These two-man mis-
sions demanded absolute precision – a fast and steep dive and a low
bomb-release altitude – and were countered by greatly improved anti-
aircraft defenses by the North Vietnamese as well as electronic surveil-
lance by Soviet trawlers in nearby international waters.
While Sijan and other young officers would have preferred to see
a more effective means of waging war, such as mining Haiphong Har-
bor, they knew that officials in Washington had currently ruled out
further escalation. Realizing, too, the acute danger of being captured
by the NVA, he had taken some noteworthy precautions. Besides pri-
or jungle survival training in the Philippines, non-standard items – a
multiblade pocketknife, waterproofed matches, a small prismatic com-
pass, and a bolo knife – were packed as well. Reading US intelligence
reports describing the nature of the enemy on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
must have been dispelled any illusions on his part. In addition, he was
totally cognizant of the points enumerated of the Code of Conduct for
such an eventuality: preparedness to give one’s life in defense of the
United States; refusal to surrender voluntarily; resistance including de-
vising means of escape; respect for fellow prisoners and deference to any
senior officers among them; evasion when interrogated beyond name,
rank, serial number, and date of birth; and awareness of one’s standing
and responsibility as a loyal member of the armed forces.
On the evening of 9 November 1967 – after a careful routine inspec-
tion of their F-4C Phantom jet – Sijan and his co-pilot, John Armstrong,
left Da Nang on their latest assignment: Ban Laboy Ford, a river crossing
six miles inside Laos from the North Vietnamese border. As they neared

86
their valley target and began to release the ordnance, malfunctioning
fuses caused a premature detonation of all six bombs that immediate-
ly transformed their aircraft into a ball of fire. Sijan managed to eject
from the aircraft, while the fate of Armstrong was never determined.
Descending into darkness onto a limestone karst ridge in the triple can-
opy jungle, Sijan later regained consciousness and discovered the extent
of his injuries: a fractured skull, a mangled left hand, and a compound
fracture of his left leg. Meanwhile, an intensive search and rescue op-
eration had been ordered, but the lack of continued radio contact with
Sijan combined with enemy fire ultimately doomed the two-day effort.
Struggling against intense thirst and pain, he decided to drag himself on
his hip along the narrow, rocky game trail in quest of water.
Remarkably, after fashioning makeshift bandages, Sijan succeed-
ed in evading the North Vietnamese for forty-six days. On Christmas
morning his blood-stained emaciated body was found unconscious on
a truck road three miles from Ban Loboy Ford and taken to a NVA camp
near Ban Kari Pass. Some solid food and minimal treatment by a medic
awakened the desire to plot an escape. Overpowering an armed guard
with a solid left-handed chop to the base of his skull, he fled into the
jungle but was captured several hours later.
The next phase of Sijan’s imprisonment took place at the so-called
Bamboo Prison, a holding compound and interrogation center just
north of Vinh. Undergoing questioning for the first time, he held firm
to the Code of Conduct, despite grueling sessions and repeated phys-
ical torture. Details of what had transpired since the plane crash were
recounted to his two cellmates, Bob Craner and Guy Gruthers, likewise
the subjects of intense interrogation.5 Even in his diminished state – al-
ternating between periods of lucidity and delirium – Sijan never voiced
complaints about his physical condition or ceased expressing his deter-
mination to escape once again.
His final destination – the Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, colloquially
known as the Hanoi Hilton – turned out be a fatal one. Its notorious-
ly harsh measures soon took a heavy toll upon his malnourished and
5
Based on interviews with Guy Gruthers, Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story
of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam by Malcolm McConnell (New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, 1985) recounts the jungle ordeal of Sijan.

87
exhausted body, notwithstanding the care administered by Craner and
Gruthers. On 21 January 1968, after contracting pneumonia, Sijan was
removed from his cell on a pallet and died the following day. His re-
mains were returned to the United States in 1974 and buried with mil-
itary honors in Arlington Park Cemetery in Milwaukee. Posthumously
promoted to captain, he was awarded the Medal of Honor following the
recommendation of his two loyal cellmates. In a ceremony at the White
House in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford presented the medal to his
parents.
Apart from numerous other military decorations, the memory of
Sijan took root in multiple ways. Most conspicuously, the US Air Force
Academy, taking evident pride in its first graduate to receive the Medal
of Honor, named one of its two cadet residence halls in his honor and
hung an imposing oil portrait of Sijan clad in his combat flight suit in
the main lobby. Additionally, the Air Force established the prestigious
Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award beginning in 1981. In Milwau-
kee, a memorial plaza in his name stands near the entrance to the Mitch-
ell International Airport, replete with a F-4C Phantom jet mounted on a
tall pedestal and painted to match the one flown in Vietnam. The city’s
Serbian community also placed a memorial on the grounds of St. Sava
Serbian Orthodox Church. A special tribute came from another North
Vietnamese prisoner of war, the late Senator John McCain. While in
captivity, he learned the harrowing details of Sijan’s ordeal from fellow
prisoners and termed it “the most inspiring POW story of the war.” As
McCain later wrote, “To Lance Sijan, the Code [of Conduct] was not an
abstract ideal, but the supreme purpose of his life.”6

***

For those who live to receive the award, we might well ask what are
the thoughts prompted in the soldier’s mind. One recent recipient re-
called his decidedly mixed feelings – above all, the memory of his fellow
soldiers lost in combat and the haunting question of whether he could
6
John McCain, “Ennobled by Example” in Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor
Beyond the Call of Duty. (New York: Artisan, 2003), xv.

88
have done more to save them. Comradeship runs very deep, as well as
the awareness “that horrible things can – and often will – happen to any-
body, even to a soldier dialed to perfection.” In this sense, he modestly
described himself, not as the owner of the medal, but its “custodian and
caretaker.”7

References

Gregory A. Freeman, The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men
Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II, New
York: NAL Caliber, 2007.
John McCain, “Ennobled by Example”, in: Medal of Honor: Portraits of
Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, New York: Artisan, 2003.
Malcolm McConnell, Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan,
Hero of Vietnam. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1985.
Clinton Romesha, Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. New
York: Dutton, 2016.
A Marine Named Mitch: An Autobiography of Mitchell Paige, Colonel, US
Marine Corps Retired. Great Barrington. MA: Vantage books, 1975.
Medal of Honor Recipients – Interim Awards, 1901–1911. history.army.
mil

Džeferson Adams

ČETIRI PRIMERA RETKE HRABROSTI: AMERIKANCI

SRPSKOG POREKLA U AMERIČKOJ VOJSCI

Rezime

Autor navodi četiri primera hrabrosti koju su pokazali Amerikan-

ci srpskog porekla u 20. veku. Ovi primeri odnose se na sledeće lju-
de: Rade Grbić, Džejk Aleks (Aleksa Mandušić), Mičel Pejdž (Mihajlo
7
Clinton Romesha, Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor (New York: Dut-
ton, 2016), p. 22, 369.

89
Pejić) i Lens Sajdžan (Lazar Šijan) koji su dobili Medalje časti za svoje
junaštvo. Operacija Halijard se takođe spominje kao primer hrabrosti
koju su Srbi pokazali tokom Drugog svetskog rata, kao i uloga koju su
Amerikanci srpskog porekla imali tokom operacije.
Ključne reči: Amerikanci srpskog porekla, Medalja časti, hrabrost,
operacija Halijard

90
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
UDC 94(497.1)"1918"
Saša Marković, PhD, full professor*
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Education in Sombor (Serbia)

US POLITICAL VIEWS AS A DECISIVE

INTERNATIONAL STRONGHOLD FOR ANNEXATION
OF VOJVODINA TO THE KINGDOM OF SERBIA IN 1918

Abstract: To the surprise of many military strategists, the beginning of

1918 fall became the beginning of the end of the war whirlwind that began in
1914. The breakthrough of the Thessaloniki Front and the central role of the
Kingdom of Serbia army in this act conditioned the completion of military
operations by November 11th. An uncertain period of geopolitical changes fol-
lowed in the Balkans as well. Political representatives of the Serbian people
from Vojvodina (then Banat, Bačka and Baranja), as well as Srem, with the
support of other Slavs who lived in the area, organized themselves into na-
tional councils to achieve their long-established national program of joining
the motherland, Kingdom of Serbia. This intention encountered stiff resistance
from the Hungarian political elite and the newly formed Republican govern-
ment of Mihály Károlyi. However, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy’s enthu-
siastic politics and nationalist discrimination caused deep political distrust in
the democratic world. The most important stronghold for the Serbs in this
process was the point of view of American President Woodrow Wilson on the
right of lesser nations to self-determination. It has been repeatedly emphasized
as an understanding of the interests of the Serbian people from Vojvodina, and
we intend to substantiate it in the paper.
Keywords: politics, principles, joining, support, responsibility

Austro-Hungarian Paroxysm

The First World War was the inevitable outcome of the conflicting
parties’ imperialism, Yet the militarism of the Second German Reich

*
[email protected]

91
was most responsible for its bloody feast. “Vague, pervasive hatred”1
became the guiding force of national and state political actions. Over-
shadowed by the conflict of the great powers, the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy’s attitude towards the Kingdom of Serbia was equally fiery.
It was felt by the Serbs in the Monarchy. Their territorial compactness,
then political activity relying on the strong expression of church-school
autonomy and the activity of cultural institutions such as Matica Srpska
was, as interpreted by the Vienna political elite, an unacceptable phe-
nomenon with the ultimate intention of irredentism. For this reason,
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy pursued a noticable anti-Serb policy
manifested both towards its fellow Serbs and the independent King-
dom of Serbia. As for the Serbs in the Monarchy, they were exposed
to the process of assimilation through the Hungarization of education
and through the pressure exerted on the political elite of the Serbs to
choose conformism and loyalty as their political expression. Although it
was not the decisive creator of nationalist narratives in the Balkans, the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, supported by selected state projects of ex-
cessive territorial aspirations, defined the foundation of its Balkan pol-
icy – “divide and conquer.” The culmination of Anti-Serbian sentiment
followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on Vidovdan
1914, and was reflected in the orchestrated hysterical hatred towards the
people who were to be part of the great Danube Empire long ago.2

Pre-war Temptations of Serbian Identity

The Serbian national idea was rather complex at the beginning of

the 20th century. The cause of this could be traced back to the historical
circumstances in which the process of creation of the independent Ser-
bian state and the life of the remaining but significant part of the Serbian
corpus that still lived in the Ottoman or Austrian Empire took place.
Polycentric expression of the Serbian national idea3 precluded a simple
1
Hana, Arent, Izvori totalitarizma, Feministička izdavačka kuća, Beograd, 1999, p. 375.
2
„Vesti iz mesta i naroda“, Branik, Issue 137, 13 (26) July 1914.
3
See more in: M. Radojević, Lj. Dimić, Srbija u Velikom ratu 1914–1918, Srpska
književna zadruga, Beograd, 2014.

92
national strategy, but on the other hand, stimulated the dispersion of the
national vision and its state-building role.
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a further politi-
cal crisis of antagonistic party life for the Serbs in Southern Hungary.
Multinational demographic structure of the Hungarian population con-
ditioned the democratization of society for the sake of its survival. The
population of Hungary was almost divided in half regarding the num-
ber of Hungarian and non-Hungarian people. In the second half of the
19th and early 20th century, the number of Hungarians was on the rise,
outnumbering the population of other nationalities. The then non-Hun-
garians considered assimilation to be one of the reasons for this upward
trend.4 The multinational structure of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy
was a specific space in which the hegemonic nationalism of the Austri-
ans and Hungarians was most often exhibited through exclusive polit-
ical and party expression thus bringing the internal political situation
in the country to national alienations. A weak but critical attitude to-
wards the Hungarization of individual Hungarian politicians should be
mentioned on this occasion. Of these, certainly the most significant was
Oscar Jászi. He called Hungarian politics a “national megalomania” that
should be compensated by realistic, humble but self-conscious reason-
ing about one’s own strengths and advantages.5 Jászi further supported
his position by not accepting the view that the Hungarians were also
scared by the “Serbian bogey”. But notwithstanding these warnings, be-
fore the First World War, Hungary, as well as the whole of the monarchy
after all, got stuck in the mud of its own nationalism that turned its large
population of non-Hungarian people in Hungary into either political
followers or political apostates.
Influenced by social ideas about the nation and national identity
that were coming from Europe, a number of urban Serbs from Hungary
4
In the 1880–1910 period, the number of Hungarians in the Hungarian part of
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy increased by about 34%, while the number of eth-
nic groups increased by an average of 17% ... See also: Tibor, Pal, Mađarsko političko
javno mnjenje i srpsko pitanje na Balkanu 1903–1914, doktorska disertacija, Filozofski
fakultet, Novi Sad, 2010, p. 79 and 80.
5
Oskar Jasi, Budućnost monarhije, propast dvojne monarhije i sjedinjene po-
dunavske zemlje, Izdavačka knjižarnica Zorana Stojanovića, Sremski Karlovci, Novi
Sad, 1996, p. 101, 102.

93
sought to devise new contents of their national struggle. “That nation-
alism should indeed be, both in substance and in form, pure, high cul-
ture. Culture in the best sense of the word. Morality, humanism, ethics,
honesty. Validity and honesty and first class, not only Serbian but also
human.”6 On the other hand, the cacophony of Serbian party politics
and politicizing,7 holding firm to their own positions, was not eager to
accept new educational ranges because its own privileges and interest
achievements were threatened. Although everyone called for democ-
ratization and modernization of political articulation, it was obvious
that neither of them was there. Political distinction and opportunism
caused considerable difficulties for the party political expression among
the Serbs of the Monarchy on the eve of the “Great War.” The situation
regarding the national identity of Serbs in Austria-Hungary was quite
unstable, incomplete, at moments even lifeless. Numerous Serbian po-
litical elite became the comprador satrap of authorities.
However, that those who did not want to betray their national iden-
tity were more numerous is also indicated by the fact that the Hungarian
monarchy experienced a stimulated manifestation of Serbophobia fol-
lowing the assassination in Sarajevo on 28th of June 1914.8 The Monar-
chy did little to prevent it, justifying itself with a platitude that it could
not control the patriotic emotions of its subjects.
With the outbreak of warfare, the Law on Emergency Measures en-
tered into force in Hungary, which resulted in the dying down of all
national activities related to both the party work, and the cultural and
artistic fields.9 The Serbs of the Monarchy were mobilized, but many
prominent public and cultural workers were also confined and in-
6
Isidora Sekulić, Kulturni nacionalizam, Novi Srbin, januar–juni 1913, Sombor.
7
Such a characteristic of political work was characterized by Jovan Cvijić as
“political gypsying” based on “continuous feud” and “the entire work of theirs was
dominated by personal motives, sometimes even uncouth vanity, they monitor one
another and are often able to tell even the most incredible infamies about one another.
Moreover, there is much mischief, malice, hatred”: Jovan Cvijić, O nacionalnom radu,
Beograd, 1907, p. 13.
8
Branik, Posle atentata i pogroma, broj 122, 22. jun (5. jul) 1914.
9
“So almost all of the political life has died ...” Arpad Lebl, Građanske partije u
Vojvodini 1887–1918, Filozofski fakultet u Novom Sadu, Institut za istoriju, Novi Sad,
p. 124.

94
terned.10 The fear and atmosphere of the uncertain expectation of news
of the outcome of military operations on the front lines prevailed. Ac-
cordingly, Hungarians and non-Hungarians, primarily Serbs, experi-
enced positive or negative national feelings.11 The euphoria of winning
or hidden dejection, at the same time inspired by an identical event on
the front, were the feelings that witnessed the continuity of a failed poli-
cy. Pressure on the Serbs was pronounced – “but for skin, the soul would
fly out.”12

Towards the Annexation

Nihilism, timidity, and prudence, as well as repression and the laws

of war, completely got in the way of the political life among the Serbs in
the Monarchy. In the fall of 1918, political events in Vojvodina13 were
marked as movements for national liberation and secession of Southern
Slavs from Hungary. Given the high number and national potential of
intelligence, the Serbs led this fight. These changes were conditioned by
the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki Front, the military success of the
Allied army, primarily the army of the Kingdom of Serbia, the military
defeat of Austria-Hungary, the strengthening of the Yugoslav movement
in other parts of the Monarchy, territorial claims of Italy, anarchy, the
appearance of the so-called “Green Cards” etc. The protagonists of the
more organized and radical appearance of the people from Vojvodina,
though of different political identities, expressed a unique attitude about
the necessity of breaking the state-legal relations with Hungary.14
10
Nikola Milutinović, Autobiografija, Rukopisno odeljenje Matice srpske (here-
inafter referred to as MDMS М 18453; “On September 21, 1914, Tihomir Ostojić was
confined in Baj, then in Stona Belgrade, and younger officers were mobilized.”; Živan
Milisavac, Matica srpska, Novi Sad, 1965, p. 131. “Vasa Stajić will continue his work
in prison in Arad and Szeged or in Ilawa...”; Arpad Lebl, Politički lik Vase Stajića, Novi
Sad, 1963, p. 287.
11
O prvim danima rata, po sećanjima dr Jovana Joce Laloševića, Historical Ar-
chives Sombor, F–56, inv. no. 549.
12
Isidora Sekulić, Marica, Zapisi o mome narodu, Beograd, 1985, p. 300.
13
In this context, although Vojvodina does not exist as a political-territorial en-
tity, we use this term, accepting the attitude of contemporaries, for the region covered
by Banat, Bačka and Baranja.
14
Ranko, Končar, Saša, Marković, Vojvodina between Serbian and Yugoslav op-
tion during the establishment of the Kingdom SCS, thematic proceeding of papers

95
 The political situation was uncertain despite the Allies’ decisive mil-
itary victory. There was a very complex diplomatic game taking place
and the Serbian politicians from Vojvodina sought an adequate deci-
sion. “Only now we are feeling the loss of not having our newspaper, so
we do not know how to orient ourselves.”15 The undefined position of
Vojvodina could have grown into a problem that cannot be overcome.
“The very political position of Vojvodina remained unsolved. The future
and the fate of our province remained an open question and this un-
certainty has opened the door widely for all fraudsters and tendencies
hostile to our national ideals.”16
The Serbian army getting closer to the borders of the Monarchy was
a decisive impetus for political activities of Serbs and other Slavs. They
started establishing People’s National Councils whose role was to take
over administrative and civil administrations in urban and rural areas.
The first Serbian National Council was established in Veliki Bečkerek on
October 31st, 1918. In Novi Sad, the Serbian People’s Committee held its
first public meeting in the ceremonial hall of Matica Srpska on Novem-
ber 3rd, 1918. The establishment of these councils encouraged the ex-
pansion of the network of these new authorities. The initiators of these
activities were the more prominent Serbs and they did not hide their
pleasure with this act.
Decisive support in their activities was the views of the USA Pres-
ident, Woodrow Wilson, on the right of people to self-determination.
“As soon as Wilson’s points were announced, by which every nation is to
be recognized the right to self-determination, the meeting was held at
Dr. Joca Lalošević’s home to organize the People’s National Councils of
the Serbs and Bunjevci in Sombor.”17
US President Wilson’s affirmative political ideas were of interest for
the new Hungarian government as well, headed by Mihály Károlyi. It in-

from the international conference” Yugoslavia through Time. Ninety Years since the
Formation of the First State of Yugoslavia, Department of History of the Faculty of
Philosophy in Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 2009, p. 93–105.
15
Letter of Joca Lalošević to Tihomir Ostojić, 29 October 1918, ROMS, 5671.
16
Jovan Lalošević, Naše oslobođenje i ujedinjenje, Historical Archives Sombor,
fund 57, inv. no. 448, 1928; „Naše oslobođenje i ujedinjenje“, Književni sever, knjiga V,
sveska I, Subotica, 1929.
17
Joca Lalošević, Oslobođenje Sombora, Historical Archives Sombor.

96
tended to preserve the territorial integrity of Hungary. “But listen to us:
we are all such people who we have always fought for the interest of the
people, who have always preached brotherhood and equality of Bunje-
vci, Germans, Romanians, Slovaks, and Serbs, and who have suffered a
great deal for this belief of ours pressed by the gentlemen of old Hun-
gary.”18 Károlyi offered some Serbian politicians from Vojvodina – Jaša
Tomić, Kosta Hadži19 portfolios in future ministries. Even though they
hesitated, no one accepted the offer, but the newspaper in Pest published
a statement by Kosta Hadži that could be understood as if the Serbs
from Hungary had no separatist aspirations.
This political discourse of the new Hungarian political elite, based
on the pre-war and war discriminatory experience, was more like the
pamphlet supposed to skillfully conceal the apparent state failure in the
past. This act of “perfidy” of the Hungarian government was written
of by aforementioned Jovan Joca Lalošević (1870–1935), a prominent
representative of Serbian bourgeoise. Criticizing the efforts of the new
Hungarian government as unacceptable hypocrisy without responsibili-
ty, he opposed the idea that the democratic liberties of the non-Hungar-
ians in the Hungarian state were possible. Recent events did not confute
him but indicated he was absolutely right. “The Hungarian government
mentions the principles of wise President Wilson. But how do they por-
tray the principles? In a false and distorted form. Wilson says that every
nation has the right to decide for itself which political creation to join, to
choose for itself who will govern it. The Hungarian government wisely
remains silent on this, thus diluting the expressions so that no one thinks
it is about political freedom. He says every nation is free to arrange what
18
“Political Pamphlet of the Hungarian Government by Mihály Károlyi, To All
People of Non-Hungarian Language of the People’s Republic! Bunjevci, Germans,
Romanians, Saxons, Serbs, Slovaks!”; Historical Archives, Sombor; Personal fund of
Đorđe Antić, F–56, inv. no. 370.
19
Some papers mention that the offer was also sent to Joca Lalošević. “Mihály
Károlyi... offered some Vojvodina politicians (Jaša Tomić, Kosta Hadži and Joca
Lalošević) portfolios in this future ministry.” Ljubinka Krkljuš, Lazar Rakić, Vojvo-
dina i stvaranje jugoslovenske države, u monografiji Draga Njegovana, Prisajedinjenje
Srema, Banata, Bačke i Baranje Srbiji 1918, Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2001, p. 235.
Lalošević did not receive any direct offer, but it is possible that Kosta Hadži offered
him the position intended for him, but he refused it. Lazar Rakić, Radikalna stranka u
Vojvodini, 1902–1919, Filozofski fakultet, Novi Sad, 1983, p. 184–185.

97
is best for it. That should be Wilson’s self-determination of the people! It
goes on to say that everyone can speak freely in their own language, that
they will receive general voting rights, that the people will decide on the
land and payment of the factory worker, and ends like this: ’People! It
is the right to self-determination of people, according to the science of
President Wilson.’ Really? So just what? This is exactly what Wilson says,
that tutored by other people, someone else’s government may embrace
self-determination.”20 On the threshold of Lalošević’ criticism were also
the attitudes of another prominent representative of the democratic po-
litical elite of the Serbs – Tihomir Ostojić (1865–1921). He criticized
“the lamb gesture of the Hungarian government,” actually a disguised
“harmlessness” and hypocrisy that cannot disguise the nationalist pol-
icy it pursued. “Since November this year, the Hungarian people have
not been a new people, but the same people as from before November.
The terror of this people had the most severe consequences for us.”21 Not
letting emotions and resignation prevail, and having in mind the need
for a sober approach to the secession of Vojvodina, Ostojić congratulat-
ed the Hungarians for the election of their new revolutionary govern-
ment. However, “they arranged it to be suitable for them, the Hungari-
ans ... And we want to arrange here with us the other way, good for us.
We have the right to demand from the Hungarians to leave us alone.”22
Several weeks of preparation and networking of Vojvodina National
Councils, election of representatives and their sending to Novi Sad bore
fruit in the form of organization of Grand National Assembly of Serbs,
Bunjevci and other Slavs on 25th/12th of November 1918 in Novi Sad.23
The Assembly was participated by 757 deputies from 211 municipalities.
Among them were 578 Serbs, 84 Bunjevci, 62 Slovaks, 21 Rusyns, three
Šokci, two Croats, six Germans, and one Hungarian.24 The decisions
made were of historic importance to the Serbian people and related to
20
Perfidija mađarske vlade, Srpski list, No. 27, november 27, 1918.
21
Tihomir Ostojic, „Nova taktika Mađara“, Srpski list, organ Srpskog narodnog
odbora, 1918, no. 12.
22
Tihomir Ostojić, „Političko priklapanje“, Srpski list, organ Srpskog narodnog
odbora, 1918, no. 18.
23
Joca Lalošević, Naše oslobođenje i ujedinjenje, Historical Archives Sombor,
F–57, inv. No. 448.
24
See more: Lazar Rakić, Radikalna stranka u Vojvodini 1902–1919, Filozofski
fakultet, Novi Sad, 1983, p. 193.

98
the joining of Banat, Bačka, and Baranja (Vojvodina) to the Kingdom of
Serbia and support for the creation of a Yugoslav state.
From all of the above, we see that the crucial political document for
the people that want to state-frame their national future was the view
of the president of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson,
presented in 14 points, on the 8th to the 9th of January 1918. Regard-
less of the fact that this view was not sufficiently clear when it comes to
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, it affirmed and supported the idea of​​
establishing a state for the people that made up the population of the
multinational Monarchy. This political vision of Woodrow Wilson25 was
extremely sympathetic to the national interests of Serbs and historical
circumstances that went in that direction. It should be noted that this
was a kind of Perpetuum mobile of American politics, which has until
recently been looking at European issues from Olympic heights26 and
viewing the Balkan states as Broadway-like.27
The active involvement of the United States in the war on the En-
tente side led to gradual domination of this great country in providing
the resources to wage now already exhausting war. Both Great Britain
and France were already severely facing the extreme limits of their own
war waging capacities. American aid was crucial, but it encouraged in-
creasingly deeper US involvement in the complex relationships of both
allies and warring parties. After learning about conservative imperial
views, Woodrow Wilson was unpleasantly surprised by their deposits of
insurmountable antagonisms. For this reason, he first “decisively reject-
ed backstage agreements”28, and then intended to offer some new solu-
tions with the idea that war, as a concept of interstate relations, should
disappear once and for all. His idealism intended to create a “world in
which independent nations joined in harmonious order”.29 New Aus-
25
See also: Clements, Kendrick,Woodrow Wilson, world statesman, Boston:
Twayne, 1987.
26
Gerald H. Davis, The Diplomatic Relations between the United States and
Austro-Hungary 1913–1917, cited by Milorad Ekmedžić, Stvaranje Jugoslavije, 1790–
1918. knjiga druga, Prosveta, Beograd, 1989, p. 774.
27
George F. Kennan, American Diplomacy 1900–1950, Chicago, 1951, p. 16.
28
Andrej Mitrović, Vreme netrpeljivih, Politička istorija velikih država Evrope,
Zavod za udžbenike, Beograd, 2012, p. 50.
29
Václav Horčička, “The Relationship between Austria-Hungary and the United
States in 1918”, Prague papers on the history of international relations, 1/2015, 57–92, p. 61.

99
trian Emperor Carlo also sought his place in this vision. His growing
disagreement with the ambition of German Kaiser Wilhelm and his in-
ert attitude on the battlefield hinted at some different intentions. The
UK and France carefully observed these indigenous and non-solidary
political acts of Austria towards Germany. In addition, Emperor Carlo
became even more interesting when he made the first steps towards fed-
eralizing the state in the direction of respect for the Slav population. He
thus acquired some significant Slavic politicians of the Monarchy, which
could yield a kind of compromise that was in no way compatible with
state interests of the Kingdom of Serbia.
Serbia, however, reduced to limited military forces, no longer had
such an impact on global military-political developments and followed
what was happening with some degree of anxiety. At the same time, it
focused all of its political capacities on the affirmation of the Yugoslav
unity and the leading role of the Kingdom of Serbia in this process. The
most important role in affirming this idea was played by famous Serbian
intellectuals30 such as Mihajlo Pupin (1858–1935) who was also a close
friend of the American president and whose role in this process was
extremely significant. “President Wilson is an idealist, and his idealism
commands my deepest respect and admiration… Go to Paris now and
watch the proceedings at the peace conference, as I was doing during
the last seven weeks, and you will find that America asks for no territo-
ries, for no mandates, and for no onerous compensations. It is the only
great power there which preaches moderation, and demands unreserv-
edly full justice for the little nations… America is today the only fearless
champion of your claims to these Yugoslav lands.”31
In addition, to American public opinion quite appealing was the
idea of the independent Czechoslovak state of Tomáš Masaryk (1850–
1937), an exceptional intellectual, politician and diplomat. He carefully
considered the ideas of Emperor Carlo, but also nurtured the idea of in- ​​
dependence hoping that he would come to an understanding, primarily
30
See more: Ljubinka Trgovčević, Naučnici Srbije i stvaranje Jugoslavije 1914–
1920, Srpska književna zadruga, Beograd, 1986.
31
Mihajlo Pupin, Sa pašnjaka do naučenjaka, Matica srpska, Novi Sad, 1929, p.
160.

100
of the USA. The Declaration of Independence accepted by the Czechs
and Slovaks, which formalized the emergence of Czechoslovakia, also
referred to role models such as the American Declaration of Indepen-
dence and Abraham Lincoln’s principles of freedom.32
This persistent desire for an independent state and national free-
dom was an expression of centuries-old aspirations of people who lived
under the authority of others. For this reason, and despite the intention
of presenting itself as reformed and modern, in free democratic world
the Danube Monarchy was given the stigma of a conservative monarchy
with a discriminatory character of society. Such a performance of this
state, quite realistic (vis a vis), influenced the abandoning of the idea of​​
the Monarchy’s survival to finally take precedence in official politics of
the White House in Washington, notwithstanding that there were nu-
merous expressions of doubt about its probity, especially in the UK.
It was a hint of the end of the centuries-old empire. It did, how-
ever, happen suddenly or too quickly for many, without an emotional
outburst. “A shake of hands and friendship, which was often lasted for
years, was brought to an abrupt end. Generally, they did not even say
’goodbye.’”33 This sentimental parting was not acceptable for a new liber-
tarian narrative cherished by Serbs as well. This partition was for them a
national success and the beginning of a new libertarian epoch. A crucial
role in this process, from the international aspect, was played by the
view of the United States of America.
The great importance of the role of the United States of America in
the annexation of Vojvodina to the Kingdom of Serbia and the creation
of the Yugoslav state was recalled several years later by famous Serbian
historian Stanoje Stanojević (1874–1937). He first pointed to the un-
certainty and abandonment of the Yugoslav state unification plan the
Kingdom of Serbia stated as its war objective in 1914. This was especial-
ly noticeable bearing in mind that “England and France at that moment
32
The Czechoslovak Republic, The New York Times current history, The Euro-
pean War, volume XVII, October– November–December 1918, New York, 1919, 492–
496, p. 493.
33
Manfried Rauchensteiner, The First World War and the End of the Habsburg
Monarchy, 1914–1918, böhlau verlag wien.köln.weimar, Published with support from
the Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich, 2014, p. 1016.

101
had a plan to weaken Germany as much as possible, but certainly main-
tain Austria.”34 The position of Vojvodina, in the given circumstances,
was further hampered as the ideas of it were still “blurry and indefinite,”
despite the fact that “Serbs in those parts held the most credit for creat-
ing a modern Serbian nationalism and modern Serbian education35.”36
Further in his text Stanojević reminded readers that on the ruins of the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Hungary wanted to gain allies for the idea
of preserving
​​ its state and territoriality promising modernization, de-
mocratization, and respect for the rights of other nations. “That mood
and such views were echoed and expressed in some of Wilson’s epis-
tles.”37 Still, the diplomatic calculation of Austria and insincere abuse of
the democratic principles by the new Hungarian government were soon
exposed as maneuvers to preserve integrity and escape from responsi-
bilities. Support for the Yugoslav state and fulfillment of Serbian nation-
al interests was visible in the expert analysis at the Peace Conference. “It
is primarily necessary to point out that the experts of the great powers,
especially the main experts for our issue, Englishman Mr. Liper, and
American Mr. Johnson, were unusually prepared for all questions that
could have arisen. They studied our question to the smallest details, they
knew all the literature about it and seriously studied all the books, bro-
chures and memoirs.”38 The aforementioned analyzes, solid knowledge
and research effort, with the favorable political climate and the sympa-
thy of the great powers, led to positive resolutions for the Serbian na-
tional interests even regarding the most delicate divides. This was most
strongly contributed by the principle that “all people must be equal in
their rights”,39 promoted and adhered to by President Woodrow Wilson.
34
Stanoje Stanojević, „Vojvodina na konferenciji mira“, Letopis Matice srpske, knj.
300, za godine 1914–1921, Novi Sad, 1, 76–89, p. 77.
35
The first Serbian teacher school Norma was founded in 1778 by Avram Mra-
zović in Sombor. See more in: Saša Marković, Srpski učitelj u Ugarskoj 1778–1918,
Pedagoški fakultet u Somboru, Sombor, 2016.
36
Stanoje Stanojević, „Vojvodina na konferenciji mira“, Letopis Matice srpske, knj.
300, za godine 1914–1921, Novi Sad, 1, 76–89, p. 82.
37
Ibid, p. 82.
38
Ibid, p. 85.
39
Andrej Mitrović, Vreme netrpeljivih, Politička istorija velikih država Evrope, Za-
vod za udžbenike, Beograd, 2012, p. 50.

102
 Towards the (Un)Expected Epilogue

The creation of the Yugoslav state following World War I and inte-
gration of Vojvodina into its framework through the Kingdom of Ser-
bia instilled new hope. Still, the situation did not move from the nation-
al-ethnic segregation. The challenge of realizing the complementary
national identity whose content is multi-layered and trans-ethnic was
redundant and unnecessary for many, and unavoidable and possible
for few. For both, which is the biggest weakness, the identity standpoint
was conditioned by politicization and thus, despite the hopes of many,
there was no discontinuity with the unresolved national issue from pre-
vious times. In doing so, Yugoslavia became a big project soaked in
the spasm of its own shortcomings. Yet, differently motivated, decisive
political actors of this project did not give up on it even in moments of
apparent failure.
Following the Peace Conference, and due to intense pressure of
public opinion, the United States of America accepted the policy of iso-
lationism that emerged as a consequence of the conclusion that young
Americans were dying for the interests of others and for geopolitical
concepts they increasingly disagreed with the more they explored and
understood them. This statement equally applied to the Balkans, which,
in this context, with its egoistic and megalomaniacal ideas, became an
unstable area (“Wild East of Europe”40) that can cause a world conflict
anew. “The Balkans are a permanent political storm-center lying like a
perpetual thunder-cloud on Europe’s southeastern horizon.”41 Devel-
opment of the Yugoslav state, with numerous national, constitutional,
administrative, economic and broadest cultural contradictions found it
quite difficult to cope with the perceived impression of instability and
ineffective democratic processes.

40
Lothrop Stoddard, Racial Realities in Europe, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New
York, 1924, p. 200.
41
Ibid.

103
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grad, 1999.
Campbell, R. J., Тhe War nad the Soul. Dodd, Mead and Company, New
York, 1916.
Clements, Kendrick, Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman, Boston:
Twayne, 1987.
Ekmečić, Milorad, Stvaranje Jugoslavije, 1790–1918. knj. 2, Prosveta,
Beograd, 1989.
Horčička, Václav, “The Relationship between Austria-Hungary and the
United States in 1918”, Prague papers on the history of International
Relations, 1/2015, 57–92.
Jovanović, Slobodan, Kulturni obrazac, Beograd, 2005.
Kirilović, Dimitrije, Pomađarivanje u bivšoj Ugarskoj, Novi Sad, 1935.
Krkljuš, Ljubomirka, i Lazar Rakić, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji 1918,
Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1992.
Kenan, Georg F., American Diplomacy 1900–1950, Chicago, 1951.
Končar, Ranko, i Saša Marković, Vojvodina betwеen Serbian and Yugo-
slav option during the establishment of the Kingdom SCS, tematski
zbornik radova sa međunarodnog skupa “Yugoslavia through Time.
Ninety Years since the Formation of the First State of Yugoslavia”,
Oddelek za zgodovino Filozofske fakultete v Ljubljani, Ljubljana,
2009, 93–105.
Lebl, Arpad, Građanske partije u Vojvodini 1887–1918, Filozofski
fakultet u Novom Sadu, Institut za istoriju, Novi Sad, 1979.
Marković, Saša, Vasa Stajić, Prometej, Radio-televizija Vojvodine, 2016.
Marković, Saša, Tihomir Ostojić i Jovan Joca Lalošević, Prometej – Radio-
televizija Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2017.
Marković, Saša, Nacionalno bez odijuma; pogled bez pretenzija, knj. 2,
Pedagoški fakultet u Somboru, Sombor, 2018.
Marković, Saša, Srpski učitelj u Ugarskoj 1778–1918, Pedagoški fakultet
u Somboru, Sombor, 2016.
Mitrović, Andrej, Vreme netrpeljivi.h, Politička istorija velikih država
Evrope, Zavod za udžbenike, Beograd, 2012.

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Njegovan, Drago, Prisajedinjenje Srema, Banata, Bačke i Baranje Srbiji
1918, dokumenti i prilozi, Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2001.
Radojević, Mira, i Ljubodrag Dimić, Srbija u Velikom ratu 1914–1918,
Srpska književna zadruga, Beograd, 2014.
Rauchensteiner, Manfried, The First World War and the End of the
Habsburg Monarchy, 1914–1918, Böhlau Verlag, Wien, 2014.
Sekulić, Isidora, „Kulturni nacionalizam“, Novi Srbin, januar–juni 1913,
Sombor.
Spomenica oslobođenja Sombora 1918–1939, Sombor, 1938.
Spomenica oslobođenja Vojvodine 1918, Novi Sad, 1929.
Stanojević, Stanoje, „Vojvodina na konferenciji mira“, Letopis Matice
srpske, knj. 300, za godine 1914–1921, 76–89.
Stoddard, Lothrop, Racial Realities in Europe, Charles scribner’s sons,
New York, 1924.
Tibor, Pal, Mađarsko političko javno mnjenje i srpsko pitanje na Balka-
nu 1903–1914, doktorska disertacija, Filozofski fakultet, Novi Sad,
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Trgovčević, Ljubinka, Naučnici Srbije i stvaranje Jugoslavije 1914–1920,
Srpska književna zadruga, Beograd, 1986.
Oskar, Jasi, Uzroci i posledice krize u Ugarskoj, Štamparija Steve Milen-
kovića, Velika Kikinda, 1912.
Oskar, Jasi, Narodnosno pitanje i budućnost Ugarske, Tiskara Hungarija,
Subotica, 1914.
Oskar, Jasi, Budućnost Monarhije: propast Dvojne monarhije i sjedinjene
podunavske zemlje, Knjižara Zorana Stojanovića, Sremski Karlovci,
1996.
Ostojić, Tihomir, „Narodna misao, ideja oslobođenja i ujedinjenja u is-
toriji i književnosti Vojvodine“, Letopis Matice srpske, knj. 300, za
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105
Saša Marković

POLITIČKI STAVOVI SAD KAO ODLUČUJUĆE

MEĐUNARODNO UPORIŠTE PRISAJEDINJENJA VOJVODINE
KRALJEVINI SRBIJI 1918. GODINE

Rezime

Ostvarenje nacionalnih interesa Kraljevine Srbije i Srba uopšte,

krajem Prvog svetskog rata dobilo je odlučujuću međunarodnu podr-
šku u stavovima Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, tačnije u programu od
14. tačaka, predsednika Vudroa Vilsona. Ove tačke predviđale su uva-
žavanje nacionalnih interesa malih naroda, a što je dovodilo u pitanje
opstanak Austro-Ugarske monarhije. Ovaj proces nisu onemogućile ni
reforme koje je Monarhija zagovarala jer se ispostavilo da su bile poli-
tički pamflet. Prostor Vojvodine u kojem su Srbi živeli u kompaktnoj
i respektivnoj zajednici, u tim okolnostima je politički bio artikulisan
njihovim nacionalnim interesima. Ugled koji je Kraljevina Srbija ste-
kla tokom borbi, bio je podrška namerama sunarodnika iz Vojvodine i
snažan politički kapital kod SAD kao saveznika. Otud je prisajedinjenje
Vojvodine Kraljevini Srbiji i stvaranje jugoslovenske države postalo re-
alan istorijski proces koji je, nakon rata i bio vidljiv.
Ključne reči: politika, principi, prisajedinjenje, podrška, odgovornost

106
 UDC 35.075(497.11)
UDC 342.51(497.11:73)

Predrag Dimitrijević, PhD, full professor*

University of Niš, Faculty of Law (Serbia)
Dejan Vučetić, PhD, associate professor
University of Niš, Faculty of Law (Serbia)
Jelena Vučković, PhD, associate professor
University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Law (Serbia)

U. S. INFLUENCE ON THE PUBLIC AGENCIES SYSTEM

IN SERBIA**

Abstract: The authors analyse the concept and characteristics of Serbian

public agencies which were introduced in the Serbian governance system with
the enactment of the Public Agencies Act (2005) and other subject-specific
acts. The Serbian public agency system is observed through the lens of the
public agency system in the United States, which initially served as a model for
developing the Serbian public agency system. After presenting the distinctive
features of both systems, the authors focus on the legal position, organization,
competences and powers of public agencies in the Republic of Serbia, where
they are established as both organizations of governance and service providers.
In the third part of the paper, the authors address the drawbacks and ineffi-
ciencies of the contemporary public agencies system and possibilities for its
further improvement.
Keywords: public agencies, government, state administration, quasi-gov-
ernmental administration

*
[email protected]
**
The research is undertaken under the projects No. 179046 realized by Faculty
of Law University of Nis, and No. 179012 realized by Faculty of Law University of
Kragujevac, both financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological
Development of the Republic of Serbia.

107
 Introduction

The new public management measures were originally introduced

by conservative political parties, first in the United Kingdom and then
the United States, with the aim of enhancing the principles of (organiza-
tional) economy, strengthening the quality of public services, and thus
gaining citizens’ trust (legitimacy). This undertaking had to address the
key questions: what activities the state should finance and undertake;
what activities the state should finance but not undertake; and what ac-
tivities the state should neither finance nor undertake. The requirements
of the new public management affirm the economy, efficiency, and ef-
fectiveness, productivity and profitability of the administrative system
because the new public management applies the principles of the private
sector to the operation of the public administration.1
In line with these global processes, public agencies were created
in the United States at the end of the 19th century, by establishing a
special agency in the field of transport – the Inter-State Trade Commis-
sion.2 The Commission was established by the decision of Congress as
an independent regulatory agency, fully independent from the executive
authority, and it became the first example of an independent regulato-
ry body.3 However, US agencies do not have the same status because,
1
In the UK, changes in the public sector were introduced during Margaret
Thatcher’s government. One of the most important changes was the introduction of
“Next Steps Agencies”, which implied establishing a range of administrative agencies
(over 120 in the year 2004) in order to restructure and rationalize the administrative
system, and make it more efficent and effective in terms of economic efficency. The
new public administration system retained only those public functions and competen-
cies whose presence in the system was deemed to be justified. On the other hand, some
of the functions of the state administration were delegated to the newly established
public agencies because public services were needed by the users, but were not directly
provided by the state. Compare: K. Verhoest, S. Van Thiel, G. Bouckaert, P. Laegreid,
Government Agencies: Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries, Palgrave Macmillan,
2011, p. 57.
2
A. Martinović, Pravna priroda agencija u pravnom sistemu Republike Srbije,
Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Novom Sadu, 2, 2012, p. 392.
3
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was set up in 1887, and the Federal
Communications Commission (Telecommunications and Telegraphic Communica-
tions Commission) was established in 1934. The ICC regulated rail transport between
federal states and later its jurisdiction and responsibility extended to oil transportation
(1906), road transport (1935) and waterborne transport (1940). J. Vučković, Položaj

108
except for independent regulatory agencies, a number of agencies are
part of executive departments (which are counterparts to ministries in
Europe). European regulatory agencies were developed on the model
of independent agencies in the US. Thus, the American experience has
been transplanted to the European soil with certain adjustments, which
equally applies to Serbia.
Unlike the US, which has a different legal and political experience
and background, introducing agencies into the institutional system of
European countries can create problems. Namely, in the US, agencies
have significant regulatory powers, which need to be adequately and
permanently controlled.4 In the US, the term “agency” is used very
broadly, as a designation for any public authority or body. Unlike de-
partmental agencies, whose officials are appointed and discharged by
the President of the United States (with the approval of the Senate), in-
dependent regulatory agencies (committees, directorates, offices, etc.)
enjoy a higher degree of autonomy in the governance system.5 US agen-
cies are also vested with a quasi-judicial function of resolving certain
types of disputes.6 In this sense, regulatory agencies are not only the ex-
ecutors of administrative activity but also the holders of administrative
powers, after which they appear in the role of the so-called independent
governing bodies (agencies), and may also have certain judicial, legisla-
tive or regulatory powers.7
There is no single view on the legal nature of independent agencies,
whether they are legislative or administrative authorities or the fourth
branch of government, as was stated in the 1937 Report of the Special
Commission appointed by US President Roosevelt. The latter statement
challenges the principle of the separation of powers among the three

javnih agencija u sistemu podele vlasti, dok. disertacija, Pravni fakultet u Beogradu,
2013, p. 13.
4
M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 51. I.
Koprić, A. Musa, V. Đulabić, Europski standardi regulacije službi od općeg interesa, Hr-
vatska javna uprava, 3, 2008, p. 647–688.
5
The Independent Regulatory Agency is, as a rule, administered by a committee
or commission composed of a larger number of members appointed by the President
of the United States. B. Smerdel, Evolucija predsjedničke vlade u SAD – kongresni veto,
doktorska disertacija, Zagreb 1984, p. 258.
6
B. Schwartzz, Administrative Law, Boston – Toronto 1984, p. 1–32.
7
P. Dimitrijević, Upravno pravo, opšti deo, Sven, Niš 2013, p. 139.

109
branches of government (the legislative, the executive and the judicial)
enshrined in the US Constitution.8
Regulatory agencies adopt their regulations in relevant administra-
tive procedures. In the US, agency procedures are unified and standard-
ized. Before the adoption of the Administrative Procedure Act (1946),
there was no standardized procedure for passing regulations in federal
agencies.
The regulations of the US federal agencies may be: a) legally bind-
ing (such regulations have an external effect because they determine
the rights and obligations of the State and people outside the agencies),
and b) legally non-binding (such regulations include the interpretation
of regulations and general policy provisions determining the direction
in which the agency intends to use its quasi-legal powers). The legally
binding regulations are legislative enactments regulating public con-
duct (which are as legally binding as the laws adopted by Congress) and
procedural regulations regulating the organization and functioning of
the administrative agencies. The US Administrative Procedure Act pre-
scribes the procedure for enacting legislative acts, as the most import-
ant ones, while other regulations (procedural, interpretative and general
policy provisions) are issued in special procedure.9

1. American Agency Tradition аnd Experience

1. Constitutional Concept. Due to the long tradition of the American

agency model, the US is perceived as a paradigm of a regulatory state
where most of the administrative functions are vested in various agencies.
Generally, agencies may be divided into two groups: agencies led by the
State Secretary which have the powers of a ministry, and agencies as
autonomous bodies which have regulatory or executive powers.
8
B. Smerdel, Evolucija predsjedničke vlade u SAD – kongresni veto, doktorska
disertacija, Zagreb 1984, p. 285.
9
The US Administrative Procedure Act (1946) provides for three different proce-
dures for the adoption of agency regulations: free, informal and formal proceedings.
Otherwise, these procedural rules may be amended by the Congress or the US Pres-
ident, in which case special “hybrid” procedures arise. For more details: M. Davinić,
Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 120.

110
 An important difference between the US and European agencies
lies in the fact that in the United States virtually all regulatory activities
are in the jurisdiction of agencies, whereas in Europe the formulation of
goals and rule-making are in the jurisdiction of legislative or executive
authorities while the operative tasks are in the jurisdiction of agencies.10
In order to better understand the agency model of governance op-
erating in the United States, it should be noted that the basic principle
of the US legal and political system is the principle of the separation of
powers, envisaged in the US Constitution and supplemented by the sys-
tem of check and balances, which prevents the excessive independence
of any branch of government (legislative, executive or judicial) and al-
lows for their mutual control. This principle is based on the principle of
the rule of law, which is exercised in practice by the separation of power,
as defined by Albert Venn Dicey.11
In the US legal system, the separation of powers functions as fol-
lows: the legislative power is exclusively vested in the US Congress, the
executive power is vested in the US President, and the judicial power
is vested in the courts (of federal and state jurisdiction). As this princi-
ple operates on the basis of a strict division of powers among the three
branches of government, including certain powers of mutual control
(checks and balances), the executive power (embodied in the US Presi-
dent) has a highly specific organizational structure. The executive power
is exercised by the President of the United States, with the assistance
of secretaries of certain administrative departments who make up his
informal cabinet.12 The principle of check and balances comes to the
fore when appointing the heads of these departments because the pres-
ident can do so only with the consent of the Senate, which is (as a rule)
required to approve the presidential appointment.13 The President may
10
T. Christensen, P. Laegreid, Regulatory Reforms and Agencification, Stein Rok-
kan Centre for Social Studies, Working Paper No. 6, 2005, p. 140.
11
I. Loveland, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights, Oxford
University Press, London 2006, p. 56.
12
The Cabinet does not represent a collegial body, as is the case with a government
composed of ministries, so it has no responsibility to the Congress. M. Jovičić, Ustavni i
politički sistemi, Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu, Beograd 2006, p. 626.
13
Members of the cabinet are mainly elected by the presidents from the ranks of
their closest associates and personal friends. As a rule, they are not experts in their
areas, but their role is of a political nature.

111
at any time replace members of his cabinet and appoint new ones, if he
considers that they do not pursue his policy. This creates a strict hier-
archy of bodies that are accountable to the President. These authorities
are formally considered to be agencies, regardless of whether the term
“agency” is included in the name of the authority, as defined in the 1946
Administrative Procedure Act and confirmed by the US Supreme Court
decisions.14
The United States have a long tradition in the development of agen-
cies. The first agencies were introduced into the US legal system by the
end of the 18th century. In 1887, Congress formed the Interstate Com-
merce Commission as the first independent regulatory agency; it had
wide administrative and regulatory powers, and was tasked to solve
problems professionally, efficiently and independently, without undue
political influence. Subsequently, a large number of other independent
regulatory agencies were created with the aim of effectively regulating
the economy and other areas.15 The basic desire was to professionalize
and depoliticize the public administration by ensuring managerial au-
tonomy and autonomy in policy implementation.16
The number of agencies increased in the 20th century, especially
during the economic crisis of the 1930s and the New Deal, instituted
by President Franklin Roosevelt, when a number of independent regu-
latory agencies (IRAs) were created, due to the need to solve economic
problems and create conditions for the preservation of order and the
development of the American society. In fact, these agencies were de-
signed to effectively deal with economic problems because the Presi-
dent was upset by the sluggishness and inefficiency of the complex US
administration. The next set of agencies was created under President
Lyndon Johnson and continued during President Richard Nixon’s term
of office. These presidents created numerous organizations outside the
existing cabinet structures (ministries). These agencies could act more
14
J. Vučković, Položaj javnih agencija u sistemu podele vlasti, dok. disertacija,
Pravni fakultet u Beogradu, 2013, p. 35.
15
M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 221.
16
Agencies also deal with individual cases (e.g. violation of anti-monopoly reg-
ulations), have control of the Congress or the President (not direct), but the Federal
Court is entitled to assess the constitutionality of their activities, in addition to other
forms of control.

112
autonomously but they were directly accountable to the president. They
were much more oriented towards the business sector than to the public
sector. Congress constantly endeavoured to exercise control over the ad-
ministration because there was fear that the growth of agency autonomy
might reduce the possibility to control them.
It is estimated that more than two thousand different types of agen-
cies, employing nearly three million employees, are operating in the US
system today. Agencies are given broad powers, which Congress will
endeavour to limit by defining the rules of procedure for passing regula-
tions, decision-making in individual cases, as well as the procedure for
judicial review of these decisions.17
Given their overall number and diversity of issues they regulate,
agencies have become an important factor in organizing the citizens’
everyday life. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a tendency to simplify
procedures, accompanied by the analysis of efficiency and management
costs, which led to reducing the number of agencies and abolishing in-
dividual agencies. However, the number of agencies in the US admin-
istrative system is still large, and their impact on everyday life is still
significant.
One of the basic characteristics of agencies is efficiency, which is
due to the expertise and their specific organizational structure. Expert
staff in agencies can resist the direct political influence, and this has af-
fected their institutional position. In the American legal tradition, polit-
ical influence is not hidden and it is even considered legitimate because
it focuses on practical solutions to particular problems. Besides, it is
presumed that these bodies composed of experts will be able to reduce
the political influence to a reasonable extent, or redirect it towards find-
ing a specific solution to the problem at hand.
Agencies are established on the basis of the law passed by Congress,
by means of which the newly established agencies are delegated relevant
authorities. Congress determines the scope of agency activities; the ex-
17
The US Administrative Procedure Act (APA) codified the precedent right con-
tained in the appealate and the Supreme Court judgments, but it is also envisaged
that a number of special laws regulate the work of the agencies, with the possibility of
introducing a more stringent regime for controlling their work. Administrative Proce-
dures Act, available at https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/Courses/study_aids/adlaw/ (accessed
on 2 August 2019).

113
ecutive power controls their work, especially when it comes to agencies
under its direct control, and the courts control whether the agencies in
performing their activities comply with the Constitution and laws.
2. American Agency Organisation. In the first part of Chapter 5,
the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act defines agencies as “any authority
in the US Government, whether within or under the control of another
authority, not including the Congress, the courts, and the District of
Columbia.”18 This definition of agency is broad because it encompasses
a large number of different authorities and bodies.
When talking about types of agencies, they first of all include dif-
ferent administrative sectors (departments) headed by a head officer ap-
pointed by the President. The administrative sectors (departments) can
be organized as agencies with different names, such as: service, admin-
istration (directorate), bureau (office), etc. They are headed by a head
officer appointed by the President and approved by the Senate, although
they may also be appointed by the head of the respective department
which the agency is part of. The examples of agencies within individual
departments are the Food and Drug Administration in the Healthcare
Department or the Federal Research Bureau in the Justice Department.19
There is also a large number of important agencies outside the ad-
ministrative departments but they are still part of the executive branch.20
They are headed by a supervisor who is also appointed by the Presi-
dent.21 Several dozen executive agencies are outside the department’s
18
In the 1992 case Franklin v. Massachusetts (505 U.S. 788), the US Supreme
Court took the stance that the Administrative Procedure Act also excluded the US
President from this definition. M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije,
Beograd 2004, p. 87.
19
M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 88.
20
It is estimated that there are about seventeen such agencies (also known as inde-
pendent executive agencies), some of which employ tens of thousands of people, and
some just a few hundred. These are: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Small
Business Administration (SBA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), etc. Notably, when the CIA was
established in 1947, the Department of Defense lobbied for that agency to be under
its control, or within its composition. The Congress rejected this because it considered
that the body dealing with espionage must first of all be under civil control. The same
situation occured when NASA was founded in 1958.
21
Agencies headed by directors, which are under the direct control of the Pres-
ident (which means that he can replace the directors at any time if he is dissatisfied

114
cabinet and they are directly accountable to the President.22 They also
constitute the executive power, through which its work is operational-
ized, considering that there are no ministries in the US legal system, as
is the case with the countries of the European-continental legal system,
as well as Great Britain.
The agency’s work is entirely under the control of the President, as
well as the courts of general (not specialized) jurisdiction. The US Pres-
ident has the right to bring the so-called “executive decisions,” which
have the power of a federal law; thus, the President can abolish any de-
cision of the agency.
US agencies appear in different areas, under different names: ad-
ministrative departments, agencies within administrative departments
(services, bureaus, administrations), agencies outside administrative
departments, independent regulatory agencies, and independent state
corporations.23
The first two types of agencies are part of the executive power and
they are subject to the direction and control of the US President. The
third type of agency performs tasks at the federal level, independent of
external influences of other institutions. Independent state corporations
perform tasks in areas that are most frequently in the hands of the pri-
vate sector.
(1) Administrative departments are the basic type of administrative
bodies and they are a special type of agency. Their heads (secretaries)
form the President’s informal cabinet, except for the officials in charge
of the justice department.24 Apart from the administrative departments,
other agencies are of great importance as well.
(2) Administrative departments include certain agencies, for exam-
ple: the Food and Drug Administration within the Health and Social Ser-

with their work) are different from agencies headed by a collegial body (regulatory
agencies); from the aspect of the separation of power, this creates certain dilemmas in
the American jurisprudence in view of the legal position of these regulatory agencies.
22
К. Verhoest, S. Van Thiel, G. Bouckaert, P. Laegreid, Government Agencies:
Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 69.
23
M. Davinić, Pojam, vrste i aktivnosti federalnih agencija u pravnom sistemu
SAD, J. Ćirić (priredio), „Uvod u pravo SAD“, Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd
2008, p. 72–73.
24
M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 87–88; R.
Marković, Ustavno pravo i političke institucije, Službeni glasnik, Beograd 1999, p. 219.

115
vices Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation within the Justice
Department, the Federal Aviation Administration within the Transport
Department. These agencies can have different names (such as: service,
administration, bureau, office, etc. They are headed by senior officers,
such as the administrator or the director, appointed by the US President
(based on the opinion and the approval of the Senate) and the head of a
department.
(3) A large number of agencies are located outside the administra-
tive departments, but they are still within the executive power (such
as: the Central Intelligence Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency,
the Social Security Administration, etc.). They have a great deal of signifi-
cance and financial means. The heads of these agencies are appointed by
the US President, based on the opinion and the approval of the Senate.
(4) In addition to the agencies that are part of the executive author-
ity and under the direct control of the US President, as the chief exec-
utive officer, there are agencies outside the executive branch of govern-
ment. These are independent regulatory agencies, which do not belong to
any administrative department, nor are they under the direct control of
the US President or the head of any department.25 It raises the question
whether they are part of the executive branch.
These agencies are collective bodies because they are headed by sev-
eral persons appointed by the US President, but members of one po-
litical party (primarily the president’s party) can make only a simple
majority in this collective body, while the others must belong to another
political party. In addition, all members of this collegial body are ap-
pointed for a specific period, and they can be discharged only if there is
a clear reason, which is not the case with the heads of other agencies.26
In the United States, there were about 15 such agencies in 2004.
These independent bodies had to be established in order to regulate
certain areas at the national level (e.g. railway transport, banking, oil
25
J. M. Beermann, Administrative Law, Aspen Law & Business, New York
2000, p. 3.
26
When President Bill Clinton replaced George Bush Sr. as president of the Unit-
ed States in 1992, he fired all appointed officials in agencies under his control, who did
not themselves resign. He brought his party members or sympathizers to their place.
This is not possible in independent regulatory agencies. Refernced by: M. Davinić,
Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 90.

116
industry, steel production, etc.) which were very complex, dynamic and
politically risky to be regulated by Congress.27
The independence of regulatory agencies in relation to the US Pres-
ident (as the head of the executive) is based on the fact that the US Pres-
ident cannot replace persons heading independent agencies, that it may
be difficult to influence their work, etc. However, the independence of
these agencies is not absolute because the president appoints the chair of
the agency (based on the opinion and the approval of the Senate) from
the ranks of its members. Although the presiding agency official cannot
make decisions on behalf of the agency alone (given that a simple ma-
jority of the collective body members is needed for any decision), the
position of the agency chair is very influential and often crucial to the
position of other agency members.
(5) Independent state corporations are institutions which are estab-
lished for the provision of services traditionally performed by the pri-
vate sector (e.g. mail delivery, electricity supply, securing transport ser-
vices, etc.). Due to the social significance of these activities, they are not
(or not completely) left to the private sector; thus, they are regulated and
provided by the state. Similarly to independent regulatory agencies, the
committee members are appointed by the US President (based on the
opinion and the approval of the Senate), but here the independence of
the manager is much higher; his authorities are similar to the authorities
vested in a private company director.28
The US agency model is a complex system because agencies do not
exist only at the federal level. They are both at the state level and the
local level. The state and local agency levels are very important for the
autonomy of the agencies because they are managed by independently
elected officials, and this independent electoral status guarantees a sub-
stantial autonomy in relations with the governor.
27
The Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the like.
Compare: J. M. Beermann, Administrative Law, Aspen Law & Business, New York
2000, стр. 3; M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 89.
28
M. Davinić, Pojam, vrste i aktivnosti federalnih agencija u pravnom sistemu
SAD, J. Ćirić (priredio), „Uvod u pravo SAD“, Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd
2008, p. 71.

117
 Agencies perform a range of tasks and functions at all levels (fed-
eral, state and local), thus greatly affecting the citizens’ lives.29 Feder-
al agencies are the most widespread form of agencies and they play a
major role in the functioning of the entire state apparatus. They make
policy-related decisions in diverse areas. The activities of these agencies
may include: distribution of social assistance, issuance of licences and
permits, regulation of citizen activities, and organization and manage-
ment of state property. Congress generally directs the work of federal
agencies, leaving these authorities enough space to use their discretion-
ary powers. Federal agencies are established by the legislative acts of
Congress, which also determines their mandate.
3. Agency duties. Federal agencies were first set up to stabilize the
economy operating on the basis of private initiative, to mitigate the
extremes of the “free” i.e. unregulated markets, and to provide financial
security for citizens. The process of transferring powers to agencies in the
United States began at the beginning of the 19th century by adopting by-
laws (regulatory acts), and this practice was justified by court decisions.
Agencies were formed on the basis of legislative act by means of which
Congress delegated authority to the agencies. In a decision of 1927, the
US Supreme Court took a position that the delegation of authorities was
allowed only if Congress had approved the power of the agency under
the law.30
Federal agencies have the right to make regulations (quasi-legisla-
tive powers), but also the powers to resolve specific administrative mat-
ters (administrative powers) and quasi-judicial powers.31
Agency activities and tasks can be divided into several groups. The
first one is the distribution of social assistance.32 The US started per-
29
B. Ginsberg, T. J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, We the people, An Introduction to Amer-
ican Politics, W. W. Norton & Company, New York – London 1997, p. 11.
30
B. M. Jacq, Administrative Law, Aspem Law, New York 2000, p. 11.
31
The Supreme Court’s judgment of 1932 states that there are no obstacles to the
transfer of judicial powers to agencies, as long as Congress allows judicial review of the
acts of agencies arising out of these powers.
M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, Dosije,
Beograd 2004, p. 91 onwards.
32
The agency’s assistance in carrying out these tasks is significant because agen-
cies are organized to work efficiently, if they are skilled and trained to determine the
programs and conditions for obtaining assistance to people in need (the elderly, people

118
forming this activity through agencies at the time of the economic crisis
in the 1930s, and continued providing such assistance in the 1970s and
1980s. Today, given the global economic crisis, the provision of social
assistance is more important than ever.
Agency activities are also significant in the field of issuing permits
and licenses for performing activities in certain areas of social life (tele-
communications, energy, environmental protection, traffic, etc.). Agen-
cy work is primarily aimed at companies that provide services in these
areas, most frequently by evaluating the agency’s compliance with the
conditions and prescribed criteria for the provision of services, which is
a requirement for the company to obtain a license. In addition, agencies
often limit the duration of these permits in order to encourage compa-
nies to perform their jobs in line with high quality standards. Finally,
agencies usually decide on the prices (fees) they can charge for their
services.33
Among other things, based on their wide discretionary powers,
agencies issue decisions regulating different citizen activities and, thus,
they determine the public policy in different areas of social life. For ex-
ample, agencies in charge of public health protection prescribe strict
rules on working conditions in companies and specific workplaces, the
equipment that workers have to use depending on the work they per-
form, provide an annual list of the most common work-related illnesses
and injuries which workers need to report, etc.34 Also, the US Food and
Drug Administration prescribes rules important for citizens’ nutrition,
with the aim of preventing various diseases, ensuring that food meets
relevant sanitary and health safety standards for consumption, ensuring
the quality of medicines used by humans and animals, and ensuring that

with special needs, people with disabilities, poor members of the population, etc). M.
Davinić, Pojam, vrste i aktivnosti federalnih agencija u pravnom sistemu SAD, J. Ćirić
(priredio), „Uvod u pravo SAD“, Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd 2008, p. 83.
33
For example, these activities are performed by agencies such as the Federal
Communication Commission, which is responsible for broadcasting activities, or the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which issues licenses for the construction and
operation of hydroelectric power stations. M. Davinić, Koncepcija upravnog prava
Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 93.
34
Occupatonal Safety and Health Administration. Available at: www.osha.gov
(accessed on 31 March 2019).

119
all food and medicine products should be presented to the public in an
accurate, true and timely fashion.35
As stated agency activities cover all of the areas important for the
functioning of society and its citizens: distribution of social assistance,
licensing, regulation of citizens’ activities and organization, and man-
agement of state property, The main activity of a large number of federal
agencies is the protection of natural resources (forests, lakes, national
parks, etc.) which are owned by the state.36
In order to perform all these activities, agencies have specific mech-
anisms at their disposal, such as rulemaking and decision-making on
controversial issues in accordance with the Federal Administrative Pro-
cedure Act.37 The adoption of regulations is a distinctive feature of the
so-called regulatory agencies and it represents a certain type of qua-
si-legislative authority. However, the powers that are vested in certain
agencies inevitably bring confusion into the operation of this principle.38
Although the legislator has set a framework in which agencies make
regulations, they still have quite broad discretionary powers to deal with
certain issues. Thus, they can issue decisions regulating the activities of
individuals and organizations, they can ensure the application of these
regulations in practice, and they may impose certain sanctions in the
event of absence of relevant regulations.

35
Available at: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/fda-rules-and-regula-
tions (accessed on 31 March 2019).
36
M. Davinić, Pojam, vrste i aktivnosti federalnih agencija u pravnom sistemu SAD,
J. Ćirić (ur.), „Uvod u pravo SAD”, Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd 2008, p. 84.
37
Although the 1946 US Administrative Procedure Act actually set the standards
for the work of these agencies, in some ways, it also set the framework beyond which
agencies could not move, without excessive involvement in editing the way the agency
operates.
38
In American legal theory, this is the so-called the Doctrine of Delegation, ac-
cording to which, in order to address everyday problems in different areas, Congress
may delegate appropriate authority to agencies so that they can successfully perform
their functions. However, Congress may do so in a limited number of cases, where-
by the Supreme Court is responsible for accessing the merits in each case. Primarily
created by the Supreme Court decisions, this theory starts from the functional inter-
pretation of the US Constitution embodied in the stance that the founders of the Con-
stitution actually had in mind the creation of an operational government. M. Davinić,
Koncepcija upravnog prava SAD, Dosije, Beograd 2004, p. 223.

120
 2. Serbian Agencies System

1. Concept and Characteristics. Public agencies were introduced in

the administrative system of the Republic of Serbia by the adoption of
the Public Agencies Act (2005) and other subject-specific legislative acts
(the Public Services Act, the Public Administration Act, the Planning
and Construction Act, the Telecommunications Act, the Broadcasting
Act, the Security Information Agency Act, the Waste Management Act),
as well as by certain Government regulatory acts (e.g. the Decree on
the General Secretariat and other Government Services). However,
there are significant differences in their legal position, organization,
competences and powers. Public agencies are established as bodies of
authority, organizations and services, which determines their status in
the Serbian administrative system.
Agencies are considered to be autonomous in performing their ac-
tivities because they have the status of a legal person which is acquired
by their entry into the public (court) register. However, it does not apply
to all agencies.
Public agencies are established by the decision of a competent au-
thority (such as the Government acting on behalf of the Republic of
Serbia, in the capacity of a founder). The founder of a public agency may
be either the Government (acting on behalf of the Republic of Serbia) or
an Autonomous Province and a local self-government unit. The founder
may not administer or direct the operation of a public agency, nor can
the founder make the work of a public agency comply with the work of
the state administration bodies.
A public agency is an organization which is established for the pur-
pose of performing a wide range of developmental, professional or reg-
ulatory activities of general public interest, particularly given the fact
that such bodies may be more efficient in performing these activities
than the bodies of state administration and, principally, if they may be
financed from the fees paid by the users of the public agency services.
There is a large number of different public agencies, such as:
1. Privatization Agency
2. National Agency for Regional Development
3. Urban Planning Agency

121
 4. Business Registers Agency
5. Bankruptcy Supervision Agency
6. Medicines and Medical Equipment Agency
7. Republic Broadcasting Agency
8. Energy Resources Agency
9. Security Information Agency
10. Anti-corruption Agency
11. Licencing Agency
12. Military Security Agency (MSA) and Military Intelligence
Agency (MIA), etc.39
Public agencies may concurrently perform developmental, profes-
sional and regulatory activities as well as other devolved functions per-
taining to the purpose of their establishment. They are fully autonomous
in their work, which is a result of the professional nature of the assigned
tasks. They are independent in terms of their operations, which implies
that neither the founder nor the service users may have a prevalent in-
fluence on the decision-making processes of the public agency author-
ities. Last but not least, they are also financially independent as they are
primarily funded from the fees paid by the service users.
A public agency may be founded if the developmental, professional
and regulatory activities do not require a constant and direct political
supervision, if the agency may perform the assigned tasks more effi-
ciently than a state administration body, and particularly if the agency
activities may be fully or predominantly funded from the fees paid by
the service users.
Public agencies are a specific kind of quasi-governmental entities
which are assigned to perform specific administrative functions. By
means of subject-specific acts, public agencies may be delegated some
39
The Public Agencies Act (Official Gazette of RS, no. 18/2005 and 81/2005). In
addition to this Act which provides a general national legal framework concerning
public agencies, there are subject-specific legal acts which regulate the organization
and the activities of every single public agency. In term of legality, professional con-
duct, political neutrality, impartiality, the use of the official language and alphabet, the
educational requirements and professional qualification of public servants performing
the assigned public administration duties, and the specific administrative proceedings,
the operation of a public agency is subject to the applicable law governing the opera-
tion of the state administration.

122
specific powers to perform certain state administration functions (those
which they may be vested with), such as:
1) the regulatory function – adopting regulations governing
the enforcement of legal acts and other general acts enacted
by the National Assembly and the Government (these
regulations must comply with the regulations adopted by the
state administration bodies);40
2) delivering first-instance decisions on administrative matters
(where the director of a public agency delivers the decision
whereas the competent Ministry in charge of public agency
activities reviews appeals against the administrative decision);
3) issuing public documents and keeping public records; and
4) providing administrative supervision.
The managing bodies of a public agency are the Managing Board and the
Director. In order to achieve the goals and objectives of the established public
agency, it is possible to set up territorially deconcentrated units.
The competent Ministry is in charge of supervising the public agen-
cy operations in the course of performing the delegated state adminis-
tration activities.
2. The Legal Status and Types of Public Agencies. Being subject to
different legal regimes, public agencies may be difficult to classify into
distinctive categories and types. According to their legal status, pub-
lic agencies may be classified into four or five groups: public agencies
established as quasi-governmental public entities with specific public
authorities (public services); public agencies established as other or-
40
The regulatory activities of a public agency include adopting regulations on
enforcing legal acts and other general acts enacted by the National Assembly and the
Government. By their nature and designation, the regulations issued by a public agen-
cy must comply with the regulations enacted by the of state administration bodies.
The regulations are adopted by the Managing Board of a public agency and they are
published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. Before publishing the regu-
lations, the public agency is obliged to obtain an opinion on the constitutionality and
legality of the regulations from the competent Ministry in charge of the public agency
activities; in turn, the competent Ministry is obliged to serve the public agency with a
recommendation explaining how to make the regulations comply with the Constitu-
tion, a specific legal act, regulatory act or other general legal act enacted by the Nation-
al Assembly and the Government.

123
ganizations which have a special position outside the state adminis-
tration framework; public agencies established as state agencies, i.e. as
“the Government professional services”; public agencies established as
special (state) administrative organizations in the state administration
system; and sui generis agencies which may not be classified into either
of the four groups.
Agencies established as public services have the status of a legal per-
son whose rights, duties and liabilities are regulated by the law (the Pub-
lic Services Act) and the statute. They are founded by the Republic of
Serbia. The competent bodies of administration perform the administra-
tive and professional supervision over the activities that the agency has
been vested with. Agencies of this type are: the Agency for the Regional
Development, the Tobacco Agency, the Urban Planning Agency etc.
Agencies established as other organizations outside the state ad-
ministration framework have the status of autonomous and indepen-
dent organizations with public powers. They are autonomous organiza-
tions, for which reason they are also called agencies sui generis. The legal
position of these agencies is regulated by subject-specific legislative acts.
The examples of this type of agencies include the Telecommunications
Agency and the Public Broadcasting Agency.
Agencies established as professional services of the Government
perform professional, operative, organizational, administrative and
technical activities for the Government. They do not have administra-
tive powers to decide on administrative matters, to perform adminis-
trative supervision and other administrative functions. Thus, they are
outside the state administration system, both in terms of their overall
organization and their immediate operation. Examples of this type of
agencies are the Agency for the Accreditation of Health Institutions, the
Agency for the Development of State Administration, the River Traf-
fic Development Agency, Energy Agency, the Environment Protection
Agency etc.
Agencies established as special organizations have a legal position
of state authorities which perform professional activities. These agencies
include the Security and Information Agency and the Recycling Agency.
According to their legal nature, public agencies may have a dual
character: they may be part of the state administration system (such as

124
the agencies founded by the Government or the agencies established
as special administrative organizations),41 as well as the system of qua-
si-governmental public administration (such as public agencies found-
ed by an autonomous province or a local self-government).42 The ar-
gument that public agencies do not fall into the system of state bodies
because they are autonomous organizations is unacceptable because the
principle of autonomy is the organizational principle of the state ad-
ministration, whereas there are agencies which have a status of special
(administrative) organizations of the state administration. Consequent-
ly, administrative agencies are entities which are fully autonomous from
the state which has established them; on the other hand, public agencies
are not non-autonomous quasi-governmental entities (such as institu-
tions and enterprises).
All previously explained forms of public agencies in Serbia have
strong similarities with their U.S. counterparts, and are a result of strong
influence of U.S. legal system on contemporary Serbian institutions.
In the third part of the paper, we will address the drawbacks and
inefficiencies of the contemporary public agencies system and the pos-
sibilities for its further improvement.

3. Public Agencies Reform

Public agencies are a modern organizational form whose efficiency

and legitimacy have almost mythical proportions.43 The public sector
has been subject to extensive privatization. At first, the agencification
process included economic activities, telecommunications, transport,
energy, and then it expanded to social services, especially health and
education. Agencification is given legal effect by means of contract, par-
ticularly for performing tasks related to security and public order. The
state manages and regulates the provision of services that are in the pub-
41
S. Lilić, Upravno pravo – Upravno procesno pravo, Belgrade: Faculty of Law,
2008, p. 282.
42
Z. Tomić, Opšte upravno pravo, Belgrade: Faculty of Law, 2009, p. 171.
43
C. Pollitt, C. Talbot, J. Caulfield, A. Smullen, Agencies: How Governments do
things Through Semi-autonomous Organizations, Palgrave MacMillan, 2004.

125
lic interest, and citizens as public administration partners begin to bear
part of the responsibility for the general welfare.44
As agencies increasingly take over the functions of the classical state
administration, they are almost becoming the basic organizational form
of public administration. Concurrently, the issue of agency autonomy
and control emerges as the basic issue of the agency model of govern-
ment.45 There is a need for further normative regulation of this matter
which should set the boundaries of their activities and thus create a sol-
id legal framework for the efficient operation of agencies. As a substitute
for established forms of political accountability, institutional innovation
is reflected in the creation of new forms of supervision, which are pri-
marily reflected in citizen participation, transparency of agency work,
performance assessment and exclusion of agency directors from politi-
cal and private interests (ministers and tycoons). Agency management
structures are given managerial freedom to decide on the organizational,
personnel and financial elements important for the operation of agen-
cies. Thus, agencies develop their functional specializations. However,
this relatively broad agency autonomy in decision-making should be
subject to performance management and assessment. This is required
by the basic principles of a state governed by the rule of law, by the te-
nets of modern parliamentary democracy, as well as by the principle of
the separation of powers into the innovative institutional arena, which
has been notably affected by the agency redesigning process (agencifi-
cation).
The problem is that agencification is not the subject of an organized
strategy followed by appropriate legal regulation and control. All public
agencies do not have the “independent” status in accordance with the
law-proclaimed autonomy. Hence, there is a need to improve the legis-
lative framework and a stronger commitment to respect the mandate of
independent regulatory bodies. There are political and other pressures
on the work of public agencies as independent bodies. It further impos-
es the need to ensure depolitization of agencies in the decision-making
44
T. Christensen, Per Lćgreid, ur. Autonomy and Regulation. Coping with Agencies
in the Modern State. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2006.
45
C. Pollitt, Geert Bouckaert, Public Management Reform, A Comparative Analy-
sis, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004.

126
processes and transparency in their work, not just to change the name
(for example, in France).46
At the same time, the state is rather passive in providing the neces-
sary conditions for the independent operation of public agencies. This is
particularly prominent in the transition countries (Serbia, Croatia, etc.),
which lack relevant legal regulation on the agency model, with clear
criteria for establishing and designing organizational forms and legal
control mechanisms (appeal, administrative dispute, etc.).47 Thus, the
Constitution in Serbia does not regulate the position of public agencies.
There was an unsuccessful attempt in Montenegro to institutionalize
agencies in the so-called “Expert Constitution of Montenegro (2006).”
The need to precisely regulate the position of agency administration
rests on the particular situation in which public agencies have assumed
huge responsibilities which exceed the scope of public administration
affairs (of both state and non-state administrations), thus undermining
the “classical” separation of powers, while the state has not established
the clear boundaries of their responsibility and transparency of their
work. Such a state of affairs endangers the rule of law and its principles
and standards, and generates a risk of reaching a point where the power
of the executive branch may become virtually unapproachable. Agency
reform needs to simplify the multiplicity of agency models, which blur
the transparency, control, and accountability of agencies. However, the
reform also implies that agency capacities should be strengthened in a
controlled manner, while their competences should be expanded, both
in terms of their regulatory competences and in terms of entrusting ad-
ministrative tasks to agencies.
Agencification, as a form of administrative decentralization, may
turn into its opposite, by reducing the organizational divergence and
moving towards centralization. Excessive decentralization and over-
whelming establishment of agencies lead to the fragmentation of the
entire administrative system. Fragmentation reduces transparency, con-
trol and accountability, and ultimately leads to weakening the power
and influence of democratic institutions.
46
Verhoest K., van Thiel S., Bouckaert G., Laegreid P., Government Agencies:
Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 101.
47
F. Staničić, Pravna narav regulatornih agencija u Republici Hrvatskoj, Pravo u
gospodarstvu, 5/2010.

127
 Agencies have incurred a bad reputation as factors contributing to
the lack of transparency in the governance system and weakened ac-
countability, which eventually undermines parliamentary democracy as
a whole and creates a phenomenon of democratic “deficit” or “deficit”
of democracy. Agencies are perceived as “black boxes”, which consume
public money without control and hire employees according to unclear
criteria but turn out to be quite ineffective in their work. As their actual
effectiveness is not measured and evaluated, they cannot be held ac-
countable. For this reason, one of the goals of agency reforms in recent
times has been the strengthening of political control over agencies due
to the democratic deficit of the agency management model and the per-
ception that agencies are distant from citizens. This reinforces the trend
toward de-agencification, reflected in reducing the number of agency
bodies, especially those with a higher degree of autonomy, for the ben-
efit of executive agencies, which are under the direct influence and con-
trol of the executive authorities (the ministries).48
Media justifiably raise the ample questions about the scope of ac-
tivities of specific agencies, the purpose of their establishment, and the
actual forms of institutional control. As state public officials (ministers,
state secretaries, etc.), politicians “symbolically” bear the responsibility
for their departments, including the agencies that fall within the do-
main of agency policy. Yet, it is disputable to what extent they are re-
ally able to exercise control over the work of agencies. Administrative
and judicial practice shows that a degree of political influence, direction
and control over agencies was present, particularly in the early stages
of agencies’ work, when the agency directors acted upon the directions
of their “mentors” in the ministries. Over time, the political influence
gradually subsided, and agencies seemed to have finally become auton-
omous bodies with an independent position in the institutional arena;
in effect, the only change turned out to be a different center of political
influence over the same agency. Agency reform implies redefining the
legal relations between agencies and ministries, particularly in terms of
specifying the control mechanism and preserving agency autonomy.
48
К. Verhoest, S. van Thiel, G. Bouckaert, P. Laegreid, Government Agencies:
Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, р. 65.

128
 The main problem and task is the issue of maintaining control, co-
ordination, and quality in the fragmented agency administration.49 This
further means that a system of control or, to be more precise, state im-
pact on the agencies should be put in place to address any weaknesses,
problems and risks of the agency model. However, the impact should
actually be aimed and confined to the agency performance and results,
which essentially implies a professional rather than a political influence,
as the very substance of performance management. The key require-
ment in agency reform is that agency performance should be the only
criterion for assessing its work and the issue of responsibility. Such per-
formance control will urge the agencies to turn to their own resources
and to focus more closely on their goals instead of viewing their effec-
tiveness in abstract and broad terms.
Agency reform should contribute to controlling the performance
and results of the entire administration. The performance control should
be based on specific indicators, such as the number of complaints, the
level of maladministration, observed mistakes or bad practices, etc. The
reform should also include the economic dimension, considering that
agencies cause an increase in administrative costs. The reform should
further energize the efficiency and effectiveness of agencies’ work,
which ultimately affects the central government economy as a whole.
The reform of public agencies should be based on the achievements of
administrative cultures which are oriented towards performance/results
control rather than the “criteria” of political voluntarism of the current
political elite. Performance control through on-going studies and eval-
uation will set the entire agency system in motion and make it focus on
accountability, both towards service users and the state (executive and
legislative) authorities. Agency reform must reinstate the principles of
the rule of law and restore clear rules of the game in the institutional
arena, for the benefit of democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Many believe that this battle has already been lost in favour of the
executive authorities of the state government, which have been struc-
turally strengthened through executive agencies and the influence that
49
M. Power, The Theory of the Audit Explosion. Ferlie, Ewan, Laurence E Lynn, jr
and Christopher Pollitt, (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Public Management Oxford
University Press, 2005.

129
it has or can have on them. We believe that the battle has not been lost,
but that the existing system of agencification has to be reformed in a
wise and flexible manner, by gradually activating a reversible process
of de-agencification, which is necessary due to the agencies’ excessive
autonomy and the observed drawbacks of agencification. Therefore,
the “deficit” of democracy must also be rectified through the executive
agencies, which should be controlled by a wide range of instruments;
one of them is the financial impact and different types of control (as in
the United States).

Conclusion

In contemporary societies, the activities of the public administra-

tion have increasingly become more complex and versatile. This result-
ed in a need to establish new forms of organization and to reform the
administrative system in order to ensure a higher degree of profession-
alism and reduce the political influence in performing administrative
activities, set up higher operational standards, simplify the administra-
tive procedures, assure the transparency of decision-making process-
es and encourage competitiveness within the public sector. These are
the requirements of “the New Public Management”, which reaffirms the
principles of efficiency, productivity and profitability of the administra-
tive system. In majority of modern societies (such as the Serbian one),
public agencies have proved to be most adequate for accomplishing
these objectives (as demonstrated by their use in the USA).
But, despite undeniable advantages, the process of agencification
has brought many risks and problems in the operation of the admin-
istrative system. The main disadvantages are reflected in the fragmen-
tation of the administrative system, lack of transparency in the work of
agencies both within agencies and in the institutional arena, reducing
the level of supervision and control over agencies, as well as ministerial
responsibilities, increasing dysfunctionality of agencies, limiting their
autonomy, difficulties in balancing their autonomy in practice, and en-
suring control and accountability of public agencies. From the idea of
creating autonomous and independent bodies that have to make the ad-
ministrative system more efficient and effective, agencies have become

130
the long arm of politics and state administration. Among other things,
it distances them from citizens, who the agency administration should
serve either directly or indirectly.
Hence, there is a need for agency reform, which is embodied in the
concept of service management. The reform of public agencies should
be based on the attainments of administrative cultures which are ori-
ented to performance control rather than the “criteria” of political vol-
untarism of the current political elite. Performance control resting on
on-going studies and evaluation will set the entire agency system in mo-
tion and make it focus on accountability, towards service users and the
state (executive and legislative) authorities alike, for the ultimate benefit
of democratic institutions and the rule of law.

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Proofreading: Gordana Ignjatović, BA

Faculty of Law, University of Niš

132
Predrag Dimitrijević
Dejan Vučetić
Jelena Vučković

UTICAJ SAD NA SISTEM JAVNIH AGENCIJA U SRBIJI

Rezime

Autori analiziraju koncept i karakteristike srpskih javnih agencija

koje su uvedene u sistem Vlade Republike Srbije prilikom stupanja na
snagu Zakona o javnim agencijama (2005) i drugih posebnih zakona.
Sistem javnih agencija Republike Srbije posmatra se iz perspektive si-
stema javnih agencija u SAD, koji je inače služio kao uzor za razvoj si-
stema javnih agencija Republike Srbije. Nakon prezentovanja različitih
karakteristika oba sistema, autori se fokusiraju na pravnu poziciju, or-
ganizaciju, kompetentnost i moć javnih agencija u Republici Srbiji, gde
su ustanovljene kao deo organizacije uprave i davaoci usluga. U trećem
delu članka, autori se bave nedostacima i neefikasnošću današnjih siste-
ma javnih agencija i mogućnostima napretka.
Ključne reči: javne agencije, vlada, državna uprava, kvazivladina
administracija

133
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
UDC 343.2(497.11)
Miomira Kostić, PhD, full professor*
University of Niš, Faculty of Law (Serbia)
Gordan Pantić
Lawyer’s Chamber of Nis (Serbia)
Nikola Obradović
Lawyer’s Chamber of Nis (Serbia)

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP – REMINDER

OF THE BILATERAL TREATIES IN THE FIELD
OF CRIMINAL LAW FROM A CENTURY-LONG
PERSPECTIVE**

Abstract: In the article, the authors analyse that in 2010, the process of
negotiations between the Republic of Serbia and the USA on the conclusion of
an agreement on the extradition of the perpetrators of the most serious crimes
began. In negotiating the conclusion of such a bilateral agreement, the parties
referred to the The Treaty for the extradition of fugitives from justice conclud-
ed between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America, signed
in Belgrade on 25 October 1901 and its applicability for over a century. The
new bilateral treaty between the Republic of Serbia and the United States on
the conclusion of the extradition agreement on perpetrators of the most seri-
ous crimes has been confirmed by the 2019 Confirmation of Treaties between
the Republic of Serbia and the United States of America. The preamble to this
law makes it clear that the Contracting Parties invoke the The Treaty for the
extradition of fugitives from justice concluded between the Kingdom of Serbia
and the United States of America, signed in Belgrade on 25 October 1901. The
article also addresses the dilemmas associated with the implementation of the
European Arrest Warrant, the practice of being an EU.
Keywords: Serbian–American Relationship, Bilateral Treaties, Criminal
Law, extradition, European Arrest Warrant

*
[email protected]
**
The research is undertaken under the project No. 179046 that is financed by
the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic
of Serbia.

135
 Introduction

Ministry of Justice and Civil Service, Sector for International Legal

Assistance in Criminal Matters, published the Reviewed list of bilateral
and multilateral agreements for facilitating international legal assistance
in criminal and civil matters1 in February of 2014. The author of this
paper was particularly interested in the documents related to the estab-
lishment of bilateral relationships between Serbia (Kingdom of Serbia,
at the time) and the USA rather early in modern history. It is worth
mentioning that the earliest bilateral agreements the Kingdom of Serbia
concluded are those concluded almost a century ago with the following
sovereign states: Switzerland in 1887 (in effect since 1888), the Nether-
lands in 1896 (in effect since 1896), Great Britain in 1900 (in effect since
1901); USA in 1901 (in effect since 1902); Italy in 1922(in effect since
1931), and Albania in 1926 (in effect since 1929).2
The Treaty for the extradition of fugitives from justice, concluded
between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America on
1
Ažurirani spisak bilateralnih ugovora i multilateralnih konvencija od značaja za
odvijanje međunarodne pravne pomoći u krivičnim i građanskim stvarima (Reviewed list
of bilateral and multilateral agreements for facilitating international legal assistance in
criminal and civil matters), Belgrade, February, 2014 http://www.prosecutorsnetwork.
org/doc/Spisak_ugovora_februar_2014_MPDU.pdf, accessed on July 18, 2019.
For more details in: Međunarodni ugovori o pravnoj pomoći u krivičnim stvarima
(International agreements on legal assistance in criminal matters), Ministry of Justice
and Civil Service, Republic of Serbia,
https://arhiva.mpravde.gov.rs/lt/articles/medjunarodne-aktivnosti-eu-integraci-
je-i-projekti/medjunarodna-pravna-pomoc/medjunarodni-ugovori-o-pravnoj-po-
moci-u-krivicnim-stvarima.html, accessed on July 19, 2019.
2
Convention on extradition concluded between Serbia and Switzerland, November
16/28, 1887, in effect since 1888 (“Official Gazette”, no. 83/1888); Extradition treaty
concluded between Serbia and the Netherlands, February 28(March 11), 1896, in ef-
fect since 1896 (“Serbian Gazette”, no. 275/1896); Extradition treaty concluded between
Serbia and Great Britain, December 6, 1900, in effect since 1901 (“Serbian Gazette”, no.
35/1901); Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbia and the
United States of America, October 12/25, 1901, in effect since 1902 (“Serbian Gazette”,
no. 33/1902); Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbs, Cro-
ats and Slovenes and Italy, April 6, 1922, in effect since 1931 (“Official Gazette”, no.
42/1931); Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats
and Slovenes and the Republic of Albania, June 22, 1926, in effect since 1929 (“Official
Gazette”, no. 117/1929).

136
October 12/25, 1901 (referred to as Treaty further in the paper), came
into force in 1902 (“Serbian Gazette”, no. 33/1902). At the time when
the Treaty was concluded, the document known today as the European
Arrest Warrant was still an inconceivable concept.

Review of certain EU experiences

The reality of the European Union has triggered numerous debat-

able issues, primarily those referring to the state sovereignty and pro-
tection of the citizen rights in each of the Member States. It is important
to emphasize that the debatable issues, arising at the time of concluding
the bilateral Extradition Treaty between the Republic of Serbia and the
USA, in 2019,3are not, legally speaking, a point of exclusivity that creates
new polemics between the two countries because the issues arising in
the political context have already been discussed in numerous theoreti-
cal, scholarly and principally applicative debates.
The issue of the European integrations in the field of legal assistance
in criminal matters primarily refers to the European Arrest Warrant.
The European Union, founded by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992,
have become closely related to the political ideas of the Member States
with the purpose of determining certain issues, such as foreign affairs or
justice, which used to be considered the aspects of national sovereignty
in the past, so that these issues would be regulated at the European level
with joined efforts.
The principle of free trade, based exclusively on the commercial
agreement, which is one of the keystones of the European economic
community, proved not sufficient for the creation of a true community
of the states sharing common politics, laws and actions.
Therefore, besides the already concluded agreements on economy
(The European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community
and EURATOM) and on foreign affairs, the European states reached
a mutual agreement on cooperation in the fields of justice and home
affairs. This resulted in the creation of the-so-called “third pillar” of the
3
Law on ratification of the Extradition Treaty, concluded between the Republic of
Serbia and the United States of America, “Official Gazette of the RS – International
agreements”, number 2, February 18, 2019.

137
EU, following the first pillar, concerned with economy, and the second
pillar, related to foreign affairs.
The project on the construction of “the third pillar” could be real-
ized only by guaranteeing the cooperation in the fields of social pro-
tection and peace and by providing the opportunities for their further
development and improvement.
It was clear that up to the 1970s, a free exchange of people and
goods, as supported by the Treaty, had required the guarantees consid-
ering security and consistent application of justice principles.
The levels of security were questioned not only by the economic
entities but also by individual citizens, who feared that an uncontrolled
freedom of movement, provided within the EU borders, would create
a dangerous crack in the justice network, as regards the fact that this
freedom was not balanced by an efficient coordination in criminal in-
vestigations and mutual and instant acknowledgement of the penalty-
imposed by another country. In other words, criminals might benefit
from potential differences in the justice systems of the Member States
reflected in the possibility of avoidance of any sanctions or punishment,
whereas the borders within the EU, otherwise removed for its citizens,
were still recognizable by justice.
These requirements were initially fulfilled by the European Con-
vention on Extradition, opened for admission in Paris in 1957.Anyway,
the most significant reforms in the field of the criminal law coopera-
tion were accomplished by signing the Maastricht Treaty, whose Part VI
(“the third pillar“) supports the goal that “the citizens are to be provided
with a high level of security regarding freedom, safety and justice by
developing the cooperation of the Member States in the fields of politics
and justice regarding criminal matters, as well as prevention and repres-
sion of racism and xenophobia”.
All this necessitated the establishment of the Europol in 1995, the
European Judicial Network in 1998 and the Eurojust system in 2002.
The next step was the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s
Office in order to prosecute financial frauds against the EU and execute
the European arrest warrants issued by the member states.
These acts were based on the mutual trust between the Member
States. The execution of the judicial decisions made by another state or
the transfer of investigations onto that state’s investigators would not

138
have been possible unless the Member States had been confident about
the laws being essentially homogenous and fundamental guarantees be-
ing acknowledged.
The new forms of the international cooperation have always en-
tailed the decline of national sovereignty, especially in the intricate field
of crime repression and punishment.
The European Arrest Warrant, finally approved by the Council
Framework Decision on June 13, 2002, was later adopted by all the
Member States of the European Union.4
This new document met the demands of all the aforementioned en-
tities regarding security, which became an issue after the elimination of
borderlines between the member states. Namely, the rule that people
and goods could move freely within the borders of the European Union
had to be applied to court decisions and verdicts in order to prevent the
already removed barriers, which created a possibility for the evasion of
justice, from being raised again so that they would become an insur-
mountable obstacle for those who wanted to be protected by law.
Actually, the goal of the mutual adoption of court verdicts can be
accomplished only by examining various European justice systems that
are based on the common judicial culture. This principle can be found-
ed exclusively on the mutual trust in the structure and functioning of
the justice systems of other Member States of the European Union and
in the juridical apparatus that should guarantee the right to a fair trial.
Therefore, the European Arrest Warrant surpasses all the previously
used extradition systems since it presupposes a direct extradition of the
wanted persons.
The main novelty that this document has in comparison to the tra-
ditional extradition mechanism is that it enables a near-automatic ex-
tradition, which further strengthens the relationship between courts by
excluding any government interventions (or diplomatic influence).
However, this near-automatic characteristic does not obstruct the
control of judicial authorities that are to execute the warrant with regard
to court decisions made by another Member State. In fact, each author-
4
All the Member States were required to adopt the internal rules with the purpose
of confirming their own laws with reference to the Council Framework Decision until
December 31, 2003.

139
ity that has to execute the warrant will need to supervise the effects of
the arrest warrant as it regards potential reasons for not executing it and
considering other conditions determined by law.
The clause no. 8 in the Council Framework Decision says: “Deci-
sions on the execution of the European arrest warrant must be subject to
sufficient controls, which means that a judicial authority of the Member
State where the requested person has been arrested will have to make
the decision on his or her surrender”.
In short, automatism means that the court procedure is exempt
from political power and is thus purely a matter of law and justice.
The principal characteristic of the European Arrest Warrant is un-
doubtedly the fact that it is applied exterritorially since it is executed
in the territory of the state other than the state which has been legally
authorized to issue that warrant.
Generally speaking, the norm of any international agreement re-
quires that a state pass its own law on implementation, which is to be
applied in the home legal system. Therefore, the status of this norm in
the home legal system is equal to the home law that implements it.
Whereas the implementation law is usually the law in effect, the in-
ternational treaty – or, in this case, the rules originating from it – is
equal in status to the effective law in the home legal system.
Thus, the international rule implemented in the home legal system
follows the general principles that are the foundation of the adopted
acts in the chronological order. More importantly, it is the subject to the
constitutional control.
The Maastricht Treaty was applied in no different way. One effective
law implemented the Treaty so that the Treaty was accordingly of the
same legal status as the effective law of the state in question.
The Framework Decision lists 32 crimes that are subject to the Eu-
ropean Arrest Warrant. Consequently, the control of double incrimina-
tion is unnecessary, under the assumption that the crimes on the list are
to be regarded as crimes in all European countries.
According to certain lawyers, the request to cancel the double in-
crimination would create a dangerous void in the legal system which
would hinder the harmonization of various criminal legislations.
It might undermine “the principle of legality”, determined by Ar-
ticle 1 of the Serbian Criminal Codefrom 2005, whose application is

140
guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution. This could be particularly
problematic regarding two constituent parts of “the principle of legali-
ty”, the one that requires that the criminal offence be described in ac-
curate details, and the one which prescribes that an act is considered to
be a criminal offence liable to a corresponding punishemnt only by the
state law in effect.
Anyway, the last two principles are probably well protected by the
Framework Decision. This is enabled by a previous comparison of a cer-
tain offence and its description, contained in the effective state law on the
basis of which the warrant is issued by the judicial authority. However,
this empowers the judicial authority that is to execute the warrant to
check whether the criminal offence in question is congruent with the one
on the list of 32 criminal offences prescribed by the Framework Decision.
Yet, the cancellation of the request for the double incrimination is
based on the previous establishment of certain elements as common
to each case of the criminal offence regarding the legal systems of the
member states. This does not prevent the judicial authority from verify-
ing whether nomen iuris corresponds to the criminal offence which is
punishable according to the national legislation of one state.
In other words, the list of serious crimes liable to the issuing of the
European Arrest Warrant does not exclude – but presupposes – the
double incrimination.
Automatism in the application of the European Arrest Warrant
would be regarded as related to the limitation of freedom considering
the act passed by a foreign authority.
This lawyer’s justification causes a dilemma: the limitation of per-
sonal freedom would escape the constitutional control. Above all, there
would be no guarantees in regard to the independence and autonomy of
another state’s legal system. Then, it would mean that the other state’s act
would not have to be explained. Finally, the possibility of appeal would
not be guaranteed.
Other potential contradictions have not been found. Even the dif-
ferences evident in the legal systems of the Member States do not appear
to cause differences when applied.
Also, these difficulties would not emerge in those states which abol-
ished life imprisonment, either by law, as is the case in Switzerland, or
by the system of penitentiary institutions, as it has been done in Italy.

141
 Articles 5 and 2 of the Framework Decision stipulate an adequate
solution for the European Arrest Warrant issued for the crime punish-
able by life imprisonment (Serbia introduced a life sentence).
Article 5 states the following: “if the offence on the basis of which
the European arrest warrant has been issued is punishable by custodial
life sentence or life-time detention order, the execution of the said arrest
warrant may be subject to the condition that the issuing Member State
has provisions in its legal system for a review of the penalty or measure
imposed, on request or at the latest after 20 years, or for the application
of measures of clemency to which the person is entitled to apply for un-
der the law or practice of the issuing Member State, aiming at a non-ex-
ecution of such penalty or measure.”
The Framework Decision would particularly surpass the limitations
provided by the European law with regard to the European arrest war-
rant which are connected to the actions mutually undertaken in the field
of the judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
Actually, Article 31 e) of the Framework Decision guarantees the
harmonization of the criminal cases as it regards organized crime, ter-
rorism and drug trafficking.
However, Article 31 does not envision all possible forms of the ju-
dicial cooperation in criminal matters between the member states: it
refers only to one probable applied procedure.
Therefore, the Council adopted new forms of international coop-
eration, which also enable mutual acknowledgment of the judicial de-
cisions.
This provision actually states that the Council may “adopt the
framework decisions with the purpose of integrating the laws and reg-
ulations of the Member States. The goal to be reached by framework
decisions is the union of the Member States, but the Member States’
authorities decide upon the forms and methods. This shall not incur any
direct consequence”.
A problem might arise from the content of the Framework Decision,
no limitations within the “integration of the laws and rules of the Mem-
ber States” and the applied procedures as long as they would result in the
decrease of the Member State’s domain considering forms and methods.

142
 In accordance with the aforementioned, it does not mean that the
EU Treaty excludes other forms of cooperation apart from those leading
to “the integration of the laws and rules of the Member States”.
On the other hand, the majority of the emerging risks and fears are
not real.
Most of the assessments have not taken into account the fact that
the Framework Decision would be implemented into the Member State’s
legislation and that the Member State’s judicial authorities would always
decide upon the extradition.
Also, the innovations that characterize the new institutions are seen
as a deliberate evolution of the extradition procedure.
Certain objections have led to a revision of the debatable decisions
made after the Convention on Extradition were adopted in Paris in 1957.
This agreement clearly states which authorizations depend on the
judge who decides about the extradition and which of them depend on
the judge’s assessment of the case.
Any decision related to the control of the warrant reliability, just as
the one related to the control of the conditions necessary for keeping a
person in custody, lies in the court competences of the issuing Member
State.
Since the control by the judge of the executing Member State is just
a formality, the issuing Member States‘s decision about the arrest is not
to be motivated by an explicit obligation.
Unfortunately, the European states still have different political atti-
tudes towards important issues, which can be illustrated by their deci-
sion about the war in Iraq in 2003.
Yet, the European Arrest Warrant, which obliges all Member States
to apply it, is expected to contribute to the melting of the distrust still
present in the relationships between the Member States.

Instead of the conclusion

These briefly presented dilemmas related to the application of the

European Arrest Warrant may refer to any form of bilateral agreement
between two sovereign states about extradition. In addition, it is worth
mentioning that the negotiations about the surrender of the most se-

143
rious offenders between the Republic of Serbia and the USA started as
early as 2010.5 It was precisely the Convention of 1901 and its almost
century-long application that were alluded to by the proponents of this
treaty. A thorough browsing through the resources available on the In-
ternet have resulted in the discovery of the text which, among other
things, stated the fact regarding the extradition of one Bosnian citizen in
2016, in which case both states summoned the propositions prescribed
by the Convention.6 The new bilateral treaty was confirmed by the Law
on ratification of the Extradition Treaty between the Republic of Serbia
and the United States of America in 2019. The preamble of this Law
clearly stated that, based on the Treaty on Extradition signed between
the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America in Belgrade on
October 25, 1901, and on the fact that both the Republic of Serbia and
the United States of America continued to apply the propositions of that
agreement, it was necessary to conclude a new extradition treaty in or-
der that the cooperation between the two states in their struggle against
crime be more efficient.
On the other hand, the experience gained with the application of
the European Arrest Warrant is available and logical, and thus an inter-
esting test for numerous European countries. It infiltrates into the pre-
rogatives that have always pertained to the power of the state and have
been an explicit expression of the national sovereignty.
The majority of the assessments of the European Arrest Warrant
seem to deny the very principle of mutual trust in the particularity of the
legal systems, the fundamental principle of a new form of cooperation.
In short, they claim that the decision issued by one Member State would
not provide sufficient guarantees as would another state’s legal system.
The reform would have certainly been more efficient and consistent if the
basic rules had been postulated before the start of the mutual procedure.
5
US, Serbia Discuss Extradition Agreement, Representatives of Serbia and the U.S.
have begun negotiations on an agreement on the extradition of perpetrators of serious
crimes. May 21, 2010, https://balkaninsight.com/2010/05/21/us-serbia-discuss-extra-
dition-agreement/, accessed on July 19, 2019.
6
Basic v. Steck, 819 F.3d 897, 898 n.1 (6th Cir. 2016) (“On appeal, the parties agree
that the 1902 Treaty applies in this case since Bosnia is a successor state of the King-
dom of Serbia.”U:Extradition To and From the United States: Overview of the Law and
Contemporary Treaties; September 30, 2003 – October 4, 2016
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/98-958.html, accessed on July 19, 2019.

144
However, it was neither an easier nor a faster way. Nor was it an urgent
goal to be achieved. It must not be forgotten that the European Arrest
Warrant was created with the purpose of replacing a long and compli-
cated procedure of the extradition system with one fast and efficient
procedure, suitable for the struggle against new forms of crime and the
offenders who might escape justice due to the creation of open borders.
Europe, and certainly Serbia as a European country, and the USA
exist on two different continents. Yet, the struggle against crime and the
most severe criminal offences has to be transnational.

References

Ažurirani spisak bilateralnih ugovora i multilateralnih konvencija od

značaja za odvijanje međunarodne pravne pomoći u krivičnim i gra-
đanskim stvarima (Reviewed list of bilateral and multilateral agree-
ments for facilitating international legal assistance in criminal and
civil matters), Belgrade, February, 2014.
http://www.prosecutorsnetwork.org/doc/Spisak_ugovora_febru-
ar_2014_MPDU.pdf, accessed on July 18, 2019.
Basic v. Steck, 819 F.3d 897, 898 n.1 (6th Cir. 2016) (“On appeal, the
parties agree that the 1902 Treaty applies in this case since Bosnia
is a successor state of the Kingdom of Serbia.” In: Extradition To
and From the United States: Overview of the Law and Contemporary
Treaties; September 30, 2003 – October 4, 2016.
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/98-958.html, accessed on
July19, 2019.
Convention on extradition concluded between Serbia and Switzerland,
November 16/28, 1887, in effect since 1888 (“Official Gazette”, no.
83/1888).
Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbia and
the United States of America, October 12/25, 1901, in effect since 1902
(“Serbian Gazette”, no. 33/1902).
Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbs, Cro-
ats and Slovenes and Italy, April 6, 1922, in effect since 1931 (“Official
Gazette”, no. 42/1931).
Convention on extradition concluded between the Kingdom of Serbs, Cro-
ats and Slovenes and the Republic of Albania, June 22, 1926, in effect
since 1929 (“Official Gazette”, no. 117/1929).

145
Extradition treaty concluded between Serbia and the Netherlands, Febru-
ary 28(March 11), 1896, in effect since 1896 (“Serbian Gazette”, no.
275/1896).
Extradition treaty concluded between Serbia and Great Britain, December
6, 1900, in effect since 1901 (“Serbian Gazette”, no. 35/1901).
Law on ratification of the Extradition Treaty, concluded between the Re-
public of Serbia and the United States of America, “Official Gazette of
the RS – International agreements”, number 2, February 18, 2019.
Međunarodni ugovori o pravnoj pomoći u krivičnim stvarima (Interna-
tional agreements on legal assistance in criminal matters), Minis-
try of Justice and Civil Service, Republic of Serbia, https://arhiva.
mpravde.gov.rs/lt/articles/medjunarodne-aktivnosti-eu-integraci-
je-i-projekti/medjunarodna-pravna-pomoc/medjunarodni-ugovo-
ri-o-pravnoj-pomoci-u-krivicnim-stvarima.html, accessed on July
19, 2019.
US, Serbia Discuss Extradition Agreement, Representatives of Serbia and
the U.S. have begun negotiations on an agreement on the extradition
of perpetrators of serious crimes. May 21, 2010, https://balkanin-
sight.com/2010/05/21/us-serbia-discuss-extradition-agreement/,
accessed on July 19, 2019.

Proofreading: Ljiljana Janković, PhD

Miomira Kostić
Gordan Pantić
Nikola Obradović

SRPSKO-AMERIČKE VEZE – PODSEĆANJE NA BILATERALNE

UGOVORE IZ OBLASTI KRIVIČNOG PRAVA IZ VIZURE DUŽE
OD JEDNOG VEKA

Rezime

Godine 2010. godine otpočeo je proces pregovora između Republi-

ke Srbije i SAD o zaključenju sporazuma o izručenju učinilaca najtežih
zločina. U pregovorima oko zaključenja ovakvog bilateralnog, strane su
se pozivale na Konvenciju o izdavanju krivaca zaključenu između Kra-

146
ljevine Srbije i Ujedinjenih Američkih Država, potpisanu u Beogradu,
25. oktobra 1901. i njenu čak duže od veka primenljivost. Novi bilate-
ralni ugovor između Republike Srbije i SAD o zaključenju sporazuma o
izručenju učinilaca najtežih zločina potvrđen je Zakonom o potvrđiva-
nju ugovora između Republike Srbije i Sjedinjenih Američkih Država
o izručenju, iz 2019. godine. U preambuli ovog zakona jasno je napisa-
no da se strane ugovornice pozivaju na Konvenciju o izdavanju krivaca
zaključenu između Kraljevine Srbije i Ujedinjenih Američkih Država,
potpisanu u Beogradu, 25. oktobra 1901. godine.
U članku se autori takođe osvrću na dileme vezane za primenu
evropskog naloga za hapšenje, iz prakse bitisanja EU. Jasno je da ta-
kve dileme mogu biti iznesene za svaki oblik bilateralnog sporazuma
dve suverene države koji se odnosi na izručenje krivaca. S druge strane,
iskustvo u vezi sa evropskim nalogom za hapšenje je dostupno i jasno
i biće jedan interesantan test za mnoge evropske zemlje. Ne sme se za-
boraviti da je evropski nalog za hapšenje stvoren u nameri da zameni
dugu i složenu proceduru sistema ekstradicije jednim brzim i efikasnim
postupkom koji je podesan za suprotstavljanje novim oblicima krimi-
naliteta, čiji počinioci otvaranjem granica mogu da izbegnu pravdu. On
zadire u prerogative koji su uvek bili rezervisani za državnu moć i glavni
izraz nacionalnog suvereniteta.
Reforma pravosuđa, kao kontinuirani proces, sigurno bi bila mno-
go efikasnija i konzistentnija ako bi, pre stvaranja zajedničkog postupka,
bila postavljena osnovna pravila.
Evropska unija i Srbija u njoj i SAD bitišu na dva različita kontinen-
ta. Ali, borba protiv kriminaliteta i to njegovih najtežih oblika trebalo bi
da bude transnacionalna.
Ključne reči: Srpsko-američki odnosi, bilateralni ugovori, krivično
pravo, izručenje, evropski nalog za hapšenje

147
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
UDC 355.465.2(497.1)"1999"
Predrag Cvetković, PhD, full professor*
University of Niš, Faculty of Law (Serbia)

USA–SERBIA RELATIONS REINVENTED:

FOUNDATIONS FOR A NEW NARRATIVE

Abstract: It is of critical importance for Serbia as a nation to have sub-

stantially well-developed relations with the USA. It is a necessary condition
for the constructive and effective participation of Serbia in the Euro-Atlantic
integration process on equal terms. The success of this process inevitably de-
pends on the development of Serbia as a democratic state. This development is
possible only if Serbia–USA relations are furthered to a degree that satisfies the
mutual and particular interests of both countries. In the Republic of Serbia, the
issue of Serbia–NATO relations is largely perceived (in the public eye at least)
as a political issue. A breakthrough in understanding the relations between
the NATO and the Republic of Serbia will ensued by initiating the process
of its legitimization and making it the subject matter of unbiased expertise.
Taking a step forward in developing USA–Serbia relations requires a new ap-
proach, based on insisting on certain shared values, including (above all) trust
in democracy and reliance on democratic principles. Those values promote
protection and development of collective (horizontal) interests, such as hu-
man rights, freedom of expression, promotion of educational opportunities
and qualities, environmental protection, and alike. Once properly developed,
all these values will contribute to the development of democracy as the ulti-
mate expression of human freedom.
Keywords: Republic of Serbia, Western Balkan, NATO, International
relations, shared values

Introduction

This article rests on three basic premises.

First and foremost, it is of critical importance for Serbia as a na-
tion to have substantially well-developed relations with the USA. It is
*
[email protected]

155
a necessary condition for the constructive and effective participation
of Serbia in the Euro-Atlantic integration process on equal terms. The
success of this process inevitably depends on the development of Serbia
as a democratic state. This development is possible only if Serbia–USA
relations are furthered to a degree that satisfies the mutual and particu-
lar interests of both countries.
Second, in the Republic of Serbia, the issue of Serbia–NATO rela-
tions is largely perceived (in the public eye at least) as a political issue.
A breakthrough in understanding the relations between the NATO and
the Republic of Serbia will ensue by initiating the process of its legitimi-
zation and making it the subject matter of unbiased expertise.
The third premise involves a methodological issue. Namely, taking
a step forward in developing USA–Serbia relations requires a new ap-
proach, which implies:
• learning from the past rather than using it as an excuse for
more or less obvious failures;
• staying away from a priori “pro” and “con” argumentation;
• insisting on certain shared values, including (above all) trust in
democracy and reliance on democratic principles.

1. First Premise: SERBIA–USA Relations as the Vector for

Democracy Development

The history of the relations between USA and Serbia is well known.
It has had its ups and downs, longer or shorter periods of “light” and
“darkness”, and alternating periods of understandings and disagree-
ments. History is something to learn from; it shall not be used as a per-
petuum mobile generator of hate and struggle. It is true that formative
moments are not only times of freedom and creativity but also times
of struggle, uncertainty, instability and self-discovery.1 All this happens
among states. What is also true is that every obstacle and disagreement
can be overcome when there is:
1
Ringmar, Erik (1996) Identity, Interest and Action: A Cultural Explanation of
Sweden’s Intervention in the Thirty Years War, Cambridge University Press, New York.

156
 • maturity of one nation’s leadership;
• enough courage to choose the right preferences for the future
path, and most importantly
• a pool of shared values as the cornerstone which the described
value-driven transformation rests on.
Consequently, the process of identifying the pool of shared values
would serve as an incentive and an impetus for improving Serbia–USA
relations. To do that, it is important to expand the perspective and con-
sider the bigger picture which, as in everyday life, provides more space
for analysis and a wider range of possibilities.
It has to be noted that the term “Eastern Europe”, when referring
to the former communist countries, does not presuppose uniformity
in the basic characteristics of those countries.2 Consequently, the po-
sition of Serbia, not only at present but also in retrospective analysis,
differs significantly from other Eastern European countries. Despite all
deficiencies of the communist system, being part of former Yugoslavia,
Serbia was considered to be a “soft” version of a communist state, and
even a role model for some other states (Bulgaria, Hungary). Therefore,
the legacy of the relations between the USA and Serbia (as part of for-
mer Yugoslavia) resonates much more positively in comparison with
other countries once trapped in “hard-core” communist regimes. In
this legacy, one may find adequate examples of cultural and social val-
ues shared even in the times when prima facie the differences between
the two states appeared to be insurmountable. Those values promote
protection and development of collective (horizontal) interests, such as
human rights, freedom of expression, promotion of educational oppor-
tunities and qualities, environmental protection, and alike. Once prop-
erly developed, all these values will contribute to the development of
democracy as the ultimate expression of human freedom.

2. Second Premise: Serbia-NATO Relations

(to legitimize the first premise)

In the Republic of Serbia, the subject matter of Serbia’s relations

with the NATO is largely perceived (in the public eye at least) as a polit-

These “Eastern Europe” countries had highly distinctive features, just as the
2

“Western Europe” countries.

157
ical issue. The efforts aimed at introducing other types of discourse for
discussing the issues at stake (the economic, institutional and techno-
logical ones) have been undermined by a propensity of political figures
at all sides of the political spectrum to use the Serbia–NATO relations
for the purpose of winning cheap political points. In such circumstanc-
es, there is no room for rational analysis. The lack of impartial and bal-
anced consideration has not been a result of insufficient interest or a
lack of expertise. The actual reason for inactivity lies in the implausi-
bility of treating the issue of the Serbia–NATO relations as a legitimate
question in its own right, as a multifaceted issue which is by no means
single-sided. As a matter of fact,
• it encompasses diverse dimensions and standpoints;
• it is a question whose importance may not be confined to
political games and interests;
• it is a question which calls for serous analysis because it is
crucial for the future of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens.
Therefore, a breakthrough in understanding the relations between
the NATO and the Republic of Serbia shall ensue by initiating the pro-
cess of legitimization of this issue and making it the subject matter of
proper and impartial expertise.
Taking a step forward in this direction presupposes the maturity
of the political as well as the intellectual elite in the Republic of Serbia.
Another important prerequisite for meaningful discussion on the afore-
said issue is the irrevocable, unambiguous and explicit political support
for the dialogue to start. This support has to be real and effective rather
than declarative. It shall not be burdened by long-standing prejudice
or biases concerning the course and future direction of NATO–Serbia
relations. Notably, it should be the kind of support which establishes a
framework for an impartial, multidimensional and continuous analysis
of these relations, an analysis which exceeds the time-frame of election
campaigns and extends beyond the daily political goals.
The process of legitimizing the issue of NATO–Serbia relations
will take time. It will face resistance and obstacles. However, once le-
gitimized, this issue should be a focal point of interest of all relevant
actors in political and broader social processes. The ultimate goal of the

158
dialogue is to define the outlines and the scope of these relations, and to
examine how it could contribute to the development and affirmation of
the Republic of Serbia as a modern democratic state committed to the
Euro-Atlantic integrations.
The NATO and Serbia have already established partnership by en-
tering into relevant treaties. Given the present circumstances and all
kinds of constrains, the current state of this partnership is the result of
what was possible and attainable thus far. However, only adapting the
structure of Serbia–NATO relations to the existing environment simply
does not suffice any more. The present and, above all, the future, call for
an effort to define a vision with clearly established goals and time-frame
for their implementation.
At the moment, military neutrality of Serbia is a political reality. It is
a result of interpretation which may be attributed to the national inter-
est. But national interest itself is not a static category frozen in time: at
the end of the day, it is a matter of preference and priority. The national
interest cannot be to maximize all possible national goals. It is a matter
of prioritization, ranking the goals in the preferential order, whereby
that order depends both on the present circumstances and the assess-
ment of prospective ones. The same goes for the issue of neutrality.
In terms of international relations, neutrality provides the comfort
to pander the momentum or to delay decisions. It is a legitimate po-
sition but its sustainability is disputable. It is hard to make neutrality
sustainable in the globalized world and to promote it as the key and
foundational quality of foreign policy.
Moreover, NATO can impact the political stability of the Western
Balkan region by planting “the institutional and normative seeds nec-
essary for the incorporation [of the region] into the Western security
community”, to help with the facilitation, support and enhancement of
political reform in the direction of democratic regimes.3 The effect of
NATO on a Western Balkan security community therefore is indirect:
3
Corneliu Bjola, “NATO as a Factor of Security Community Building: Enlarge-
ment and Democratization in Central and Eastern Europe,” EAPC-NATO Individual
Fellowship Final Report 1999–2000, Central European University. Downloaded from
www.nato.int/acad/fellow/99-01/bjola.pdf. Quote from pp. 9–10.

159
NATO’s influence extends primarily to encourage the domestic stability
of democratic institutions. Consequently, domestic stability is a neces-
sary condition for the security community. If states are to rely on de-
pendable peaceful expectations of one another, stability within states
ought to be as important a benchmark as stability between states; oth-
erwise the possibility of cross-border violence and unrest looms large.4
Serbia–NATO relations cannot be viewed in isolation, through ei-
ther of the two polarized conceptions: one well-known concept is that
Serbia’s membership in the NATO is unacceptable because of the bom-
bardment campaign twenty years ago; the other one is that membership
is the solution to all Serbia’s problems. However, the following can be
concluded without dilemma: developing cooperation with the NATO is
a potentially important instrument to address the issues that Serbia has
as a nation. The nature of cooperation between Serbia and NATO is not
only military but also political. Any cooperation with institutions, orga-
nizations and countries with which Serbia shares the same values (de-
mocracy, cooperation, Euro-Atlantic integration) is welcome and need-
ed. There is no country that can be isolated from any event happening
anywhere in the world: the butterfly effect at work is the main feature of
contemporary economic, social and political dynamic. Therefore, it is
important to be part of the network, to coordinate efforts, to exchange
information. These activities enable the states to adjust behavior in ac-
cordance with rapid changes, new risks and changes in the likelihood
of existing ones. At the same time, the rights and benefits from cooper-
ation with the NATO are counterposed with the solidarity obligation:
participating in joint actions, sharing responsibilities in campaigns, and
the like. The delicacy of bringing an adequate decision regarding coop-
eration with the NATO is even more obvious in Serbia due to historical
circumstances; however, the strong and functional level playing field for
expressing public opinion could play a crucial role in this process.
The membership in NATO has certain price: the degree of uncer-
tainty surrounding a state’s motivations is positively related to the price
of membership: “If states are relatively certain about one another’s pref-
4
Laurie Nathan, “Domestic Instability and Security Communities,” European
Journal of International Relations, Vol.12, No. 2 (2006), pp. 275–299.

160
erences, there will be little reason to have a high entry price for an in-
stitution, because state motivations, benign or malign, will already be
known.”5 In this sense, the price of membership represents the degree of
socialization necessary to accommodate the new member.
In terms of International relations, to legitimate the question of Ser-
bia–NATO relations demands that Serbia must have sufficiently low dis-
count rates; that is, it must care about the future relative to the present.
States who are impulsive or impatient or who do not care about the fu-
ture have high discount rates. Because such states value the short-term
gains from cheating over the discounted long-term gains from cooper-
ation, they cannot sustain cooperative relations with others. The inter-
national analogy to the impulsive individual is the rogue state. Rogue
states are states controlled by irrational or impulsive leaders, or states
with unstable political systems, or states in which citizens do not enjoy
stable expectations. The main effort on the side of NATO and USA as
the key NATO member states is to pursue and show that future brings
enough benefits for Serbia to the extent that Serbian society and politi-
cal elite appreciate future benefits from NATO membership more than
present short term political profit.6 To put the Serbia–NATO relations
into this perspective shall deepen understanding of and justification for
its mutually beneficial and thoroughly structured development.7

3. Third Premise: Methodology revisited

The process of improving USA–Serbia relations will take time. It

will face resistance and obstacles. To deal with those circumstances, it is
necessary to apply adequate methodology. The proposed methodologi-
cal approach rests on the following principles:
5
Andrew Kydd, “Trust Building, Trust Breaking: The Dilemma of NATO Enlarg-
ment,” International Organization, Vol. 55, No.4 (2001), pp. 801–828. Quote from p. 803.
6
Jack L. Goldsmith, Eric A. Posner, The Limits of International Law, 2007, pp. 32
passim.
7
On the methodology of International law regarding the development and imple-
mentation of the norm see more in: Guzman, A.T., 2008. How international law works:
a rational choice theory. Oxford University Press.

161
 • learning from the past rather than using it as an excuse for more
or less obvious failures;
• staying away from a priori “pro” and “con” argumentation;
• refining the existing pragmatic approach by substantiating
it with some shared values, including (above all) trust in
democracy and reliance on democratic principles.
The principles listed above are accompanied with an awareness of
the necessity of cooperation whose ultimate aim is to eliminate potential
risks and attain stability, which is the cornerstone of true democracy.
A fresh approach of both sides is critical. In the case of USA, it en-
tails understanding the unique features of Serbia as the partner country:
an innovative approach shall take into account the recent history of the
countries’ relations. At the same time, the experiences from the not-
so-distant past should be also given critical consideration in order to
formulate the reinvented narrative of USA–Serbia relations.
One shall not be bothered with the fact that a minority of people in
Serbia supports closer cooperation with the NATO: at some point, each
majority used to be a former minority. What is needed is the proactive
approach of the political and intellectual elite. The toolkit for explain-
ing the genuine argumentation for advancing USA–Serbia relations in-
cludes:
• the flow of information,
• building a coalition on non-contentious issues (e. g. fight against
terrorism)
• placing and promoting USA–Serbia relations in an objective,
expert-endorsed and future-driven context, for the purpose of
facing the existing and upcoming challenges.
One thing shall not be forgotten: building the new vision is the issue
of a social process. It cannot be imposed using top-down direction.
The impartial, rational, balanced and ultimately effective analysis
of Serbia–USA relations necessarily entails a certain amount of reason-
able idealism which is deprived of categorical judgment and rests on the
awareness that there are common and shared values; these values can
and must be put into effect only by joint efforts and sincere commitment
of both parties to the common cause.

162
 The ultimate justification, purpose and meaning of developing the
USA–Serbia partnership rest in securing a more stable and prosperous
future for the generations to come.

References

Beck, Dieter, Rudolf Fisch (Hrsg.), Komplexitätsmanagement, Me-

thoden zum Umgang mit komplexen Aufgabenstellungen in
Wirtschaft, Regierung und Verwaltung, Wiesbaden, 2004
Bjola, Corneliu, “NATO as a Factor of Security Community Build-
ing: Enlargement and Democratization in Central and East-
ern Europe,” EAPC–NATO Individual Fellowship Final Report
1999-2000, Central European University. Downloaded from
www.nato.int/acad/fellow/99-01/bjola.pdf. Quote from pp. 9-10.
Goldsmith, Jack L., Posner, Eric A., The Limits of International Law,
2007.
Guzman, A. T., How international law works: a rational choice theory.
Oxford University Press.
Kydd, Andrew, “Trust Building, Trust Breaking: The Dilemma of NATO
Enlargment,” International Organization, Vol. 55, No. 4 (2001), pp.
801–828. Quote from p. 803.
Nathan, Laurie “Domestic Instability and Security Communities,” Eu-
ropean Journal of International Relations, Vol. 12, No. 2 (2006), pp.
275–299.
Pleiner, Horst, „Strategie – Theorie und Praxis“, in: Schriftenreihe der
Landesverteidigungsakademie, 12/2002.
Ringmar, Erik, Identity, Interest and Action: A Cultural Explanation of
Sweden’s Intervention in the Thirty Years War, Cambridge University
Press, New York.
Tsardanidis, Charalambos. “EU and South-Eastern Europe: from
asymmetrical inter-regionalism to dependencia sub-regional-
ism?.” Southeast European and Black Sea Studies 11, no. 4 (2011):
489–509.

163
Predrag Cvetković

PREISPITIVANJE AMERIČKO-SRPSKIH ODNOSA:

OSNOV ZA NOVI DIJALOG

Rezime

Odnosi Srbije i SAD su suštinska pretpostavka napretka i razvoja

Republike Srbije kao moderne države. Viđeni kao noseći element evro-
atlanskih integracija, navedeni odnosi imaju i svoju unutrašnjopolitičku
dimenziju: uticaj i važnost za izgradnju Republike Srbije kao demokrat-
ske države. Opterećeni nedavnom prošlošću, često zamagljeni kratko-
ročnim i jednokratnim političkim ciljevima, ovi odnosi moraju da se
izvuku iz matrice dnevnopolitičkih nadgornjavanja. Napredak u razvo-
ju odnosa između SAD i Republike Srbije zahteva novi pristup, zasno-
van na insistiranju na određenim zajedničkim vrednostima, uključujući
(pre svega) poverenje u demokratiju i oslanjanje na demokratske prin-
cipe. Te vrednosti promovišu zaštitu i razvoj kolektivnih (horizontal-
nih) interesa, kao što su ljudska prava, sloboda izražavanja, zaštita ži-
votne sredine i slično. Pitanje odnosa Srbije i SAD neosporno uključuje
i karakter odnosa Republike Srbije i NATO saveza. Tema odnosa Srbije
i NATO-a se u velikoj meri doživljava kao političko pitanje. Napori
usmereni na uvođenje navedenog pitanja u druge vrste diskursa (eko-
nomskog, institucionalnog i tehnološkog), onemogućeni su sklonošću
političke javnosti na svim stranama političkog spektra da pitanje od-
nosa Republike Srbije i NATO-a koriste za osvajanje jeftinih političkih
poena. Stoga, proboj u razumevanju odnosa između NATO-a i Republi-
ke Srbije mora da započne legitimisanjem ovog pitanja na način koji ga
postavlja u okvir utemeljene ekspertske analize.
Nepristrasna, racionalna, izbalansirana i iznad svega celovita anali-
za odnosa Republike Srbije i SAD trebalo bi da bude bazirana na kon-
ceptu razumnog idealizma: idealizma lišenog kategoričkog prosuđiva-
nja, ali prožetog svešću da akteri dele zajedničke vrednosti; vrednosti
koje mogu da se implementiraju samo zajedničkim naporima i iskre-
nom posvećenošću obe strane zajedničkoj stvari. Krajnje opravdanje,
svrha i smisao razvoja partnerskog odnosa između SAD i Republike
Srbije leže u obezbeđivanju stabilnije i prosperitetnije budućnosti za ge-
neracije koje dolaze.
Ključne reči: Republika Srbija, Zapadni Balkan, NATO, međuna-
rodni odnosi, zajedničke vrednosti

164
 UDC 62-051:37(497.11)
*
Miroslav Božić, Msc
High Tech Engineering Center (Serbia)

TRANSFORMING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS INTO

THE “INDUSTRY-READY” ONES

Abstract: Rapid technology development is shifting the ground beneath

the educators, accreditors and students, while opening new opportunities for
engineers, allowing them to address societal problems, and power the econo-
my. This race is the biggest issue for the youth trying to balance their personal
education and everyday opportunities that the industry is providing. This pa-
per gives a brief overview of the higher education system in Serbia, explains
the characteristics of a modern engineer and engineering teams, and gives an
example of the synergy that could exist between the educational institutions
and the industry.
Keywords: Technology, Industry, Education, Engineering

1. Introduction

Rapid technology development is shifting the ground beneath the

educators, accreditors, and students, while opening new opportunities
for engineers, allowing them to address societal problems, and power
the economy.
The race between technology and education is one of the biggest is-
sues for the youth trying to balance their personal education and every-
day opportunities that the industry is providing. University education
offers students the basic knowledge and broader point of view, but rarely
expertise and skills that the industry needs. To fill this gap, students
often apply to work in companies after they have attended just a few se-
mesters. This way, they are trying to commercialize the basic education
they have acquired during their studies, as well as to gain new and, to
some extent, more relevant knowledge.
*
[email protected]

165
 Rapid technology development and the ever-shortened deadlines in
the IT industry very often cause the students working in these compa-
nies to forget their goals and, sometimes, even quit their studies.
University education has always played an important role in the
overall development of the youth and provided them with basic knowl-
edge. For this to remain so, educational institutions and the industry
have to align their goals and programs to ensure continuous develop-
ment of experienced engineers, ready for everyday challenges. This is
the only way to keep up with time and the new industrial revolution
called the “21st Century”.

2. Electronic and Computer Science Engineering Studies in Serbia

Nowadays, engineering faculties in Serbia are the top educational

and scientific institutions in the field of electronic engineering and com-
puter science.1 They follow the development of engineering, informa-
tion, and communication technologies worldwide, and are of particular
social interest. The study programs of professional, bachelor, and mas-
ter, as well as doctoral, studies, which are realized on Serbian universi-
ties, are regulated by the state law on higher education.2
The mission of all engineering faculties in Serbia is to provide stu-
dents with the highest-quality education in the field of electronic en-
gineering and computer science.3 This is done by encouraging their
creativity, responsibility, research interest and teamwork. On the other
hand, faculties aim to provide companies with outstanding engineers
who will be able to enhance the company’s productivity, innovation, and
market competitiveness. This is mostly achieved with bachelor and mas-
ter academic study programs.

1
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.rs/en/
courses; School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.bg.ac.
rs/en/studies
2
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.rs/en/
courses; School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.bg.ac.
rs/en/studies
3
School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.bg.ac.rs/
en/studies

166
 2. 1. Bachelor’s Degree Studies
The Bachelor studies program is organized in eight semesters – each
course lasting one semester. During the first year, students gain general
engineering knowledge.4 They can from this point choose their study
paths, mostly from the third semester, where each path represents one
specific module, e.g., electronic engineering, computer science and in-
formatics, control systems, telecommunication, power engineering, etc.
Each module combines different courses. Course requirements in-
volve homework, colloquial, and final exams, and they all equally con-
tribute to the final grade. The teaching process within the study program
includes the basic knowledge the students need to master, profession-
al practice and team projects which are done in cooperation with the
teacher, and the final paper, as an obligatory assignment in the eighth
and the final semester.5
Through this study program, students gain the competencies to de-
sign, produce, test, and maintain devices and systems, as well as neces-
sary software logistics.

2. 2. Master’s Degree Studies

The Master studies program is organized into two semesters.6 At
this stage, students choose courses from the lists which are based on
their specific modules. Master engineers gain knowledge of the highest
degree in the field of engineering. After the program, they should be
competent to perform independent or teamwork and work on the de-
velopment and maintenance of complex systems and products in the IT
industry.

4
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.rs/en/
courses; School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.bg.ac.
rs/en/studies
5
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.rs/en/
courses
6
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.rs/en/
courses; School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.bg.ac.
rs/en/studies

167
 3. The 21st Century Engineering Industry

Technology is surpassing technological education every day. There

are so many concepts, techniques and tools that an engineering gradu-
ate should know, but there is not enough time during their formal ed-
ucation. With the rapid technological advancement, the gap between
education and market demand is getting wider and this is beginning to
have serious consequences. Undergrad students are less motivated, as
they realize the gap between what they have learned and the technology
they need to use is not bridged over during their undergraduate educa-
tion. On the other hand, employers are frustrated because undergrad-
uates do not have the knowledge, expertise, experience or the design
methodology the modern industry needs. The qualities of an engineer,
their skills and awareness of the business as well as the working ethic
should be defined first.

3. 1. Qualities of an Engineer
In most cases, a good engineer is a person who is ready to build
a personal expertise, continuously throughout their career. Since the
changes in the technological world happen rapidly, a good engineer
stays on top of recent developments in the industry and quickly im-
proves his competence and knowledge.
Most of the time, engineers work with clients who have the finances
and the ideas but not enough knowledge and expertise to explain in
detail what they are looking for. So, to begin with, an engineer should
have excellent communication skills. This involves the ability to trans-
late complex technical language into plain English that most of the in-
terlocutors can understand. Once the requirements are defined, a good
engineer should pay attention to the details. The system should be seen
from all possible angles and each potential error that can cause an entire
structure to collapse should be reviewed thoroughly. This usually goes
together with the ability to think logically.7
A good engineer can make sense of complex systems and under-
stand how things work and how problems arise. They will combine ex-
7
Creating Electronics and Great Engineering Teams, https://htecgroup.com/cre-
ating-electronics-and-great-engineering-teams/

168
cellent problem-solving skills together with strong technical knowledge,
used to solve any problem that comes their way. This is a highly creative
individual who always thinks of new and innovative ways to develop
new systems and get the existing ones to work more efficiently.

3. 2. Talents vs Hard Work

Great engineers are people who like to be challenged and who pro-
vide additional value and make a difference every day. They have the
sense and the ability to feel the problem they should solve. Great engi-
neering teams are built on talent, but without hard work, the chances
of building impressive teams are small. Without hard work, neither one
engineer nor a whole team of them would be capable of tracking the
rapid development of technology using talent only.8
Hard work means two things. Firstly, from one point of view, every
great engineer wants a chance to learn and grow. Learning and growing
always come together with hard work. Secondly, happy engineers are
those who feel challenged and noticed, and who believe they truly make
a difference. So, talent is massively important, but so is the management
of talent. Moving engineers from one project to another, release after
release, and according to the priority is not productive. People build ex-
pertise and a strong sense of ownership for what they do, which leads to
higher motivation and better output, so, it is hard work to patently select
the right people for the right projects.

3. 3. Problem-Solving Skills
Engineering often implies developing projects from scratch. It
means that, if the engineers want to develop something, they will need
to select the appropriate components, to connect these components
properly, to develop an application on top of it and believe that none of
it would fail once the system is implemented. Keeping this in mind, sys-
tems built from scratch are susceptible to errors and solving any prob-
lems during the development, engineers need to develop a sixth sense
for problem-solving.
8
Creating Electronics and Great Engineering Teams, https://htecgroup.com/cre-
ating-electronics-and-great-engineering-teams/

169
 Sometimes, this is a small bug that can be fixed with a couple lines
of code, but sometimes it is something coming from the lower system
level and which should be examined with more patience. The knowl-
edge of the system combined with the sixth sense for problem-solving is
crucial here. Every engineer who wants to work in a great team needs to
have a clear understanding of these requirements and must love the job
they are doing. Somehow, engineering becomes a lifestyle. It is not a job
that you choose to do from a sea of other jobs, but the one you have to
love and be passionate about.9

3. 4. Dynamic, Collaboration and Planning

A system is a combination of different components. If one of the
components does not work properly, the complete system could fail.
To avoid this, a good engineering team needs to collaborate, get things
done and communicate all the time.
Engineers need to pay attention to all the details and to select com-
ponents that will meet all the requirements carefully. Usually, projects
last for several months and the first thing that should be developed is the
system architecture. Once the architecture is developed, the system can
be completed, and all its components can be integrated and finalized. If
something is missing, it could cause system failure, or the application
could fail to run due to lack of performance. These are the pain points
that could bring the engineers to the beginning and could cost a lot of
time and money. This should be avoided by careful planning.10
To minimize risks and reduce the number of issues, the engineers
introduced the system design phase, and each project starts with a re-
quirements study and detailed system planning. During this phase, the
engineers read the requirements, communicate with the client, commu-
nicate with each other, define system architecture, etc. The engineers do
everything to avoid any problems that can come after several months of
development and bring the project to where it started.
9
Creating Electronics and Great Engineering Teams, https://htecgroup.com/cre-
ating-electronics-and-great-engineering-teams/
10
Creating Electronics and Great Engineering Teams, https://htecgroup.com/cre-
ating-electronics-and-great-engineering-teams/

170
 After this phase, everything is defined. Major components are se-
lected, and each team member can begin the implementation of their
part. All parts need to work together, so engineers need to keep commu-
nicating and planning each task briefly.

4. Industry Ready Engineers

Transforming university students into the “industry-ready” ones,

from the academic perspective implies producing a clear understanding
of the qualities engineering graduates should possess, as well as promot-
ing the changes in curricula, pedagogy, and academic culture needed to
instill those qualities in the upcoming generation of engineers. More-
over, the companies must tightly cooperate with the educational insti-
tutions to provide modern equipment, tools, and practices, as well as
their engineers’ time and experience, to prepare these students for what
lies ahead of them. This way, once they finish their studies, they can
come with good communication skills, curious learning capabilities,
drive and motivation, business understanding, high ethical standards,
and critical thinking – equipped with the knowledge and the skills to be
life-long learners.

4. 1. HTEC Summer Internship

To help students bridge the gap between the academy and the in-
dustry, here in HTEC, summer internships are organized every year. Af-
ter these six weeks, students leave packed-up with positive experiences,
newly acquired skills, and the tips and tricks they picked up from their
Project Managers, and delegated mentors. During the Internship, they
work on projects which combine different technologies. The projects are
designed to help the students learn more and ultimately become better
engineers.11
To become an intern, a student should pass the technical task and
two interviews, after which HTEC chooses the final participants. The
selection process is similar to the real interview and provides a real-life
11
HTEC Summer Internship: Tradition with Notable Results, https://htecgroup.
com/htec-summer-internship-tradition-with-notable-results/

171
experience which the students can utilize once they apply for jobs after
graduation.
The methodology used during the internship and project imple-
mentation is Scrum, the same as on every other commercial project
in the company, which gives the interns a chance to learn more about
sprints and daily stand-ups. They are presented with all the tools HTEC
engineers regularly use – Git for version control, BitBucket as a web re-
pository, and Jira as an issue tracker.12 Additionally, the human resourc-
es team organizes communication and presentation skills workshops to
make collaboration even easier.
Each year, interns are assigned mentors from the corresponding
technologies. The mentors are always available to the students and can
help them resolve problems, set up the project and improve their devel-
opment skills.
While the mentors are assigned to the interns to give them guidance
in their respective technologies, the responsibility of the Project Manag-
er is to organize the project well, to create tasks, to assign them properly,
and to offer additional guidance when needed. During the Internship,
because of the tight schedule, the sprints last one week each. At the be-
ginning of each sprint, the Project Manager holds a planning meeting
with the whole team and moderates a discussion and grooming sessions
for every task in the upcoming sprint.13
The purpose of the Internship is to educate the students and help
them understand how knowledge acquired at the university can be ap-
plied in real life. The whole internship is completely focused on the stu-
dents’ experience and on boosting their learning process. They have a lot
of training and education not only on technical issues but also regarding
the software development processes and public speaking. By the end of
the internship, HTEC aims to provide students with enough knowledge,
experience, and confidence to be able to work on commercial projects
with the help of a mentor.

12
HTEC Summer Internship: Tradition with Notable Results, https://htecgroup.
com/htec-summer-internship-tradition-with-notable-results/
13
HTEC Summer Internship: Tradition with Notable Results, https://htecgroup.
com/htec-summer-internship-tradition-with-notable-results/

172
 5. Conclusion

In an engineering team, each project is a challenge. Some are smaller,

some are bigger. But since the engineers are doing things from scratch, it
is always challenging to get things done. Over the years, engineers have
learned that it is important to work as a team – communicate, discuss,
listen to each other and encourage others’ opinions. Once engineers
make a decision, they move together, as a team. Without looking back!
To instill these skills and qualities in future engineers, changes in
approach will be required by the academy and the industry. Universities
need to adjust their degree requirements and place more emphasis on
teaching, promoting more cross-disciplinary instructions, and welcom-
ing the involvement of the industry in supplying case studies, mentor-
ship of students, and shared laboratory experiences.
Here in HTEC, above all else, we appreciate our engineers being
good people. A great engineer is always an integral part of a great team,
and an amazing team always represents the synergy of the amazing peo-
ple working together towards the same goal, doing great things most
efficiently.

References

Creating Electronics and Great Engineering Teams, https://htecgroup.

com/creating-electronics-and-great-engineering-teams/
Faculty of Electronic Engineering Nis – Courses, http://old.elfak.ni.ac.
rs/en/courses
HTEC Summer Internship: Tradition with Notable Results, https://
htecgroup.com/htec-summer-internship-tradition-with-notable-
results/
School of Electrical Engineering Belgrade – Courses, https://www.etf.
bg.ac.rs/en/studies

173
Miroslav Božić

TRANSFORMACIJA STUDENATA U INŽENJERE SPREMNE ZA

RAD U INDUSTRIJI

Rezime

Brzi napredak u tehnologiji, istraživanju i praksi svakodnevno po-

stavlja nove izazove ispred prosvetnih radnika, akreditora i studenata,
dok inženjerima otvara nove mogućnosti za rešavanje društvenih pro-
blema i podsticanje ekonomije.
Ova trka najveću štetu pričinjava studentima koji pokušavaju da
balansiraju između edukacije i konstantnih mogućnosti koje razvoj in-
dustrije pruža. S ciljem da steknu osnovna znanja i ekspertizu, studenti
upisuju fakultete. Međutim, znanje koje stiču na studijama retko uklju-
čuje specifičnosti koje zahteva razvoj industrije. Kako bi ostali u koraku
s vremenom, studenti neretko, već nakon nekoliko semestara, počinju
sa radom u velikim korporacijama. Na taj način pokušavaju da komerci-
jalizuju do tada stečeno znanje sa studija i steknu novu ekspertizu.
Obrazovne ustanove su oduvek imale veliki uticaj na celokupno
obrazovanje mladih, a sa ciljem da tako ostane, fakulteti i privreda mo-
raju izjednačiti svoje ciljeve i programe i time obezbediti konstantan
priliv visoko obrazovanog kadra, spremnog za sve izazove koje moder-
no vreme donosi.
U ovom radu je dat kratak osvrt na sistem visokog obrazovanja u
Republici Srbiji, objašnjene su karakteristike modernog inženjera i tima
u kome radi i predstavljen je jedan primer veze između obrazovnih
ustanova i privrede.
Ključne reči: tehnologija, industrija, obrazovanje, inžinjering

174
 UDC 355(=163.41)(73)
*
Gregory Moore, PhD
Center for Intelligence Studies
Notre Dame College (USA)

SERBIAN–AMERICAN HEROES: MEDAL OF HONOR

RECIPIENTS AND THE MEN OF OPERATION
HALYARD

Abstract: The author notes that immigrants, or foreign born men, have
played a large role in America’s military. Among these men, Serbian-Ameri-
cans serving in the military have had a record of being awarded with the Medal
of Honor. Among them are people such as Rade Grbić, Anđelko Mandušić
(Jake Allex), Joko Mestorović (James I. Mestorovich), John W. Minick and
Lance Peter Sijan. Among the heroic deeds of WW2 was the famous Opera-
tion Halyard where Serbian-American participants, even though they didn’t
receive a Medal of Honor, managed to once again prove their bravery. The
result was 512 men, both American and other Allies, being saved.
Keywords: Serbian-Americans, Medal of Honor, Operation Halyard,
bravery, military

An essential theme in the history of the United States is that of the

immigrant experience. As noted by the American Immigration Council,
the country has long benefitted from the millions who have come to the
United States seeking new opportunities. As of 2017, the AIC reported
that more than thirteen percent of the population of the United States
are foreign born, most of whom are naturalized citizens. The AIC sta-
tistics from that year reflect a growing percentage of immigrants in the
United States, although the percentage is still below the historical peak
of just below fifteen percent, achieved more than a century ago in 1890.

*
[email protected]

175
Making up a significant share of the nation’s workforce, immigrants have
been an essential part of the nation’s economic, political and cultural
growth from the time of the founding of the United States and their
contributions have been many and varied.1 Among those contributions
has been service in the armed forces of the United States. Foreign born
individuals have served in the military since the American Revolution.
Half of all military recruits in the 1840’s were immigrants and twenty
percent of the 1.5 million men who fought in the American Civil War
were foreign born. At present, the number of veterans born outside the
United States numbers about 530,000, or approximately three percent of
the more than 18 million veterans nationwide. Additionally, nearly 1.9
million veterans are American born children of immigrants. Overall,
the nearly 2.4 million veterans of immigrant origin make up about thir-
teen percent of all U.S. military veterans.2
Participation of Serbian-Americans in the military, as well as in
the intelligence service, has been high, and many have distinguished
themselves through their service and sacrifices. Among them was
Colonel Nicholas Stepanovich, who was also an attorney. Colonel Ste-
panovich was named to the United States Ambassadorial Staff at the
United Nations by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.3 Colonel Tyrus
W. Cobb, Ph.D., served in the Army, including combat and peacetime
tours in Vietnam. The recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal,
Dr. Cobb served on the faculty at West Point, as a consultant for the
National Security Council during the Carter and Reagan Administra-
tions, and as a special assistant to President Reagan, accompanying
him on several diplomatic missions. Dr. Cobb was also the founder
and director of the National Security Forum and was recognized as a
1
American Immigration Council Fact Sheet. https://www.americanimmigra-
tioncouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-the-united-states, October 4, 2017. Re-
trieved July 28, 2019; Migration Policy Institute, “Frequently Requested Statistics on
Immigrants and Immigration to the United States”, March 14, 2019. https://www.mi-
grationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigra-
tion-united-states. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
2
“Immigrant Veterans in the United States”, Migration Policy Institute, May 16,
2019, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-veterans-united-states. Re-
trieved July 28, 2019.
3
http://www.eserbia.org/library/media/149-serbian-americans. Retrieved July 2,
2019.

176
Distinguished Nevadan at commencement exercises at the University
of Nevada in 2017.4
Brigadier General (ret.) Teresa (Terry) A.H. Djuric, U.S. Air
Force, received her commission in 1983, upon completion of Officer
Training School. After operating space systems at three space wings and
the Headquarters of the 14th Air Force Division, she was deployed to
Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom in 2004 as Director
of Space Forces. Command assignments included squad, group, wing
and education centers levels; among General Djuric’s numerous staff
assignments were postings to U.S. Air Force Headquarters and the De-
partment of Defense. Her final assignment, prior to her retirement in
2013, was as Deputy Director of the Space and Intelligence Office in the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology
and Logistics, where she worked on the development and procurement
of future defense space programs. Highly decorated, General Djuric re-
ceived the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak
leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters,
the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation
Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism
Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
She was also the recipient of the 2005 General James O’Malley Distin-
guished Space Leadership Award. General Djuric is now the comman-
dant of cadets for the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership and
senior adviser to the president of Mary Baldwin University in Staunton,
Virginia.5

4
Ibid, Retrieved June 17, 2019; “Tyrus W. Cobb”, https://nationalsecurityforum.
org/tyruswcobb/, Retrieved July 2, 2019; Trent, John. “Two Notable northern Nevada
figures will be honored as Distinguished Nevadans”, April 13, 2017. https://www.unr.
edu/nevada-today/news/2017/distinguished-nevadans, Retrieved July 2, 2019.
5
“Brigadier General Teresa A.H. Djuric”, https://web.archive.org/web/20141005
191126/http:/www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108363/
brigadier-general-teresa-ah-djuric.aspx, Retrieved July 2, 2019; “Teresa A.H. Djuric”,
JROTC Wiki, https://jrotc.wikia.org/wiki/Teresa_A._H._Djuric, Retrieved July 2.
2019; “Teresa A.H, Djuric”, April 6, 2018, https://alchetron.com/Teresa-A-H-Djuric,
Retrieved July 2, 2019; “Executive Leadership,” Mary Baldwin University, https://ma-
rybaldwin.edu/leadership/, Retrieved July 30, 2019.

177
 Serbian–American Medal of Honor Recipients
1905 – Rade Grbitch

The first recipient, and the only Serbian-American peacetime re-

cipient of the Medal of Honor,6 was Rade Grbitch, a seaman in the U.S.
Navy. Born in 1870 in Austria, little is known about him. Described as a
“Serb from Dalmatia,” he was reported to have enlisted in the Navy from
Ohio, and was serving on the U.S.S. Bennington, where his actions fol-
lowing a boiler explosion earned him his medal, one of eleven awarded
to sailors on the ship for their heroism that day.7
Commissioned in 1891, the Bennington was an older vessel that
had seen service in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. During the
Spanish-American War, the gunboat had patrolled coastal waters in the
Philippines, assisting in the suppression of a uprising.8 A 1700-ton York-
town class gunboat, the vessel had been built in Chester, Pennsylvania.
While docked in San Diego, a boiler explosion on July 21, 1905 wrecked
the ship, killing 62 officers and crewmen while injuring 40 others. More
than half of the Bennington’s crew were killed or wounded as a result of
the explosion.9
Rade Grbitch was on the ship’s deck when the explosion occurred
and was uninjured. He reportedly ran down the forward hatch, shout-
ing “This way out!” He went on to assist in rescue operations, carrying
others to safety and volunteering to help repair a leak in the boiler room.
6
Usually presented to recipients by the President of the United States “in the
name of Congress” the medal has often been called the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The correct term is “Medal of Honor.” See Public Law 101–564, enacted on November
15, 1990.
7
The Comprehensive Guide to the Victoria and George Cross, http://www.vcon-
line.org.uk/rade-grbitch/4592416346, Retrieved July 8, 2019; “U.S.S. Bennington/Ear-
ly Bennington, http://www.uss-bennington.org/early.html, Retrieved July 8, 2019.
8
Jeff Smith. “The U.S.S. Bennington Policy or Personnel”. San Diego Reader, July
29, 1999, https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/jul/29/uss-bennington-poli-
cy-or-personnel/, Retrieved July 8, 2019.
9
U.S.S. Bennington/Early Bennington, http://www.uss-bennington.org/early.
html, Retrieved July 8, 2019; U.S.S. Bennington/Early Bennington, “The Boiler Explo-
sion on the ‘U.S.S. Bennington’”, http://www.uss-bennington.org/early-gb4-explosion.
html, Retrieved July 8, 2019.

178
Several survivors testified that his actions helped save many lives.10 On
January 5, 1906, following the issuance of General Orders number 13,
Grbitch was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions. His
citation reads:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of
Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to
Seaman Rade Grbitch, United States Navy, for extraordinary
heroism on board the U.S.S. BENNINGTON, displayed at the
time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego,
California, 21 July, 1905.11

Grbitch died at the age of 39 on March 5, 1910. The cause of death

is not known.12

World War I – Andjelko Mandusich

During World War I thousands of Serbian-Americans joined the

conflict. Many went to Serbia and fought there, while others joined the
American Expeditionary Force and fought against Germany along the
Western Front. Among them was Andjelko13 or (“Big Jake Allex”) Man-
dusich, regarded by some as one of the greatest Serbian-American he-
roes of the First World War.14 Mandusich was born on July 13, 1887 in
10
Smith, “The U.S.S. Bennington, https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/
jul/29/uss-bennington-policy-or-personnel/, Retrieved July 8, 2019; Mark Linsky,
“When the U.S.S. Bennington blew up in the San Diego Harbor, San Diego Reader,
November 12, 1987, https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1987/nov/12/cover-explo-
sion/, Retrieved July 8, 2019; Oder, Brock N. “San Diego’s Naval Disaster,” The Journal
of San Diego History, San Diego Historical Society Quarterly, Summer 1976, Volume 22,
Number 3, https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1976/july/naval/, Retrieved July 8, 2019.
11
U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients, Interim
Awards 1901–1911, https://history.army.mil/html/moh/inter1901-11.html#GR-
BITCH, Retrieved July 8, 2019; The Hall of Valor Project, https://valor.militarytimes.
com/hero/2611, Retrieved July 8, 2019.
12
“Rade Grbitch” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9208894, Retrieved
July 8, 2019.
13
Also listed as Aleksa Mandusich Jake Allex and Jake Allex Mandusich.
14
“Allex Mandusich,” Serbica Americana, https://www.eserbia.org/sapeople/mil-
itary/124-allex-mandusich, Retrieved July 11, 2019.

179
Sar Planina, Serbia. He emigrated to the United States in 1905, settling in
Chicago. “Big Jake” enlisted in the Army shortly after the United States
entered the war, and, by the time he and his unit arrived in France, Man-
dusich had earned the rank of corporal. A member of H Company, 131st
Infantry, 33rd Infantry Division, Mandusich’s actions at Chirpilly Ridge
earned him the Medal of Honor.15
The 131st Infantry was part of a combined British-American assault
on the German positions at Chirpilly Ridge, north of the Somme River,
part of the larger Battle of Amiens on August 9, 1918. The fighting was
hard and bloody, but the Americans fought well and played a vital role
in the capture of the German position. The number of casualties was
high, and, at one point in the fighwting, Corporal Mandusich realized
that all of the officers in his platoon had been hit by enemy fire, leav-
ing him as the platoon leader. German machine gun fire had his men
pinned down, and, acting on his own, Mandusich began to advance on
the enemy position. Despite the heavy fire, Big Jake was able to reach the
German machine gun nest and, using his bayonet, attacked, killing five
of the enemy before the blade of his bayonet broke. Using his rifle as a
club, Mandusich was able to subdue fifteen other Germans by the time
the rest of his platoon arrived. For his heroism and courage, Mandusich
was awarded the Medal of Honor, which he received on December 31,
1919. His citation reads:
At a critical point in the action, when all of the officers with his
platoon had become casualties, Cpl. Allex took command of the
platoon and led it forward until the advance was stopped by fire
from a machinegun nest. He then advanced alone for about
30 yards in the face of intense fire and attacked the nest. With his
bayonet he killed 5 of the enemy, and when it was broken, used
the butt of his rifle, capturing 15 prisoners.16

15
Ibid., U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor recipients, World
War I, “Allex, Jake,” https://history.army.mil/html/moh/worldwari.html#ALLEX, Re-
trieved July 11, 2019; “Jake Allex,” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6532182/
jake-allex, Retrieved July 11, 2019.
16
Serbica Americana, “Allex Mandusich.” https://www.eserbia.org/sapeople/mili-
tary/124-allex-mandusich, Retrieved July 11, 2019; .S. Army Center of Military History,
Medal of Honor recipients, World War I, “Allex, Jake,” https://history.army.mil/html/
moh/worldwari.html#ALLEX, Retrieved July 11, 2019; Congressional Medal of Honor

180
 Besides the Medal of Honor, Corporal Mandusich was awarded the
U.S. Distinguished Service Cross/Victory Medal with Four Bars; the
Medaille Militaire and Crosse de Guerre with Palms from France, the
Gold Karageorge Star with Cross Sabers from Yugoslavia, the Distin-
guished Conduct Medal from Great Britain and, from Italy, the Merito
Guerre.17 Mandusich died on August 28, 1959 and was interred at the
Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Saint Sava in Libertyville, Lakeland
County, Illinois.18

World War I – James I. Mestrovich

Remarkably, just a day after Mandusich’s heroic actions at Chirpil-

ly Ridge, another Serbian’s courageous actions earned him a Medal of
Honor. At Fismette, a village nearly 70 miles northeast of Paris, Army
Sergeant James I. Mestrovich (Joko Mestrovic) carried out an act of
bravery that earned him his commendation. Born in Montenegro on
May 22, 1894, Mestrovich emigrated to the United States in 1913. Al-
though he enlisted in the Army in Pittsburgh, Mestrovich had also lived
in Irving, California. Assigned to the Pennsylvania National Guard’s
Company C, 111th Infantry, 28th Division, Sergeant Mestrovich returned
to Europe and joined the fighting in France.19

Society, “Allex, Jake, http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2495/allex-jake.php, Re-

trieved July 11, 2019; The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book for 1919, James
Langland, editor. Chicago, Chicago Daily News Company, 1918, p. 614. https://books.
google.com/books?id=f6l-dsvnjhEC&pg=PA614&lpg=PA614&dq=chipilly+ridge&-
source=bl&ots=3UC08tsrxE&sig=ACfU3U2V4Pv7kndzYDu6dyMDDfJwppB-
C1A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5vtyK-9fjAhXPK80KHeh3AM04ChDoATA-
JegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=chipilly%20ridge&f=false, Retrieved July 11, 2019; Gar-
ey, E.B., Ellis, O.O., Magoffin, R.V.D., American Guide Book to France and its Battle-
fields. New York. The Macmillan Company, 1920, pp. 241-244, https://books.google.
com/books?id=Ub1CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242&dq=chipilly+ridge&-
source=bl&ots=-FUxaQ4qKX&sig=ACfU3U0WGHoDY6ZoFvtt_9tzGUK0Leec-
6Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwxsbY_NfjAhUNAZ0JHesaCo04FBDoA-
TABegQIBxAB#v=onepage&q=chipilly%20ridge&f=false
17
Serbica Americana, “Allex Mandusich.” https://www.eserbia.org/sapeople/mili-
tary/124-allex-mandusich, Retrieved July 11, 2019.
18
“Jake Allex,” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6532182/jake-allex, Re-
trieved July 11, 2019.
19
“Army Sergeant James I. Mestrovich,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser-
vices, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/immigrant-medal-honor-re-

181
 Following the capture of the village of Fismes, the 28th Division was
ordered to establish a bridgehead across the Vesle River at Fismette. Af-
ter two days of fighting the 112th Division had occupied most of Fis-
mette, and the division was relieved by the 111th Division on the night
of August 9-10. Fighting continued on the 10th. The 111th had been in
combat for six weeks at that point and the men had without rations for
several days. Nonetheless, the 111th fought gallantly and held the town
until the 112th Division returned to relieve them the night of August 18-
19. It was while the 111th was advancing on August 10 that the company
commander was wounded. While the men of Company C took cover
from machine gun fire behind a stone wall, Mestrovich crawled through
heavy shelling and machine gun fire to his wounded captain. Placing
him on his back, Mestrovich and crawled back to safety where he gave
his officer first-aid, saving his life.20
His citation reads as follows:
Seeing his company commander lying wounded 30 yards
in front of the line after his company had withdrawn to a
sheltered position behind a stone wall, Sgt. Mestrovich
voluntarily left cover and crawled through heavy machinegun
and shell fire to where the officer lay. He took the officer
upon his back and crawled to a place of safety, where he
administered first-aid treatment, his exceptional heroism
saving the officer’s life.21

cipients/army-sergeant-james-i-mestrovitch-world-war-i, Retrieved July 12, 2019;

Military Hall of Honor, “SGT James I, Mestrovich,” http://www.militaryhallofhonor.
com/honoree-record.php?id=1796, Retrieved July 12, 2019.
20
“Fismes: Where the Line Stiffened.” The American Legion Weekly, August 22,
1924. Old Magazine Articles, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/ww1_battle_at_
Fismette, Retrieved July 15, 2019; Lengel, Edward G., “Tragedy at Fismette, France,
1918.” HistoryNet, https://www.historynet.com/tragedy-at-fismette-france-1918.
htm, Retrieved July 12, 2019; “Army Sergeant James I. Mestrovich,” U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/immi-
grant-medal-honor-recipients/army-sergeant-james-i-mestrovitch-world-war-i, Re-
trieved July 12, 2019.
21
Military Hall of Honor, “SGT James I, Mestrovich,” http://www.militaryhallof-
honor.com/honoree-record.php?id=1796, Retrieved July 12, 2019; U.S Army Center
of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients, “Mestrovich, James I.”, https://history.
army.mil/html/moh/worldwari.html#MESTROVITCH, Retrieved July 12, 2019.

182
 Unlike Jake Allex Mandusich, Sergeant Mestrovich did not survive
the war and received his medal posthumously. While the date of his
death is known – November 4, 1918, just a week before the armistice –
the manner of his death is a manner of conjecture. One account reports
that he was killed in action on that date; another states that he survived
several combat missions only to die from influenza. His body was re-
turned to Montenegro and buried in the cemetery at St. Jovan (Sveti
Jovan) Church in Bogisici, Montenegro.22

World War II – John W. Minick

The lone Serbian-American recipient of the Medal of Honor in

World Warr II was John W. Minick of Wall, Pennsylvania. Minick was
inducted into the Army on August 2, 1943 as a private, but eventually
earned promotion to Staff Sergeant. As a squad leader with Company
I, 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry, 8th Infantry Division, Minick’s actions in
the Hurtgen Forest in November 1944 earned him the Medal of Honor.
Minick’s unit was among those that engaged German forces defending
a line that ran through the Hurtgen Forest. As part of their defensive
perimeter, the Germans had planted antipersonnel mines throughout
the area making it even more difficult to advance.23
The fighting on November 21st found the American forces making
slow progress as they advanced against the German defenses. A con-
stant artillery barrage, minefields and well-placed enemy positions
made moving forward extremely difficult. Some units gained as little as
two hundred yards. The one exception was Minick’s 3rd Battalion, and,
22
Military Hall of Honor, “SGT James I, Mestrovich,” http://www.militaryhallof-
honor.com/honoree-record.php?id=1796, Retrieved July 12, 2019; Lengel, Edward G.,
“Tragedy at Fismette, France, 1918.” HistoryNet, https://www.historynet.com/trage-
dy-at-fismette-france-1918.htm, Retrieved July 12, 2019; Army Sergeant James I. Me-
strovich,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/
find-uscis-office/immigrant-medal-honor-recipients/army-sergeant-james-i-mestro-
vitch-world-war-i, Retrieved July 12, 2019.
23
Miller, Edward G. A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer
River Dams, 1944–1945. (College Station) Texas A&M University Press, 2003, p. 143;
Knighton, Andrew, “10 Heroes of the Horrifying Fighting for the Hurtgen Forest,”
War History Online, July 28, 2018, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/
heroes-fighting-hurtgen-forest.html, Retrieved July 15, 2019.

183
although at 36 he was older than the average squad leader, much of this
was due to his leadership. Company I fought its way through the Ger-
man lines and was the only unit to achieve its objective that day. Minick
found a path through a minefield and eliminated an enemy machine
gun position covering the nearby road. Minick then, on his own, at-
tacked a group of bunkers and killed as many as twenty enemy soldiers.
He moved on, not knowing that he had penetrated deeper into the Ger-
man lines than any other unit had. Minick continued to move forward,
coming within thirty yards of a German command post where he re-
portedly began to shout “Come out! Come out and fight!” A moment
later his men heard an explosion. Minick had stepped on a mine and
was killed.24 His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously on De-
cember 6, 1948.25 The citation that accompanied the Medal provides a
dramatic description of Minick’s courage and heroism.

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress,

takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Staff
Sergeant John W. Minick, United States Army, for conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life, above and beyond
the call of duty, while serving with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 121st
Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, in action involving actual
conflict with the enemy on 21 November 1944, near Hurtgen, Germany.
Staff Sergeant Minick’s battalion was halted in its advance by
extensive minefields, exposing troops to heavy concentrations of
enemy artillery and mortar fire. Further delay in the advance would
result in numerous casualties and a movement through the minefield
was essential. Voluntarily, Staff Sergeant Minick led four men through
hazardous barbed wire and debris, finally making his way through the
minefield for a distance of 300 yards. When an enemy machinegun
opened fire, he signaled his men to take covered positions, edged his
way alone toward the flank of the weapon and opened fire, killing
two members of the gun crew and capturing three others. Moving

24
Miller, A Dark and Bloody Ground, pp. 143–144.
25
“John W. Minick,” The Hall of Valor Project, https://valor.militarytimes.com/
hero/2026, Retrieved July 15, 2019.

184
 forward again, he encountered and engaged single-handedly an entire
company killing 20 Germans and capturing 20, and enabling his
platoon to capture the remainder of the hostile group. Again moving
ahead and spearheading his battalion’s advance, he again encountered
machinegun fire. Crawling forward toward the weapon, he reached a
point from which he knocked the weapon out of action. Still another
minefield had to be crossed. Undeterred, Sgt. Minick advanced forward
alone through constant enemy fire and while thus moving detonated
a mine and was instantly killed.26

Vietnam – Lance Peter Sijan

Captain Lance Peter Sijan was the first and only graduate of the Air
Force Academy to receive the Medal of Honor. He was born in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin on April 13, 1942. His father, a restaurant owner,
was of Serbian descent and his mother was Irish American. Following
high school, Sijan attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in
Maryland. After completing that program, he was appointed to the Air
Force Academy, where he graduated in 1965. From there, Sijan went to
pilot training, F-4 crew training and survival school. After completion
of his training, Sijan reported to Da Nang Airbase, Vietnam, for his first
duty assignment. Sijan has been described as being six feet, two inches
tall and athletic. In high school, in Milwaukee, he played football and
was on both the swim and track teams. He also showed early leadership
skills as president of his high school class and was interested in photog-
raphy and drama.27
Sijan was assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tac-
tical Fighter Wing, where he flew the F4-C, a two-seat fighter bomber, as
an aircraft commander and combat systems officer. Often serving as the
26
Ibid.
27
Correll, John T. “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,” Air Force Magazine, July, 2004.
http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.
aspx, Retrieved July 24, 2019; Walker, Dale L. “The Legacy of Lance Sijan,” June 15,
2014, https://www.uso.org/stories/1734-the-legacy-of-lance-sijan, Retrieved July 24,
2019. Walker, Dale L. “The Legacy of Lance Sijan,” June 15, 2014, https://www.uso.org/
stories/1734-the-legacy-of-lance-sijan, Retrieved July 24, 2019.

185
“GIB” or “Guy in Back,” flying as the rear seat pilot, Sijan had ambitions
to move to the front pilot’s seat before his tour of duty ended.28
On the night of November 9, 1967, Sijan and his squadron com-
mander, Lt. Colonel John W. Armstrong took off from Da Nang Air-
base to carry out a night attack mission, Sijan’s fifty-second combat mis-
sion.29 Their target was a river crossing at Ban Loboy Ford on the Ho
Chi Minh Trail. A forward air controller marked the target with flares,
and, with the target illuminated, Sijan released the bomb load. Moments
later, the F-4 exploded, and dove into the jungle. (A later investigation
determined that defective fuses caused the bombs to detonate prema-
turely, probably within fifty feet of the aircraft)30 Both men were able to
eject from the burning plane, but only Sijan is known to have survived.
Armstrong’s fate was undetermined, and he was presumed to have been
killed in action.31
Sijan did survive, landing on a heavily forested mountainside
roughly three miles from Ban Loboy Ford. He was badly injured, having
suffered a compound leg fracture, a skull fracture, a badly injured right
hand and lacerations over much of his body. Circling rescue aircraft
were unable to locate him, due to the heavy jungle canopy and because
Sijan lay unconscious or delirious for more than a day. However, by No-
vember 11, Sijan had recovered sufficiently to activate a signaling device
from his survival gear. The signal was picked up by American aircraft
and voice contact was soon established. Rescue operations, involving
more than 100 aircraft, were begun but were unsuccessful. Although
Sijan could see the rescue helicopters, they had trouble sighting him
and the rescue attempt was hampered by heavy anti-aircraft fire. North
28
Correll, “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,” http://www.airforcemag.com/Maga-
zineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.aspx, Retrieved July 24, 2019;
29
Walker, “The Legacy of Lance Sijan,” https://www.uso.org/stories/1734-the-
legacy-of-lance-sijan, Retrieved July 24 2019; Correll states that Sijan had flown 66
combat missions to that time. Correll, “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,” http://www.air-
forcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.aspx, Retrieved
July 24 2019.
30
Walker, “The Legacy of Lance Sijan,” https://www.uso.org/stories/1734-the-leg-
acy-of-lance-sijan, Retrieved July 24 2019; Correll, “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,”
http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.
aspx, Retrieved July 24 2019.
31
Ibid.

186
Vietnamese patrols in the area also made it impossible to place rescuers
on the ground. Finally, the rescue attempt had to be abandoned. The
search and rescue effort was resumed the next day, but by then contact
with Sijan was lost. He was listed as missing in action, and his fate would
not be known for seven years.32
The return of prisoners of war in 1973 would reveal the rest of the
story. Two prisoners, Robert R. Craner and Guy D. Gruters, were with
Sijan as prisoners in a holding compound in Vinh, known as the “Bam-
boo Prison,” and it was their account of the time they spent with Sijan
that would fill in the rest of the story. Remarkably, as badly injured as he
was, Sijan survived for forty-six days, despite the fact he had no survival
gear and had to subsist on jungle plants, licking dew from them and, oc-
casionally, drinking from a mountain stream. Using a makeshift crutch
and drifting in and out of consciousness and delirium, Sijan crawled
and struggled along as best he could. Although he could have fired his
pistol to attract the attention of North Vietnamese soldiers in the area,
Sijan was determined to avoid capture. Finally, on Christmas Day, 1967,
the unconscious and emaciated Sijan was found by a North Vietnamese
patrol. Despite his physical condition, Sijan made an attempt to escape
his captors, but was unsuccessful. He was taken to the Bamboo Pris-
on, where he was tortured and interrogated. According to Craner and
Gruters, Sijan gave his interrogators no information. In mid-January,
the three prisoners of war were transferred to Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi,
better known as the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” The trip took three days
in monsoon rains, and Sijan was near death when they arrived. He died
January 22, 1968, still determined to escape his captors.33 His remains
were recovered and returned him in 1974. Captain Lance Peter Sijan is
interred in the Arlington Park Cemetery in Greenfield, Wisconsin.34 His
Medal of Honor was presented to his family on March 23, 1976.35
32
Ibid.
33
Ibid.
34
“Captain Lance Peter Sijan.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9621/
lance-peter-sijan, Retrieved July 24, 2019.
35
Lance Peter Sijan, The Hall of Valor Project, https://valor.militarytimes.com/
hero/2174, Retrieved July 24, 2019. Sijan’s experiences summarized above, have been
recounted in detail in Malcolm McConnell’s Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of
Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam. New York, W.W. Norton, 2004 (reprint edition).

187
 Captain Sijan’s Medal of Honor citation is a testament to his courage
and fortitude.

The President of the United States, in the name of Congress, takes

pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to
Captain Lance Peter Sijan…United States Air Force, for
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the
366th Tactical Fighter Squadron, as a Prisoner of War being
held in Laos and North Vietnam. On 9 November 1967,
while on a flight over North Vietnam, Captain Sijan ejected
from his disabled aircraft and successfully evaded capture
for more than six weeks. During this time, he was seriously
injured and suffered from shock and extreme weight loss
due to lack of food. After being captured by North Vietnamese
soldiers, Captain Sijan was taken to a holding point for
subsequent transfer to a prisoner of war camp. In his
emaciated and crippled condition, he overpowered one of
his guards and crawled into the jungle, only to be
recaptured after several hours. He was then transferred to
another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement
and interrogated at length. During interrogation he was
severely tortured; however, he did not divulge any information.
Captain Sijan lapsed into delirium and was placed in the care
of another prisoner. During his intermittent periods of
consciousness until his death, he never complained of his
physical condition and, on several occasions, often spoke of
future escape attempts. Captain Sijan’s extraordinary heroism
and intrepidity beyond the call of duty at the cost of his life
are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force
and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States
Air Forces.36

Besides the Medal of Honor, Captain Sijan also was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on August 22, 1967, as he
36
Ibid.

188
risked his life in order to carry out a successful attack on a North Viet-
namese storage facility. “Despite heavy ground fire, he participated in
multiple passes to deliver flares and ordnance directly on the target…
Lieutenant Sijan37 dealt a telling blow to the hostile forces by denying
them vital war material and petroleum products. The professional com-
petence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Sijan
reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”38
Sijan continues to be remembered today. His image is on the Viet-
nam Veterans Memorial, a ten foot marble memorial in the shape of
an F-4 is present at Arlington Park Cemetery, a replica of his plane can
be found at the General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, there is a Sijan
Circle at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, a Sijan Street at Whitman
Air Force Base in Missouri, the Lance P. Sijan Chapter of the Air Force
Association and Air Force cadets at Boston University have formed the
Lance P. Sijan Squadron of the Arnold Air Society.39
His family has also kept Captain Sijan’s memory alive. A web page
devoted to Sijan shares the story of his life, including a documentary
film.40 The family also maintains a Facebook page dedicated to Captain
Sijan.41 Other documentaries can be found on YouTube.42
Perhaps the late Senator John McCain best summed up Sijan’s val-
or. McCain also was a prisoner in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and in
his book Faith of My Fathers, he wrote: “I never knew Lance Sijan, but
I wish I had. I wish I had had one moment to tell him how much I ad-
mired him, how indebted I was to him for showing me, for showing all
of us, our duty – for showing us how to be free.”43
37
Sijan was promoted posthumously to Captain on June 13, 1968. “Captain Lance
Peter Sijan: Profile.” https://www.military.com/history/capt-lance-peter-sijan-profile.
html, Retrieved July 24, 2019.
38
Lance Peter Sijan, The Hall of Valor Project, https://valor.militarytimes.com/
hero/2174, Retrieved July 24, 2019.
39
Correll, “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,” http://www.airforcemag.com/Maga-
zineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.aspx, Retrieved July 24 2019.
40
http://www.lancesijan.com, Retrieved July 24, 2019.
41
https://www.facebook.com/TeamSijan/, Retrieved July 24, 2019.
42
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lance+p.+sijan, Retrieved July
24, 2019.
43
Quoted in Correll, “The Courage of Lance P. Sijan,” http://www.airforcemag.com/
MagazineArchive/Pages/2004/July%202004/0704sijan.aspx, Retrieved July 24 2019.

189
 World War II – Operation Halyard

An Office of Strategic Services (OSS) operation, the Serbian-Amer-

ican participants in Operation Halyard were not recipients of the Medal
of Honor. However, they were decorated in recognition of their cour-
age and audacity as they planned and carried out the largest rescue of
downed Allied airmen in July 1944. The story is even more remarkable
since it was accomplished by OSS agents who, despite British opposi-
tion, planned and got approval for the mission, operated in Yugoslavia,
supported by Serbian partisans and the courageous pilots who evacuat-
ed the downed airmen, all without loss of life.44
Following the capitulation of Italy in 1943, Allied forces began to
direct their focus on destroying the oil refineries in Romania. Thousands
of bombing raids attacked the Ploesti oil refineries which was a major
source of fuel oil for Germany. Flying from air bases in Italy, the bomb-
ers had to cross Yugoslavia, which was occupied by the Nazis, in order
to reach Ploesti. Losses were high as a result, and an estimated 1,500 air
crews had to bail out over enemy territory.45 For those air crews who had
to bail out of their damaged bombers, the story was much the same as it
was on other fronts. The enemy rounded up survivors who were sent to
prisoner of war camps, sometimes rescuing them from angered peasants,
furious over the relentless bombing raids. But, sometimes, the opposite
occurred, and the fliers were rescued and sheltered by partisans.46
A good deal of the Serbian region of Yugoslavia was controlled by
partisans, including the royalist Chetniks, led by Draza Mihailovich, and
the Communist partisans under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito. The
factions emerged in the chaos that followed after Nazi Germany invaded
Yugoslavia in April 1941. Tito intended to rule Yugoslavia after Germa-
ny’s defeat, but Mihailovich was his primary rival for power. Their num-
44
See Freeman, Gregory A., The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who
Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War Ii. (New York) Penguin Ran-
dom House, 2007.
45
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/george-vujnovich-oss-agent-
whose-operation-halyard-saved-allied-airmen-7899872.html. (Retrieved August 27,
2019)
46
https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-great-escape-67380188/?
page=1. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)

190
bers estimated at around 10,000, the Chetniks lived in the mountainous
region of western Serbia. The charismatic Mihailovich appeared on the
cover of Time and the magazine hailed him as one of Europe’s greatest
guerilla fighters. Although the magazine’s readers voted for Mihailovich
as the publication’s Man of the Year, the editors selected Joseph Stalin.
The Allies also ultimately supported Tito over Mihailovich. As the result
of the machinations of a communist double agent, James Klugmann,
Great Britain threw its support to Tito and the British persuaded the
United States to follow suit.47 By 1944, the two factions were fighting
each other as well as the Germans. However, it was Mihailovich who
passed information about the downed airmen to the Yugoslav Embassy
in Washington, from where it was passed on to American authorities.
These actions helped set in motion the development of a rescue plan.48
The man who planned the rescue mission was the son of Serbian
parents who migrated to the United States in 1912. Born in Pittsburgh
in 1915, George Vujnovich distinguished himself academically, earning
a scholarship to study in medicine at the University of Belgrade, where
he met his wife, Mirjana, who was a teacher. The couple fled Belgrade af-
ter the Germans bombed the city in 1941. Separated by the war, George
found his way to West Africa where he worked for Pan American Air-
lines. Mirjana ended up in the United States and went to work at the
Yugoslav Embassy in Washington.49 Meanwhile, once the United States
entered the war, Vujnovich was commissioned as a second lieutenant
and took command of an airbase in Nigeria, where he was recruited by
the OSS because of his familiarity with Yugoslavia.50 Eventually assigned
to Bari, Italy, Vujnovich received the information about the downed air-
men in Yugoslavia from his wife. Vujnovich began to design a rescue
operation.51
47
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 148–151.
48
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/george-vujnovich-oss-
agent-whose-operation-halyard-saved-allied-airmen-7899872.html. (Retrieved
August 27, 2019); https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-great-escape-
67380188/?page=1. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
49
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/george-vujnovich-oss-agent-
whose-operation-halyard-saved-allied-airmen-7899872.html. (Retrieved August 27,
2019)
50
Ibid. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
51
Ibid. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)

191
 Vujnovich worked out a rescue plan and presented it to his superi-
ors, however, William Donovan, director of the OSS, knew there would
be difficulties in getting it approved. Both the State Department and the
British opposed the plan, as they viewed Mihailovich as a Nazi collabo-
rator who could be feeding them false information. But the command-
er of the 15th Air Force, General Nathan Twining, wanted to recover
the downed airmen who had been sheltered by partisan forces. In July
1944, Donovan was able to persuade President Roosevelt to approve the
mission, bluntly telling Roosevelt, “Screw the British! Let’s get our boys
out!” However, as a concession to Winston Churchill, who did not want
him to make direct contact with Mihailovich, Vujnovich was forbidden
to go to Yugoslavia.52
Orders were dispatched to Italy creating the Air Crew Rescue Unit
(ACRU), with two B-25 bombers for use as needed and the 15th Air
Force was placed on call to provide whatever additional air resources
that might be required. The order specified that ACRU’s mission would
be carried out by OSS agents, with their activities coordinated from
Bari. The command of ACRU was assigned to Colonel George Kraigher,
who was a friend of Vujnovich from his time with Pan American. With
a team he could trust, Vujnovich and his team could carry out their
plan, which was filled with risk. Whether or not they could carry it our
successfully remained to be seen.53
Unable to lead the mission on the ground, Vujnovich relied on his
second choice to lead the rescue attempt, Lieutenant George S. Musulin.
Born to Serbian parents in New York, Musulin grew up in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he
played on their national champion football team in 1937. He then went
on to play professional football in Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Chicago.54
A Captain in the OSS, Musulin had parachuted into Yugoslavia and
worked with Mihailovich from October 1943 to May of 1944 before be-
ing withdrawn along with 40 rescued airmen to Bari. Musulin had also
52
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 169–171; https://www.airspacemag.com/his-
tory-of-flight/the-great-escape-67380188/?page=1. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
53
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, p. 171, 177.
54
https://www.revolvy.com/page/George-Musulin. (Retrieved August 27, 2019);
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-05-15-0105150035-story.html,
(Retrieved August 29, 2019)

192
advocated for a rescue mission and was delighted when Vujnovich told
him he would command the ACRU. Musulin knew the mission would
be difficult but that these airmen were clinging to the hope that they
would be rescued.55
The mission would require three agents. Vujnovich and Musulin
selected Sergeant Mike Rajacich, from Washington D.C., who was of
Yugoslavian descent and spoke the local language. Rajacich had arrived
in Bari a few days earlier but had served in Cairo and was highly rec-
ommended. He advised Musulin that if he needed another agent with
the requisite language skills, he could rely on a mustachioed OSS agent
named Nick Lalich. Born in Lorain Ohio, the son of Serbian parents and
a graduate of Ohio State University and Columbia University, Lalich
had served with Rajacich in Cairo. Although Lalich wasn’t immediately
needed, his availability eased Vujnovich’s mind.56
The final member of the three-man team had to be a skilled radio
operator. Although the OSS had the best radio equipment available,
these devices were cumbersome, about the size of a suitcase, and tem-
peramental; therefore, someone with radio expertise was essential to the
mission’s success. Vujnovich chose a combat veteran who had already
served successfully behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. Born in Cleve-
land, Ohio, and raided in Toledo, Ohio, Arthur “Jibby” Jibilian was a
second-generation Armenian-American who had enlisted in the Navy
Air Corps but had failed the require eye test for prospective fliers. Before
he could try again, Jibilian was drafted into the regular navy, where he
trained to be a radioman. While in boot camp, Jibilian took advantage of
the opportunity to volunteer for the OSS, where he hoped his ability to
speak Armenian would be useful. A few weeks before being selected for
the ACRU mission, Jibilian had been on the ground in Yugoslavia with
Tito’s forces, gathering intelligence. However, he and his fellow agents
were discovered by the Germans. After a week of narrow escapes, the
agents managed to elude their pursuers. During this time, they learned
about a dozen airmen who were in hiding from the Germans and were
waiting to be rescued. With the help of some of Tito’s partisans, they
55
Ibid.; Freeman, The Forgotten 500, p. 177; Leary, William M. Fueling the Fires of
Resistance: Army Air Forces Special Operations in the Balkans During War II. Reprint.
University Press of the Pacific, 2004, p. 30.
56
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 177–178.

193
were able to locate the airmen and eventually contact the OSS in Cairo.
An airlift was arranged, and the agents and airmen were flown to Bari.
Once there Jibilian learned that there were still more airmen who need-
ed to be rescued. He was determined to be part of the team that would
bring them back.57
While the ground mission was to be an American effort, the British
would assume responsibility for getting the three OSS agents into Ser-
bia. Relations between the British and Americans were strained, since
the British were unhappy with Roosevelt’s decision to go ahead with
the rescue effort. The three agents were instructed not to involve them-
selves with international relations; their job was to get the airmen out
of Yugoslavia, nothing more. They were specifically ordered to make no
promises military or otherwise to Mihailovich’s partisans on behalf of
the United States or its allies.58
The first effort to insert the three OSS agents into Yugoslavia by
parachute took place on July 19, 1944. However, the flight command-
er could not get a confirming signal from Mihailovich’s partisans when
they were over the drop zone and the jump was aborted. A second drop
was aborted due to anti-aircraft fire. However, Musulin was becoming
suspicious about his British allies, and began to believe they were ac-
tively sabotaging the mission. Three more attempts failed, and Musulin
became even more convinced that the British were interfering with the
mission. Finally, Musulin demanded an American plane and crew. Vu-
jnovich gladly complied, and on August 2, 1944, the trio of OSS agents
successfully parachuted into Mihailovich’s headquarters located at the
village of Pranjane, about fifty-five miles south of Belgrade.59 The Chet-
niks were elated by the arrival of the Americans. Richard Felman of the
415th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, described the
meeting between the OSS agents and the Chetniks. “The one who was
in the lead was the of a mob of Chetniks – they were kissing him and
cheering him with tears in their eyes. He was in an American uniform
57
Ibid, pp. 177–186; http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/rescuer-in-yugosla-
via/. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
58
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 187–189
59
Also spelled Pranjani; Ibid., pp. 187–192; Leary, Fueling the Fires of Resis-
tance, p. 30.

194
and was one of the biggest chaps I’d ever seen. He walked over to us and
put out his hands. ‘I’m George Musulin’, he said.”60
Musulin learned that there were 250 airmen waiting to be evacuated
from Pranjane. It was just a matter of time before the Germans discov-
ered the rescue operation, so there was no time to waste. However, the
only available airstrip was located on a plateau on the side of a moun-
tain, and it was too short for landing the C-47 planes that were to airlift
the airmen. Three hundred workers and more than sixty ox carts were
put to work lengthening the landing strip. The Chetniks were able to
increase the length of the landing strip to 1,800 feet with a width of 150
feet. The airstrip was barely usable, but there was little choice left but to
attempt to evacuate the airmen.61
The evacuation began on August 9, 1944 when six C-47s took off
from Italy. Two of the planes developed engine trouble and had to re-
turn to their airbase, but four planes completed the flight and landed on
the reconstructed airstrip. Each plane could carry just twelve passengers
and lifted off just before midnight with a total of forty-eight passengers,
the first of the downed airmen to be evacuated. The War Diary of the
10th Troop Carrier Squadron described the mission as “extremely haz-
ardous” and declared its success to the result of “the utmost in flying skill
and teamwork.”62 Six more C-47s landed just after dawn on August 10th
and evacuated another group of jubilant airmen. To give the Germans
the impression that a normal air strike was in progress, twenty-five P
51 fighter-bombers attacked targets in the area, providing cover for the
real mission of evacuating the airmen. An hour later a second group
of C 47s arrived and flew out another group of evacuees. A total of 272
airmen and other Allied personnel were rescued during the operation,
which was a clear success. Three more missions were flown to Pranjane,
two in August and one in September, and another seventy-five airmen
were evacuated.63
Musulin, however, had been ordered to return to Bari during the
evacuation process. The leader of the mission to Yugoslavia had inad-
60
https://specialoperations.com/32596/operation-halyard-forgotten-500-
one-great-rescue-stories-wwii/. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
61
Leary, Fueling the Fires of Resistance, p. 30.
62
Ibid., Freeman, The Forgotten 500, p. 239.
63
Leary, Fueling the Fires of Resistance, p.31.

195
vertently created a political crisis when he authorized the evacuation of
two Chetnik fighters who were severely wounded and needed urgent
medical attention. The Serbs had done so much to aid downed American
flyers that Musulin felt that he owed them the opportunity to be treated
for their wounds back in Italy. However, when the two men stepped off
the plane in Bari, they were seen by some of Tito’s partisans, who recog-
nized the pair as members of Mihailovich’s Chetniks. The Army leaders
in Bari were left with no choice but to order Musulin to return to Bari.
Musulin resisted for as long as he could, but finally returned to Bari on
August 26. There was talk of court-martialing Musulin for providing aid
to Mihailovich, despite strict orders to refrain from doing so, but noth-
ing came of it. Nick Lalich joined Rajacich and Jibilian in Pranjane and
assumed command of the mission. Lalich obtained permission for the
trio to remain in Yugoslavia, enabling the rescue mission to continue.64
The final rescue mission was flown on December 27. Escorted by sixteen
P-38 fighters, two C-47s left Bari and flew to an emergency landing field
near Bunar. Like the field at Bari, this one was barely long enough for the
transports to land, but they did so successfully. The planes were met by
Lalich and the two other agents, who were evacuated along with twen-
ty Americans and ten Allied military personnel.65 The Halyard team
took with them remembrances from their time with Mihailovich and
his Chetniks; two double edged Serbian knives known as a kama, and a
patch Mihailovich had worn for four years that read; “Samo Sloga Srbi-
na Spasava” – “Only Unity Saves the Serbs” – which the Chetnik leader
presented to Lalich.66
A total of 512 American, British, French, Italian and Russians were
rescued between August 9 and December 27, 1944 as a result of the
Halyard Mission.67
Because Operation Halyard was a secret mission, many years would
pass before Vujnovich and his companions would receive the credit they
deserved for their part in the rescue and evacuation of those air crews
64
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 238–239.
65
Leary, Fueling the Fires of Resistance, p. 32.
66
http://www.generalmihailovich.com/2014/08/halyard-mission-legend-cap-
tain-nick.html. (Retrieved August 27, 2019)
67
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, p. 277.

196
whose planes had been shot down during the raids on Ploesti and other
German oil refineries. Vujnovich received the Bronze Star in 2010 and
Musulin received the Legion of Merit. Jibilian received a Silver Star and
was nominated for the Medal of Honor but died before a decision about
the award had been made. Mike Rajacich was awarded the Legion of
Merit with oak leaf cluster and Nick Lalich was the recipient of the Silver
Star.68
The Halyard team also lobbied unsuccessfully to save the life of Daza
Mihailovich who had been arrested and sentenced to death following
Tito’s succession to power in Yugoslavia. Even so, their efforts contrib-
uted to a posthumous award of the Legion of Merit to Mihailovich in
1948 although the award was kept secret for nearly twenty years. The
Halyard team and many of the airmen who had been rescued because
of the efforts of Mihailovich and his Chetniks would remain bitter for
years over the official view that Mihailovich had been a Nazi collabora-
tor, which contradicted their experiences with the Chetnik leader. The
efforts of Congressman Edward J. Derwinski, largely due to the urging
of these airmen, led to the State Department’s admission in 1967 that
Mihailovich had been awarded the Legion of Merit on behalf of a nation
grateful for his actions in saving more than 500 American servicemen.69
Finally, in 2016, the cooperation between the Serbs and Americans was
honored with the commemoration of a memorial to Operation Halyard
in Pranjane.70
George Vujnovich, who started an aircraft parts business, died at
the age of 96, on April 24, 2012. George Musulin joined the Central In-
telligence Agency in 1950, retiring in 1974. He died as the result of com-
plications from diabetes February 23, 1987. Nick Lalich also worked for
the CIA before becoming an advertising executive. He then joined the
Department of Commerce and retired in 1984. He died at the age of 85
in May 2001. Arthur Jibilian earned a degree in business administration
68
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/308776 (Retrieved August 27, 2019);
https://www.revolvy.com/page/George-Musulin (Retrieved August 27, 2019); http://
www.nbcnews.com/id/39710702/ns/us_news-life/t/nyc-man-gets-medal-wwii-res-
cue/ (Retrieved August 27, 2019).
69
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 267–269.
70
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1009844/us-commemorates-
serbian-support-during-wwii/ (Retrieved August 27, 2019)

197
and worked in the private sector as safety director for an industrial com-
pany. He died on March 21, 2010 at the age of 86.71
The Medal of Honor and other citations awarded to of each of these
men contain words such as “extraordinary heroism,” “gallantry” “be-
yond the call of duty” and “intrepidity”. But these are just words. None
of them, no matter how heartfelt, can fully capture the manner in which
these men courageously rose to meet challenges that, even at the cost of
their own lives, saved the lives of their comrades, endured terrible suf-
fering and epitomized the phrase “above and beyond the call of duty.”
But, beyond that, each of the individuals profiled here represent the true
significance of the immigrant experience and the significant role that
immigrants, Serbian and so many others, have played in the history of
the United States, not just through military service, but through the va-
riety of experiences, knowledge, dedication to hard work, the fearsome
challenge of adapting to life in a new land, to withstand the animosi-
ty of those who perceived them as a threat to their economic or social
well-being, and, most of all, to persevere, endure, adapt and ultimately
contribute, each in his or her own way to shaping the United States.
Now, as Serbia and the United States work to strengthen their relation-
ship and to work together to promote economic growth and regional
security, Americans in particular may want to reflect upon the many
contributions Serbian immigrants and their descendants have made to
the United States and to recognize the benefits of a mutually respectful
and cooperative relationship.

References

“Fismes: Where the Line Stiffened.” The American Legion Weekly, August
22, 1924. Old Magazine Articles, http://www.oldmagazinearticles.
com/ww1_battle_at_Fismette.
71
Freeman, The Forgotten 500, pp. 271–272; http://www.legacy.com/ns/
george-vujnovich-obituary/157415604; https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/26/obit-
uaries/gs-musulin-who-got-gi-s-out-of-yugoslavia-dies-at-72.html; https://www.
legacy.com/obituaries/thenews-messenger/obituary.aspx?n=arthur-jibilian-jib-
by&pid=146426580. (Retrieved August 27, 2019).

198
Freeman, Gregory A., The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men
Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II,
Penguin Random House, New York, 2007.
Garey, E.B., Ellis, O.O., Magoffin, R.V.D., American Guide Book to France
and its Battlefields. New York. The Macmillan Company, 1920.
Leary, William M., Fueling the Fires of Resistance, Oregon, USA, 2004.
McConnell, Malcolm, Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan,
Hero of Vietnam, New York, W.W. Norton, 2004 (reprint edition).
Miller, Edward G. A. Dark, and Bloody Ground, The Hurtgen Forest
and the Roer River Dams, 1944–1945, Texas A&M University Press,
College Station, 2003;
Oder, Brock N. “San Diego’s Naval Disaster,” The Journal of San Diego
History, San Diego Historical Society Quarterly, Summer 1976,
Volume 22, Number 3.
Public Law 101-564, enacted on November 15, 1990, (https://www.
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-104/pdf/STATUTE-104-
Pg2783.pdf).
The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book for 1919, James
Langland, editor. Chicago, Chicago Daily News Company, 1918.

Gregori Mur

SRPSKO-AMERIČKI JUNACI: DOBITNICI MEDALJE ČASTI I

UČESNICI OPERACIJE HALIJARD

Rezime

Autor napominje da su imigranti, ili ljudi rođeni van Amerike,

igrali veliku ulogu u američkoj vojsci. Među ovim ljudima, Amerikanci
srpskog porekla koji su služili u vojsci bili su česti dobitnici Medalje
časti. Među njima su: Rade Grbić, Anđelko Mandušić, Joko I. Meštrović,
Džon Minik i Lazar Petar Šijan. U junačke poduhvate Drugog svetskog
rata spada takođe i operacija Halijard, gde su Amerikanci srpskog
porekla uspeli da opet pokažu svoju hrabrost, iako nisu za to dobili
Medalju časti. Rezultat je činjenica da je petsto dvanaest ljudi spaseno –
i Amerikanaca i saveznika.
Ključne reči: Amerikanci srpskog porekla, Medalja časti, operacija
Halijard, hrabrost, vojska

199
 UDC 327(497.11:73)
*
Ephraim Isaac, PhD, full professor
Institute of Semitic Studies (Princeton, New Jersey / USA)

SERBIA AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Abstract: This article touches upon my early interest in Serbia from the
time when a warm friendship developed between Emperor Haile and Tito of
Yugoslavia. I have subsequently become interested Serbia and the study of re-
ligion and the Orthodox Churches, I discuss the international relations of Ser-
bia, in particular, with the USA where I reside. I discuss, although very briefly,
the evolution of Serbian–US relations during the last two centuries and the
contribution of the Serbian Diaspora to American religion and science and the
evolving US–Serbian international relations.
Keywords: Serbia, United States, relations, Holocaust, culture

Introduction

I was born in Ethiopia but now I live in the USA. I have been a pro-
fessor at Harvard and Princeton. But because of my memory of Ethiopi-
an–Yugoslavian relations, I became interested in Serbian relations with
the United States where I now reside. My several visits to Serbia during
the past fifteen years, and friendship with Prof. Darko Trufanovic, start-
ed in the United States where I now live. But allow me first to say a
few words about my childhood memory. I remember that Ethiopia and
Serbia have had both direct and indirect relationship. Their indirect re-
lationship is based on the fact that they are both members of the Eastern
Orthodox Church, major adherents of the Orthodox confessions. Be-
cause of that Ethiopia has initially been one of the strongest advocates
for the recognition of Kosovo as Serbian.1
*
[email protected]
1
It was reported that members of a Kosovo delegation were denied entry visas
into Ethiopia in January 2010. They were purportedly planning to attend the African
Union summit to lobby African nations to recognize Kosovo. But the Serbian Foreign

201
 The former state of Yugoslavia had excellent diplomatic ties with
Ethiopia. Their bilateral direct relationship is based on a friendship that
goes back to the 19th century and was heightened during the time of
Tito. Tito appointed Haile Selassie the honorary citizen of Belgrade. He
also donated a vessel for the Ethiopian navy. In return, Marshal Tito
was given a villa in Addis Ababa that is now the Serbian Embassy. An
interesting story about the relationship of the two leaders refers to the
chapel in the Belgrade Palace that was redecorated a Christian place of
worship upon the request of the Emperor during his visit to Belgrade in
1954. Tito’s visit to Ethiopia was internationally noted.2 (Please allow me
to add a personal note: When I translated the Handel’s Messiah into the
Amharic language in 1960 and conducted it in Emperor Haile Selassie’s
palace in April 1961, the accompanying Orchestra was trained by a Mr.
Milosevic, a Serb music teacher of the Ethiopian Police Orchestra. Mr.
Milosevic, not only became one of my first Serb friends, but he also
composed a music piece dedicated to me personally that I appreciated
very much and still have in my possession.)

Holocaust in former Yugoslavia

So, no wonder that I continue to be interested in your country and

the developments in Serbia. I have served on the American Board of the
Jasenovac Research Institute. I have also given a talk at one of the annual
ceremonies of the Institute. The knowledge of the terrible Second World
War Nazi crimes of genocide usually gets wide attention. However, until
recently, the genocide perpetrated against the Serbs, Jews, and Roma
at Jasenovac got little attention, and there was scarce information. In
memory of the crimes of the Ustashe at Jasenovac in which crimes were
committed against Serbs, Jews and Roma, and to correct the oversight
the Jasenovac Research Institute and a memorial garden were founded in
the USA, in Brooklyn, New York. It started with the First Internation-
al Conference on Jasenovac and the Yugoslavian Holocaust in 1997 at a

Minister, Vuk Jeremic attended the summit. (Serbia, Kosovo Spar Over Ethiopian Visa
Question, Balkan Insight, January 29, 2010.)
2
TITO GREETS SELASSIE; Emperor of Ethiopia begins 10-day visit to Yugoslavia
(The New York Times, Aug. 16, 1959).

202
Kingsborough Community College meeting that has become published
as Jasenovac and the Holocaust in Yugoslavia: Analyses and Testimonies.3
The research Institute has received an award from former New York
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The award reads in part: “Whereas:
Sixty years have passed since the end of the Holocaust. As the horror of
those events recedes deeper into history, the responsibility of remembrance
weighs more heavily on all of us. New York City is proud to join the Jase-
novac Research Institute in commemorating the Holocaust in Yugoslavia
with a ceremony at the Holocaust park in Brooklyn. Together we honor
those who suffered and pledge to remain vigilant against the dark impulses
that triggered this genocide.” On April 17, 2005, Jasenovac Day of Com-
memoration was also Declared for “extraordinary contributions to the
City of New York.”4 (see here below)

3
Jasenovac and the Holocaust in Yugoslavia: Analyses and Testimonies (Edited by
Barry M. Lituchy, Published by JRI, 2006, 408 pp.)
4
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, CITY OF NEW YORK (SEE DECLARATION
POST HERE BELOW).

203
 Simon Wiesenthal had said that: “The crimes of the fascist Ustashe
against the Serbs in the notorious camp of Jasenovac must be known
– crimes that are the worst ones along with those committed against
the Jews in the Holocaust.”5 So, the Institute attempts to educate the
American people about the Holocaust in Yugoslavia during the Second
World War. It promotes research designed to establish the truth about
the crimes committed at Jasenovac against Jews and Serbians and Roma.
It also seeks justice for the victims. The Institute has contact with the
Jasenovac Memorial Site in the area of the former notorious concentra-
tion camp.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington
D.C. recognizes the crimes committed against Jews and Serbs. In one
of its documents, it estimates that the Ustashe regime murdered 77,000
and 99,000 people in Jasenovac from 1941 to 1945. They say, of these,
45,000–52,000 are Serbs, 12,000–20,000 are Jews and 15,000–20,000 are
Gypsies (Roma); 5,000–12,000 Croats and religious opponents of the
regime. These are figures somewhat similar found at the Jasenovac Me-
morial site – 80,000–100,000. But these figures are questioned by some
who say the number of the Jasenovac victims is no less than a million.6

Serbian in United States

Serbian immigrants first came to the United States in the late 1800’s.7
Many settled in the American south, although many went to the west
and even as far as Alaska. Subsequently, many Serbs had immigrated to
the United States as refugees from Communist Yugoslavia. Today, there
are numerous Serbs in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and
other American cities. One of the first Serbian immigrants to the USA
was George Fisher who came to Philadelphia about 1815 and fought in
what was known as the Texan Revolution and became a judge in Cali-
5
EIR NEWS SERVICE, APRIL 30, 1993.
6
“JASENOVAC” in HOLOCAUST ENCYCLOPEDIA, Unite States Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
7
Dorich, William,” Who Are the Serbs?” World Affairs Council of Orange Coun-
ty. California, Irvine. 1995. Speech.

204
fornia.8 Another early Serb in the USA was a founder of an important
shipping company called Trans-Oceanic Shipping Lines in 1800. Many
Serbs found jobs in the mining industry, especially in Alaska where they
also established an Orthodox Church. They volunteered to fight in the
First World War as well as in the Second World War. There are several
known decorated Serbian American veterans of the Second World War.
There are many successful, world-renowned Serbs in America.
Nicola Tesla (d. 1943) is probably the most famous and best-known Serb
in the United States. He was born and raised in the Austrian Empire
and was educated to be an engineer. He emigrated to America in 1884
and became a naturalized citizen. He became famous an inventor. He
worked at Continental Edison in the electric power industry. Tesla then
set up on his own laboratories and companies in New York to develop a
range of electrical and mechanical devices. His alternating current (AC)
induction motor was licensed by the big American Westinghouse Elec-
tric Company. That made him even more famous and richer. According
to his biography, “Tesla conducted a wide range of experiments with
mechanical oscillators/generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early
X-ray imaging…. built a one of the first wireless-controlled boat…. Af-
ter his death he became less well-known. After a 1960 conference in his
honor, he reemerged as a genius engineer and inventor.”9
To this day many of Tesla’s inventions are regarded as having been
fundamental in the American scientific and industrial work. In recent
times, many Serbs work in engineering and a number of them also
worked on the Apollo project. One such Serb American scientist, Mi-
hajlo Pupin, was said to have been a close personal friend of President
Woodrow Wilson. In brief, there is a large number of Serb-Americans
who have distinguished themselves in academia, art, music, media, busi-
ness and numerous fields of study and endeavor. There are well-judges,
scientists, writers, decorated high military leaders, US Senate and Con-
8
Slavkovic, A. B. The Immigrant. The Judge Fisher Story. Pittsburgh, PA: White
Angel Media. 2006 3. John Livingston.
9
“Nicola Tesla, Serbian-American Inventor” by Inez Whitaker Hunt in Encyclo-
pediaBritannica, 2019; Nicola Tesla and David Hatcher Childress, The Fantastic Inven-
tions of Nikola Tesla, 1993; Adventures Unlimited Press (June 12, 2014).

205
gress members from many states. A list of such persons can be easily
found in Wikipedia and other American biographical sources.

Serbian–American Relations

Since the end of the nineteenth century, American Serbian rela-

tionship has gone through four stages – the first friendly and cordial
diplomatic relationship after the Fall of the Ottoman Empire, the cold
and somewhat indifferent relationship during the time of Yugoslavian
Communism, the 1990’s most hostile position during the recent Balkan
war, and the present renewed burgeoning partnership.

a) It is thought that the United States first established diplomatic

relations with the new Balkan nations after the fall of the Otto-
man Empire at the end of the 19th century. Among these nations
Serbia was a key. The two countries became allies during World
War I. The diplomatic relationship continued through World
War II. According to the history of the relationship, the United
States supported the royalist Serbian Chetniks over the emerg-
ing rival communist Partisans during World War II.10
The United States and the Kingdom of Serbian established dip-
lomatic relations in 1879 when a Serbian Consulate General
was opened. In 1882, it became official when the US Senate rec-
ognized a Convention of diplomatic relations that King Milan
Obrenovic had declared. Ambassador Eugene Schuyler, a well-
known academic (also known to have been a personal friend
of Tolstoy) became the first US Ambassador to Serbia.11 Subse-
quently the relations continued from 1918 to 2006 with the then
Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the succeeding Socialist Federal Re-
10
US Ambassador to Serbia, US Government Office Document, February 3, 2011;
“Country Program Framework”; UNDP “Serbia”, August 26, 2015; Jozo Tomashevich,
The Chetniks, Stanford University Press, 1975.
11
“Eugene Schuyler,” National Encyclopedia of American Biography (New York:
James T. White & Co., 1900), vol. 8, p. 339; “Tolstoy’s confessor long an exile in Cali-
fornia,” San Francisco Call, 9 April 1911; R. J. Jensen, “Eugene Schuyler and the Balkan
Crisis,” Diplomatic History 5: 1 (Winter 1981), 23–39.

206
 public of Yugoslavia of which the now Serbia become the legal
successor.
b) Then, when the Partisans and Yugoslavia became one single
communist State, with Josip Broz Tito as the leader, the diplo-
matic relations cooled. Subsequently, a large number of Serbian
refugees, mostly anti-communist, sought shelter in the United
Sates. They became the first major Serbian Diaspora in America.
During that era of the Cold War the American Serbs sided with
the USA and participated in American anti-communist activi-
ties.12 Yet, Serbian emigration to the USA and Canada was re-
garded as a brain drain.
c) After the breakup of Communist Yugoslavia, then known as
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, American relations with the
country, including Serbia, soured due to a great degree. Yet, in
1992, before the diplomatic relations became complicated, an
American Serbian businessman by the name of Milo Panic even
became Prime Minister of Serbia.13
d) Subsequently, conflicting economic and political developments
in the region became complicated. During this period, some
Anti-Serbian parties are said to have bought public relations
opinion in the USA that became damaging for the Serbian side.14
So, after the Dayton Accord debacle, and some cordial relations
during 1995–1998, the US imposed sanctions on the country
and led a NATO bombing campaign (March 24 – June 1999),
causing damage to the diplomatic relations between the two. It
was a horrible tragedy. This was also a time of more and new
Serb refugee migration to the United States.
12
Leffler, Melvyn P., The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Cambridge Universi-
ty Press, 2009, p. 201; Melissa Katherine Bokovoy, Jill A. Irvine, Carol S. Lilly, State-so-
ciety Relations in Yugoslavia, 1945–1992; West, Richard, Tito and the Rise and Fall of
Yugoslavia. Faber, 2012.
13
Profile of Milan Panic, Head of States and Governments, A Worldwide Ency-
clopedia of World Leaders (1945–1992), p. 856; Sudetic, Chuck (12 December 1992),
Challenger Steps Up Attack on Serbian Leader, The New York Times, February 12, 2016;
Vukotić, Manojlo (2014). Milan Panić: The Mission of Peace. Belgrade, Serbia: Vukotić
Media (2014) pp. 17–31.
14
Report from a personal friend.

207
 In the year 2000, diplomatic relations between the United States
and Yugoslavia were restored. However, in 2006 Montenegro seceded.15
Then, Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move that was recog-
nized by the US against Serbian objection.

e) As a geographical bridge between Western and Eastern Europe,

Serbia occupies a key strategic position in the Balkans. Hence, in
spite of the past conflicts, the bombing of Belgrade, and the Amer-
ican support for Kosovo, the United States recognizes that it can
benefit from a strong relationship with Serbia, and as a security
partner. The US supports Serbia’s efforts to join the EU. There is
an Ohio joint Military Education and Training partnership.16 The
US also supports Serbian ties with NATO as well partnership in
UN operations and Serbia’s Global Peace Operations Initiative. The
US also recognizes the importance of Serbian partnership to defeat
ISIS.17 I have seen reports that say that the US has now invested
about one billion dollars in recent assistance to Serbia.18 But some
American-Serb friends of mine have expressed doubt about this
figure.
f) Secondly, the US supports Serbian economic endeavors and re-
forms. The US supports the 2015 three-year agreement of Serbia
with IMF. I understand many US investors, among them lead-
ing American beverage corporations and industrial and service
groups, among them the IBM, Microsoft, and IT companies have
established themselves in Serbia. In 2018, a Serbian–US agree-
ment, a Memorandum of Understanding, was signed to improve in-
frastructure projects. In short, it can be said that the two have now
burgeoning diplomatic, commercial, and military relations. Since
2016, Air Serbia now connects Belgrade to Kennedy Airport.

15
The Economist, May 23, 2006.
16
History of the Ohio-Serbia SPP, U.S. European Command, March 29, 2013
17
Branislav Radeljić; Martina Topić (1 July 2015). Religion in the Post-Yugoslav
Context, Lexington Books, July 2015.
18
UNCTAD World Investment Report (2019).

208
 Serbian–American Culture

Serbian American Culture: The number of Serbs who came to the

United States and became American is still more or less a guess. How-
ever, according to some sources there is today a sizeable Serb Diaspora
in the USA. The first recorded document of Serbs in 1970 was that of
automobile factory workers in Detroit. On the other hand, the popular
Fiat 500L was manufactured in Kragujevac, Serbia and exported to Bal-
timore, in the USA. The USA also imports raspberries from Serbia. The
census of 2007 estimated a total of 172,834 people of Serbian origin in
the USA. Again, I have seen no proof of these figures.19
As a student of religious literature and history, and a scholar of the
study of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, I am interested in the history of
the Serbian Orthodox Church. I have come to learn that the Serbian im-
migrants of the mid-19th century founded the Serbian Orthodox Church
of North and South America with eparchies (dioceses) and a central
church council made up of diocesan bishops. There is now believed to
exist almost over 250 churches, chapels, monasteries in both North and
South America today. The Serbian Church is believed to have the larg-
est number of monasteries among all other Eastern Orthodox nation-
al churches, one for every 11 parishes. The earliest Orthodox churches
were established in the Saint Francisco Bay Area. An important one was
established in Alaska. The Serbs are said to have played very important
early role in establishing Orthodox churches in America.20Among the
early leaders were the American-born Father Sebastian Dabovich and
the Serbian Archimandrite Firmilijan who served the Chicago Serbian
community in the USA. One Sebastian Dabovich built the Saint Sava
Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, California in 1893.In the early
days, these Churches were affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Diocese
of the USA. In 1921, a separate Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of
America and Canada was established. In 1926, Archimandrite Mardar-
ije Uskokovic was installed as the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of America
19
American Community Survey, August 2103; Vujnovich, Milos M. Yugoslavs in
Louisiana. Gretna: Pelican, 1974.
20
Durniak, Gregory, Constance Tarasar, and John H. Erickson. Orthodox Amer-
ica: 1794–1976: Development of the Orthodox Church in America. New York: Ortho-
dox Church in America. Department of History and Archives, 1975.

209
and Canada. He was succeeded by Bishop Dionisije Milivojevic in 1939.
He opposed the proposal to reorganize the Church due to administra-
tive problems that had arisen. However, in 1963 by the authorization of
the Serbian Orthodox Church the reorganization took effect: Serbian
Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America and Canada, Serbian Orthodox
Church of Midwestern America, and the Serbian Orthodox Church of
Western America. I am very happy to say that I have been invited to the
Church in New York that I attended with my friend and neighbor, Prof,
Vladimir Visnjic of Temple University whose daughter is Professor of
Astronomy at Princeton University. Thus, I keep close friendship with
many Serbs in the USA.21

Conclusion

This article is based on a personal memoir and interest in the His-

tory of the Orthodox peoples of Europe, Jewish relations with the peo-
ple of Serbia, and my own personal involvement and life in the Amer-
ican Diaspora. Equally important my interest in Serbia is based on the
warm friendship I developed with Serbs, among them the music teacher
Djordje Milojevic who collaborated with me on performing the Han-
del’s Messiah in Emperor Haile Selassie’s palace in 1961 and wrote a mu-
sical piece dedicated to me; Prof. Vladimir Visnjic, my neighbor at the
Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton, in 1979-80; and Prof. Darko
Trifunovic, who from my first meeting with him in 2000 as a UN diplo-
mat impressed me as a lover of learning and scholarship and a dedicated
human being for the cause of world peace. It was Darko who first invited
me to visit Belgrade and extended me the invitation to work with the
Jasenovac Memorial project. Through these friends and other Serbs I
have met in the USA at the New York Serbian Orthodox Church, I have
developed a warm and respectful feeling for the people of Serbia and
great interest in the knowledge of the history and culture of Serbia. The
21
For those who wish to pursue Serb immigrations to American and the subject
of Serb-Americans, I recommend the Journal of the North American Society for Ser-
bian Studies which publishes scholarly articles in various aspects of Serbian cultural
heritage, knowledge of Serbia and the Serbian Diaspora (Founded in 1978, Indiana
University, Bloomington, Ind.)

210
Serb people I have met are sincere and respectful of Ethiopia more than
many other people I know internationally. I have but warm feelings for
Serbia and will continue to learn more about the country and the Serb
Diaspora in the USA.

References

Batakovic, Dusan T., Histoire du peuple serbe, Lausanne, L’Age d’Homme,

2005.
Cox, John K. (2002), The History of Serbia, Westport, Conn., Greenwood
Press, 2002.
Dragnich, Alex N., ed. (1994), Serbia’s Historical Heritage, New York:
Columbia University Press, 1994.
Fotić, Aleksandar. “Serbian Orthodox Church”, Encyclopedia of the
Ottoman Empire, New York, Infobase Publishing, 2008, pp. 519–
520.
Ivic Pavle, ed. The History of the Serbian Culture, Edgeware: Porthill
Publishers, 1995.
Levy, Michele Frucht (2009). “The Last Bullet for the Last Serb”:
The Ustaša Genocide against Serbs: 1941–1945”. Nationalités
Papers. 37 (6): 807–837.
Mitrovic, Andrei, Serbia’s Great War 1914–1918, West Lafayette: Purdue
University, 2007.
Pavlowitch, Stevan K., History’s New Disorder: The Second World War in
Yugoslavia, New York, Columbia University Press, 2008.
Rajić, Suzana, “Serbia – the Revival of the Nation-state, 1804–1829:
From Turkish Provinces to Autonomous Principality”, 2010.
Radivojević, Biljana, and Goran Penev, “Demographic losses of Serbia
in the first world war and their long-term consequences”. Economic
Annals. 59 (2014): 29–54.
Savich, Karl, “The Kragujevac massacre”, Archived from the original on
December 17, 2012.
Sotirović, Vladislav B., “The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in the Ottoman
Empire: The First Phase (1557–1594)”, 2011.
Vukovic, Sava, History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and
Canada 1891–1942, Kragujeac: Kalenic, 1998.

211
“Jewish Heritage Europe: Serbia 2 – Jewish Heritage in Belgrade”. Jewish
Heritage Europe, From Original Archive, June 30, 2010.
The Balkan Wars and World War I, Library of Congress Country Studies
(1945–1992).
“The Original Designer of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Marek Djordjevic”,
September 23, 2011.
The World Fact Book: Serbia, Central Intelligence Agency, June 2014.
Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and Research Center, Yad Vashem.

Efraim Isak

SRBIJA I SJEDINJENE AMERIČKE DRŽAVE

Rezime

Ovaj članak se dotiče mojih ranijih interesovanja za Srbiju od

vremena kad se toplo prijateljstvo razvijalo između cara Hajla Selasija
i Tita. Nakon toga sam postao zainteresovan za Srbiju i proučavanja
religije i Pravoslavne crkve. Između ostalog, bavim se i proučavanjem
međunarodnih odnosa Srbije, konkretno sa Sjedinjenim Američkim
Državama, gde i živim. Bavim se, mada u manjoj meri, i evolucijom
srpsko-američkih odnosa tokom poslednja dva veka i doprinosima
srpske dijaspore američkoj religiji i nauci.
Ključne reči: Srbija, SAD, odnosi, Holokaust, kultura

212
 UDC 330.1(497.11:73)
UDC 327(497.11:73)
Darko Obradović*
Institute for National and International Security

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS – AN ECONOMIC

PERSPECTIVE FROM A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE

Abstract: The author notes the relations between Serbia and the USA,
mostly from an economic point of view. The development of good political
relations directly affects the economic relations between two countries. These
economic relations between the USA and Serbia are then given an overview
with notable examples of cooperation being mentioned. Among them are the
donations that the USA sent during the First World War. Other noted exam-
ples include the loans that the USA gave to Yugoslavia as well as the donations
in the troubling period of the 1990s and 2000s. After this, the author lists the
advantages of economic cooperation but also notes Serbia’s military coopera-
tion with the USA, specifically the Ohio National Guard. Lastly some thought
is give on the public opinion concerning USA donations in the country.
Keywords: economic interests, political relations, US loans, donations,
military cooperation, Ohio National Guard

Introduction

Relations between states can be political, security, economic, cul-

tural, military, even friendly, but by no means “fraternal”. When we talk
about the strength of relations between the two countries, we usually
focus on political, security and economic relations. Political and secu-
rity relations are always the dominant component in the relations of
two states, but certainly in the age of globalization, economic relations
between states, corporations and individuals are the dominant ones.
Economic interests do not know about borders, religions, nations, at
least not those economic interests that operate under the free market
*
[email protected]

213
system. Economic relations are based on economic interests. Economic
interests are often imbued with security interests. Economic operators
pursue their economic interests in a securely stable environment.
Serbian-American relations begin on November 10, 1882, when
Eugene Skyler submitted his credentials to the Kingdom of Serbia and
became the first outstanding and plenipotentiary representative of the
United States of America in the Kingdom of Serbia, which has lasted for
more than 130 years.
Serbia and the US first became economic partners and then later al-
lies in the two world wars. It should be borne in mind that until the end
of World War I the US pursued an isolationist policy, in this connection
we see that the importance of the treaty with the Kingdom of Serbia is
greater.
The investments that came in the years after the Second World War
in Yugoslavia showed how much economic relations accompany good
political relations. Also, they have shown that economics is an instru-
ment of geopolitics. Investments in Yugoslavia were a segment of the
strategy for making buffer zones in relation to the Soviet Union and the
Eastern Bloc.
Economic relations between the two countries were eroded during
the 1990s. A radical shift towards the Eastern Bloc at sunset, by the then
political elite in Serbia, led to the destruction of relations between the
two countries. In addition to all the horrors of the 1990s, Serbia failed
to upgrade and enhance investment, to participate in the information
revolution, and investment from the process bypassed Serbia.

A brief overview of Serbian–American economic relations

Serbian-American economic relations began by establishing diplo-

matic relations just over 130 years ago.
The result of several years of negotiations between Serbian and
American representatives was the signing of a trade agreement and a
consular convention in October 1881.1
1
Ugovori i konvencije Srbije i stranih država (od proglasa državne nezavisnosti
do 1. januara 1887) [Contracts and Convention between Serbia and Foreign States
(from the Proclamation of State Independence to January 1, 1887)], Beograd 1887,

214
 The beginning of economic relations between the two countries
was marked by the first contract for the export of dried plums from
Serbia to the USA.
We can safely say that the Serbian-American economic relations,
apart from the commercial segment, are marked primarily by the hu-
manitarian aspect. In this place, we will particularly highlight this hu-
manitarian economic aspect.
During the First World War, campaigns and checkpoints were orga-
nized in the USA to raise assistance to its ally, the Kingdom of Serbia.
This assistance was institutionalized through the Serbian Assistance
Committee in the United States. American public opinion was delighted
with the Serbian feats, but on the other hand was also horrified by the
devastation that the Serbian people in exile in Greece had gone through.
The American public stirred when it heard the news of the great vic-
tories of the Serbian Army and epidemic infectious diseases, so many
Americans began looking favorably upon the Serbian people and army.
Owing to the activity of Mihajlo Pupin, one of the greatest scientists in
the world, the Serbian nation was viewed with great respect among the
American elite and political circles. Apart from organizing the Serbian
emigration to America, Pupin wholeheartedly helped the Serbian peo-
ple by sending financial and material aid.2
During and after World War I, the United States sent millions worth
of aid to the Serbian state and its people. The assistance was based on
direct assistance to Serbia, through the American Red Cross, through
material assistance. Until the United States joined the war, Serbia had
received no direct financial aid from this country; however, it indirectly
did get a part of the US funds through loans from Allied countries, who
in turn got their funding in the form of loans from the United States.
Material aid collected by the American Red Cross and numerous hu-

275–290; Zbornik zakona i uredaba u Knjažestvu Srbiji izdanih od 20. jula 1882. do 19.
Februara 1883. godine [Collection of Laws and Regulations Issued in the Principality
of Serbia from July 20, 1882 to February 19, 1883], vol. 38, Beograd 1883, 107–125. The
aforementioned documents were signed by Ĉedomilj Mijatović, the Serbian Minister
of Foreign Affairs, and Eugene Schuyler, the first U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of
Serbia.
2
Živojinović, D. R. (2010). U potrazi za zaštitnikom: studije o srpsko-američkim
vezama 1878–1920. godine [Looking for a Patron: Studies on the Relations between
Serbia and the United States 1878–1920]. Belgrade: Albatros plus.

215
manitarian organizations and individuals from 1914 to 1917 had a char-
itable character and was not based on bilateral agreements. Also, the
United States has granted $ 3 billion to allies in Europe, and some of
that money had been distributed to Serbia. By the Supreme Council of
Supply and Relief in the US, which was founded in late 1918, through
this committee, the new state received 30 tons of harvest and a total of
$ 35 million in aid.
Along with sent humanitarian missions from the United States,
President Wilson’s diplomatic engagement enabled the annexation of
Banat, and Vojvodina’s predominantly Serb-populated population.
The second, more significant period of economic cooperation and
assistance begins during and after the Second World War. Realizing the
aggressive pretensions of the USSR on the countries of Eastern Europe.
The United States had sent aid to Yugoslavia in an organized manner to
save it, first and foremost, from starvation. In the aftermath of World
War II, the US Congress approved development loans to Yugoslavia.
The total amount of US aid given to Yugoslavia in the form of grants
and highly preferential loans over the period from 1949 to 1961 (after
the Yugoslav break from USSR socialism), according to the World Bank
study, was about two billion dollars.
In Yugoslavia, large subcontractors were starting to work, produc-
ing parts for global brands such as Boeing. The Yugoslav economy and
infrastructure was developing on Western and US loans. At the end of
the sixties, foreign investments gradually – but under strict control –
started to enter Yugoslavia. Over the period from 1948 to 1979, the Yu-
goslav domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 6.2%.3 Such
growth of 6.2% was certainly significantly facilitated by the US com-
mitment to assist Yugoslavia with development loans, humanitarian aid,
but also with the arrival of their companies and the establishment of
component cooperation.
After the tumultuous period of the 1990s and the 2000 changes.
Through the USAID programs, the United States has donated over $
1 billion to the development of Serbia’s economy, infrastructure and
democratic institutions. Humanitarian assistance has built the institu-
3
Radenković Ivan, Foreign Direct Investments in Serbia, Rosa Luxemburg
Stiftung Southeast Europe, Standard 2, Beograd, decembar 2016.

216
tions necessary to function. “Since 2001, USAID has donated over $
786 million to support Serbia’s economic and democratic development.
This is only part of a billion dollars in assistance from the United States
Government. In cooperation with the Government of Serbia, the private
sector and civil society, USAID programs “they are working to strength-
en the competitiveness of the Serbian economy, strengthen the rule of
law and the state administration, fight corruption and improve the reg-
ulatory media environment.”4
Assistance through donations to Serbia has contributed to the de-
velopment of a competitive economy, strengthening the rule of law,
public administration, combating corruption and building a sustainable
civil society.
The improvement of building permitting systems and procedures,
in support of regulatory reforms, needs to be highlighted. “USAID
helped Serbia adopt and enforce regulations that allowed businesses to
operate and grow. In cooperation with the Government of Serbia, the
private sector and civil society, USAID supported reforms that facili-
tated and made more transparent the permitting and inspection pro-
cess. control5.” Concrete advancement in the field of building permits
has enabled Serbia to record the growth of the construction industry
and an increase in the business list in recent years. At the moment, the
construction industry is significantly contributing to the overall share
of Serbia’s GDP.
Through the strengthening of institutional capacity to attract for-
eign direct investment, 32 local economic development offices have
been established.
USAID’s constructiveness has enabled many young and early-stage
groups to start their own businesses. In 2014, four IT centers were estab-
lished to help startups and talented IT professionals.
US companies rank high in foreign direct investment, with over $
4.5 billion invested. Today, US companies employ more then 20,000 Ser-
bian citizens. Working conditions in US companies are at the highest
level and are a very desirable employer in Serbia.
4
https://www.usaid.gov/sr/documents/1863/glavni-rezultati-pomo%C4%87i-
usaid-od-2001-godine-do-danas
5
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1863/US_Aid_Brochure_
SRB-FINAL.pdf

217
 Advantages of economic cooperation between Serbia and the USA

The advantages of foreign direct investment from the USA are

reflected above all:
– through the arrival of development-oriented capital,
– development of competitiveness
– access to the western market
– development of cooperation network for multinational companies
– Compliance with the Labor Law and the provisions of the Law on
Safety and Health at Work
– Exchange of know-how and innovation
We believe that there is much room for further economic cooper-
ation. First and foremost in export-oriented branches. High potential
lies especially in the export of home-made and organic products, whose
customers are predominantly Western consumers.
Both sides need to work to strengthen the connection between pri-
vate entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.

Economic-military cooperation

The Ohio National Guard National Partnership Program, USA, was

promoted in 1993 with the goal of establishing and intensifying defense
cooperation between the U.S. National Guard and the states created by
the breakup of the USSR.6
Serbia-US military cooperation began with the signing of the Status
of Force Agreement (SOFA).7 This program is not only a military coop-
eration program, but a significant form of financial, material and person-
nel assistance. The agreement is operationally implemented through the
cooperation of the Army of Serbia (VS) and the Ohio National Guard.
When we talk about the type of personnel assistance, we first of all
mean that a large number of NCOs and Officers of the Army of Serbia
6
http://www.vs.rs/sr_lat/medjunarodna-saradnja/saradnja-sa-ohajom/program-
drzavnog-partnerstva, Retrieved August 22, 2019.
7
See more: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34531.pdf

218
(VS) have been trained through SOFA. The knowledge and skills ac-
quired by US Army members during their exchange and education in
the United States contributes significantly to the improvement of the US
military operations, and is a form of intangible investment by the US in
the US military personnel. Joint exercises, trainings and seminars are a
significant form of sharing experiences and acquiring new knowledge
in line with contemporary challenges facing armies around the world.
Cooperation has been intensified, especially in the field of training
and training of officers and non-commissioned officers, exchange and
training of units, joint exercises, transfer of experience in the formation
of NCOs, assistance to the civilian structures in case of natural and
other disasters and disasters, and development of capacities for partici-
pation in multinational operations.8
Financial assistance by the US Army amounts to an estimated $ 9.8
million. This makes the US by far the main foreign donor to the Serbi-
an Armed Forces, far ahead of all other countries. In 2017, the United
States donated 19 Hamvi armored vehicles, totaling $ 3.8 million. With
these donations, the United States remain the most active and largest
foreign donor to the Serbian Armed Forces.
The cooperation of the two armies is also carried out through the
sub-program Humanitarian Assistance. Through this program, mem-
bers of NG Ohio and the Serbian Armed Forces work together to restore
and renovate buildings of social importance. Through the Humanitari-
an Assistance Program, a $ 415,000 Pirot Special Needs Residential Care
Center has been opened. Another example is the donation of KBC Niš,
which amounted to more than $ 400,000, and increased KBC’s opera-
bility from 5 cardiac surgeries per week to 12 interventions per week.
The type of socially relevant and responsible donations through the Hu-
manitarian Assistance sub-program is directly reflected in improving
the daily lives of Serbian citizens.
Military-economic cooperation should not only be seen as material
assistance, but should also be seen as a form of partnership, but should
also demonstrate the need for regional stability and collective peace-
keeping.
8
http://www.vs.rs/sr_lat/medjunarodna-saradnja/saradnja-sa-ohajom/program-
drzavnog-partnerstva, Retrieved August 22, 2019.

219
 Insufficient perception of US donations and assistance
to Serbia by public opinion

Despite significant indicators and joint programs, the role of the US

in Serbia’s development remains largely suppressed in Serbian public
opinion. Top government officials stress the need and appreciation of
the US government for helping Serbia and its citizens.9
According to one Radio Free Europe poll, most respondents be-
lieved that the Russian Federation was the largest donor to Serbia. The
consequence of this attitude is a hybrid war and the active measures be-
ing taken against the civilian population in Serbia. The leaders of these
activities are third countries, which are supported through infrastructure
in Serbia.
Public discourse is continually burdened with the transmission of
half-truths and lies about the nature of US interests in Serbia. As part of
the hybrid war being waged in Serbia, through organized activities, it
seeks to reduce the US contribution to Serbia’s development. Propagan-
da activities seek to disrupt the attitude of the population towards the
United States, as well as to further antagonize it to citizens and thereby
prevent Serbia’s integration into the EU.
The dominant discourse being used today seeks to reduce the facts
to emotions, utilizing simple categories and insufficient awareness of
the population.
The rational has replaced the emotional, the subjects and perform-
ers of active measures through their proxies in co-continuity are pene-
trating the widest section of the population.
On the other hand, there needs to be a change in approach to pre-
senting and promoting donations coming from the US.
The “You are the World” campaign launched by the US Embassy in
Serbia is a good example of the activities and opposition to the hybrid
war in Serbia.10
The proposal for proactive action on the visibility of US donations
unfortunately goes beyond the scope of this paper. The author, in his
modest lines, proposes several theses:
9
One of examples: http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/125/drustvo/1170134/
americki-hameri-za-srpsku-vojsku-.html
10
See more https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC14cWniWoO0K7Su1AdWbtSQ

220
 1. Promotion of US assistance by the institutions of the Republic of
Serbia- strengthens domestic PR from local to central government
2. Raise the level of exchange of knowledge and information on
accessing to the US market for Serbian companies and entrepreneurs
3. Organizing promotional events through local stakeholders with
the aim of informing the wider population about specific assistance and
support programs11
4. Change of approach in identifying priorities and partners for
development projects

Conclusion

In these modest lines, the author has tried, using significant exam-
ples, to point out the importance of Serbian–American economic coop-
eration and the importance of that cooperation for the Serbian people
and the economic development of Serbia.
Serbian-American economic relations are more than anything
marked by humanitarian and developmental characteristics. Economic
assistance and development loans coming from the US encouraged the
development of the Serbian economy and job creation. Economic coop-
eration and assistance, both coming and still coming from the US, was
articulated through common interests.
Historical events remind us that these relations were very favorable
at the time of a positive intersection of geopolitical interests, but also
during the shared civilizational values of
​​ the two states. Mainly we are
referring here to the I and II World War period and after these terrible
events. When it was necessary to help post-war Serbia, that assistance
came and averted a humanitarian catastrophe, most notably the popula-
tion’s famine and infectious diseases.
The period of arrival of US components and subcontracting, such
as working with a giant like Boeing or Ferguson, further accelerated
state development and job creation.
11
Very significant example KBC in Niš and public facility in Pirot.

221
 What significantly distinguishes Serbian–US economic relations is
their proactive course, following the events of the 1990s and the irre-
sponsible policies of the then state leadership.
Economic relations are always somehow overshadowed by security
and political interests, which often serve as fertile ground for propagan-
da and manipulation. Despite the malicious allegations, from the exam-
ples of economic cooperation embodied in foreign direct investment,
USAID’s programs and the program of economic-military cooperation
are drawing conclusions. That Serbia, thanks to its economic relations
and humanitarian aid, builds its post-transition society, Serbian citizens
have jobs, humanitarian assistance contributes to the quality of life of
Serbian citizens.
In the end, we see from this short section the importance of the
day-to-day advancement of Serbian–American political, security and,
ultimately, economic relations.

References:

Homer, Folks, The Human Costs of War, New York and London, Harper
& Brothers, 1920.
Kocić, Milena, and Stefan Stamenković, “U.S. Financial Aid to Serbia
during World War I”, Themes, Niš, iss. 4, October–December 2015,
p. 1435–1446.
Nestorović, Olgica, Foreign direct investment as a factor of sustainable
development of Serbian economy, Faculty of Economics, Kragujevac,
2015.
Radenkovic, Ivan, Foreign Direct Investments in Serbia, Rosa Luxemburg
Stiftung Southeast Europe, Belgrade, December 2016.
Živojinović, D. R., In Search of the Protector: Studies on Serbo–American
Relations 1878–1920, Belgrade, Albatros plus, 2010.
Treaties and Conventions of Serbia and Foreign States (from Declaration
of State Independence to January 1, 1887) [Belgrade, 1887].

222
Darko Obradović

SRPSKO-AMERIČKI ODNOSI – EKONOMSKA PERSPEKTIVA

IZ BEZBEDNOSNOG UGLA

Rezime

Autor pominje odnose između Srbije i SAD, pretežno sa ekonom-

skog gledišta. Razvoj dobrih političkih odnosa ima direktni uticaj na
ekonomske odnose dveju zemalja. Ovi ekonomski odnosi SAD i Srbije
su pregledani i dati su primeri. Među primerima se navode i donacije
koje su SAD poslale Srbiji tokom Prvog svetskog rata. Drugi poznati
primeri podrazumevaju zajmove koje su SAD poslale Jugoslaviji kao i
donacije tokom problematičnog perioda 1990–2000. Nakon ovoga, au-
tor napominje prednosti ekonomske saradnje ali takođe i vojne saradnje
Srbije sa SAD, konkretno sa Nacionalnom gardom Ohaja. Na kraju se
razmatra pogled javnosti na donacije SAD u državi.
Ključne reči: ekonomski interes, politički odnosi, zajmovi SAD,
donacije, vojna saradnja, Nacionalna garda Ohaja

223
 UDC 930.25(497.113 Novi Sad)
*
Nebojša Kuzmanović, PhD
MA Ljiljana Dožić, archives advisor
Archives of Vojvodina Novi Sad (Serbia)

ARCHIVES AS ACTIVE AGENTS OF MODERN

SOCIETY: AN EXAMPLE OF THE ADVENTURE IN THE
BALKANS 1915 PUBLICATION

Abstract: Modern concepts of archives and archivists see them as active

factors of modern society. Archives aren‘t seen anymore as solely a place to
store documents that researchers can visit for their personal research, but rath-
er they are gradually moving towards the view that archives are active partic-
ipants whose goal, apart from the traditional one, is to give citizens a sense of
identity, as well as to take part in forming their individual and collective mem-
ory. Until recently, archivists were confident in the myth of professional unbi-
asedness, neutrality and objectivity. Today they are aware that through archival
networks you can control the past and that archivists constantly, through their
work, reshape, reinterpret and recreate archives. They are aware of the great
power of the archives, archival documents and archivists in creating identities,
collective and individual memory as well as the great responsibility that such
power carries with it.
In 2018, the Archives of Vojvodina published the manuscript “Adventure
in the Balkans 1915” by American author Douglas Meriwether Dold, whose
copy is stored among it‘s archival holdings. At the center of the story is a hu-
manitarian mission of American students that, in 1915 at the request of their
professor Mihajlo Pupin, came to the war-torn Serbia in order to help the
suffering Serbian people. One of them was Douglas Dold who lost his eyesight
during the mission and who was a witness to the devastation of Niš in Novem-
ber of 1915, which he wrote about in his testimony. In most cases archives, by
publishing their work, think that it is enough that their publications were given
life. The Archives of Vojvodina has decided to take a more active approach so
that the notion of Serbian-American friendship may reach wider social circles,
as in Serbian so also in American society, reminding us that the current rela-

*
[email protected]

225
tions between the two countries are just a part of a longer process that during
its one hundred year long existence was mostly based on cooperation, mutual
respect and understanding.
Keywords: The Archives of Vojvodina, archival documents, archives, Ad-
venture in the Balkans 1915, post-production strategy

1. Introduction

In today’s society, information has become one of the dominant re-

sources, the one not consumed, but enlarged through use. The modern
information society relying on information and communication tech-
nologies brought about a new understanding of wealth, so today, wealth
is also viewed from the aspect of possession of information. Phrase:
“Who owns the information, he owns the world” comes to light in the
21st century. Seen from that perspective, archives that “lie” on the in-
formation are one of the wealthiest parts of modern society and one
of the most potent factors in the battle against the modern era plague:
disinformation. Disinformation is not the invention of today. Namely,
a strong technical development that characterizes the modern age has
enabled endless manipulation of information, allowing its widespread
distribution in thus altered form to a large number of people.
Modern concepts see archives and archivists as active agents of con-
temporary society. Archives are no longer viewed solely as mere guard-
ians of documents that researchers visit to study. The perception moves
towards the understanding of archives as active agents whose purpose
is, in addition to the traditional one, to give citizens a sense of identity,
or to participate in the shaping of their personal and collective memo-
ry. Until recently, archivists raised the myth of professional impartiality,
neutrality, and objectivity. Today, they are aware that archives can be
used to control the past, that archivists constantly reshape, reinterpret,
and recreate archives by their work. They are aware of the great power of
archives, archival material, and archivists in creating identity, collective
and personal memory, but also of the great responsibility this power
comes with.1
1
For more on Archives, Documents and Power, see: Archival Science, International
Journal on Recorded Information, Volume 2, Issue 1–2, 2002; Archival Science,
International Journal on Recorded Information, Volume 2, Issue 3–4, 2002.

226
 Today, archives in Serbia are institutions which are still dominated
by the traditional paradigm and a conservative, one can freely say even
elitist, view of the role of archives in society. Modern age requires that
archives use modern technologies, to make continuous improvements,
do strategic planning, have a proactive attitude towards changes, be
characterized by transparency, mobility, quick responses, interdisciplin-
arity in problem-solving, to get out of isolation and be more open to so-
ciety, etc. Archives in Serbia were dormant in the 1980s, and they find it
difficult to understand that the scenario and the stage and the audience
of the archival profession have also changed. Resistance to novelties is
particularly strong if efforts to change come from the outside of archival
circles.
By accepting the postmodern concepts of archives being “of the
people and for the people”, and that archives need to be taken to the
people and people to be encouraged to come to use archives2, and by
grasping the new era that requires new methods of work, the Archives
of Vojvodina has begun to change the concept of specific segments of its
activity. In addition to applying modern technologies that bring clos-
er data on archival material and the material itself to users now more
than ever, significant changes have been introduced into the segment
of the Archives’ public relations with the aim of opening the institution,
increasing the visibility of its activity, as well as transparency of its op-
erations. One of the examples of these changes is the Adventure in the
Balkans 1915 publication.3

2. Adventure in the Balkans 1915 Publication

Desiring to revive the memory of the courageous and humane

members of the Columbia University expedition who, at the invitation
of their professor, world-renowned scientist Mihajlo Pupin, sailed from
the USA to distant war-torn Serbia in a humanitarian mission to help
the Serbian people in June 1915, the Archives of Vojvodina published
2
Terry Cook, Archival Science and Postmodernism: New Formulations for Old
Concepts, http://www.mybestdocs.com/cook-t-postmod-p1-00.htm (29/05/2019).
3
Dold, Douglas Meriweather, Adventure in the Balkans 1915, bilingual, prepared
by Ljiljana Dožić, translated from English by Ivana Đokić Saunderson, Novi Sad, 2018.

227
the manuscript of Douglas Meriweather Dold “Adventure in the Balkans
1915” in the year marking the end of the First World War and joining of
Vojvodina areas to the Kingdom of Serbia in 1918. A copy of the man-
uscript is kept in the Archives of Vojvodina, and the original is in the
Library of the Columbia University in New York.
The manuscript of Douglas Dold is a vivid, authentic testimony of
the difficult occupation days of Niš in November 1915: the entry of the
occupying troops, Bulgarian and German, desolation, reprisal against
the population, famine, uncertainty and fear. Despite losing his vision
almost entirely during his humanitarian work in the Balkans, Douglas
Dold, together with his American friends, stayed to support the Serbian
people in these difficult moments providing unselfish help to those in
need, not forgetting the principles of humanity even in moments when
he himself was in a seriously endangered health condition. At the end of
November 1915, due to growing health issues, Douglas Dold left Serbia
and returned to the USA. The Yugoslav state posthumously awarded
him the Cross of Mercy for medical services provided during the First
World War.
In most cases, by publishing their editions, archives consider that
it is sufficient that they gave them life. With the publication Adventures
in the Balkans of 1915, the Archives of Vojvodina decided to take an ac-
tive approach, wanting for the story of Serbian-American friendship to
reach as wide a circle of people as possible, both in Serbian and Ameri-
can society, reminding that the current relations between the two coun-
tries are only a part of an extended process that has been largely based
on cooperation, mutual respect, and understanding during the century
of existence.

3. Post-production Strategy

When we found Douglas Dold’s manuscript in the archival materi-

al, we were cognizant of its significance going beyond local frameworks.
Preliminary research in the context of the manuscript showed that it
was an expedition initiated by Mihajlo Pupin himself and that the ex-
pedition itself had been insufficiently studied in historiography. It was
enough to realize that we have an uncut gem in our hands. It was up to
us to cut it and show it to the public in all its glory.

228
 The first step was a detailed study of the Columbia Relief Expedi-
tion: its establishment, the arrival in Serbia, the humanitarian work of
its members. The result of this research was the work entitled “The Bal-
kan Adventure of Douglas Dold,” which was presented by Ljiljana Dožić
at the 2016 International Conference in Novi Sad. The next step was to
publish the manuscript by Douglas Dold. However, it was not before
two years later that the manuscript saw the light of the day.
When in the summer of 2018 Dr. Nebojša Kuzmanović took the
helm of the Archives of Vojvodina, he immediately realized all the po-
tential of the manuscript, and one of his first decisions was to publish
the testimony of Douglas Dold as soon as possible. As a man who spent
a period of his life working in publishing, he knew that publishing and
post-production of such content should be carefully planned. On his
initiative, a strategy for the post-production of “Adventure in the Bal-
kans 1915” publication was developed.
Development of the post-production strategy included the follow-
ing steps:

1. Defining the goal. Short-term goal: to inform the public about

the publication. Long-term goal: for the story about Serbian–
American friendship to reach as wide a circle of people as
possible, both in Serbian and American society, reminding us
that the current relations between the two countries are only
a part of an extended process that has been largely based on
cooperation, mutual respect, and understanding during the
century of existence.

2. Defining the target group: scientific and professional public,

descendants of the Expedition members, Serbian diaspora in
the United States, high school students, and university students
in Serbia.

3. Choosing communication channels and tools. Communication

channels: television, internet, newspapers. Communication
tools: exhibition of archival documents, book promotion, press
releases, interviews, TV shows, authors’ works, publication
promotion at the book fair, etc.

229
 4. Determining the phases and time frame. The phases of the post-
production strategy were determined. The first phase: getting
the support of the US Embassy in Serbia for the publication.
The second phase: organizing and the opening of the Adventure
in the Balkans 1915 exhibition and promotion of the book
of the same name. Uploading content to the website of the
Archives. The third phase: contacts with libraries in the USA,
the Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA, and the Serbian
embassy and consulates in the USA. The fourth phase: research
and personally addressing the descendants of the Expedition
members. The fifth phase: research and personally addressing
the scientists (historians) in Serbia and the USA. The sixth
phase: hosting the exhibition and book promotion in Serbian
cities. The time frames of the phases were also determined.
The first and in one part the second phase (the organization and
opening of the exhibition) took place before book publication,
but they were directly serving the strategy, i.e., achieving the
best results in post-production.
5. Budgeting.
6. Measurement. The tracking indicators were determined as the
number of visitors to the exhibition and book promotion, the
number of publications in the media, the number of shared
copies of the publication, the number of visits on the Internet
(the website and Facebook page of the Archives), the number of
personal contacts and feedback received. It is important to note
that not all results of the publication post-production work are
accurately measurable.

4. Implementing Post-production Strategy

4. 1. Phase I
Knowing that the story of the Columbia Relief Expedition and the
testimony of Douglas Dold goes beyond local frameworks, we wanted
for it, among other things, to find its way to the American audience.
Therefore, the first decision was to print the future edition as a bilingual

230
one, in Serbian and English. Following this idea, we knew that the USA
support would be significant for the life of the future publication. For
this reason, the Director of the Archives of Vojvodina, Dr. Nebojsa Kuz-
manović, contacted the US Embassy in Serbia, and support was received
from US Ambassador to Serbia, Kyle Scott, who, having understood the
importance of our publication for U.S.–Serbian relations, decided to
write a foreword to it.

4. 2. Phase II
Exploring the context of Douglas Dold’s manuscript, we collected
a large amount of material relating to the formation of the Columbia
Relief Expedition, the arrival of its members in Serbia and their human-
itarian work. By browsing the internet archives, we managed to identify
all the members of the expedition, and even to document their identities
by photographs. From this material, we prepared a thematic exhibition
of archival documents “Adventure in the Balkans 1915, Pictures – Mem-
ories – Remembrance” that was officially opened in the gallery space of
the Archives of Vojvodina on November 20, 2018. The exhibition was
also visited by US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott. The exhibition and
publicity it received in the media were a great introduction to the book
promotion.
The promotion of the book “Adventure in the Balkans 1915” was
held on December 3, 2018, in the Archives of Vojvodina, and one of its
participants was the US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott, which gave
this event significant publicity and a special place in the media often
hardly reachable for cultural institutions.
Immediately after opening the exhibition and book promoting, the
complete content was posted on the Vojvodina Archives website within
the portal dedicated to the First World War, with the aim of reaching as
wide a circle of interested users as possible.4

4. 3. Phase III
Libraries are the keys to the world, says a proverb. That is why li-
braries were one of the first goals upon publishing. In addition to Serbi-
4
https://www.arhivvojvodine.org.rs/portal/ (30/05/2019).

231
an libraries, we paid special attention to some important libraries in the
United States.
After publishing the testimony of Douglas Dold, we first sent the
publication to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (Columbia Univer-
sity Library) in New York, which keeps the original manuscript, and
with which we have already established contact to gain insight into the
copyrights and possibilities of publishing the manuscript in Serbia. The
following on the list was Virginia University Library, The Albert and
Shirley Small Special Collections Library which keeps the second ver-
sion of the original manuscript of Douglas Dold. Finally, we contacted
the Congress Library in Washington, which resulted in the establish-
ment of cooperation between us and this institution within the frame-
work of the DMEP (Duplicate Materials Exchange Program) program
for the exchange of publications.
We have established a special contact with the National World War I
Museum and Memorial of the United States located in Kansas (Missou-
ri), which brought us to Nancy Kramer, the author who published the
book about Serbia in the First World War: “Retreat to Victory in 1915”.
The Archives of Vojvodina have plans to translate this book into Serbian
and publish it in Serbia.
Being aware of the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the life
of the Serbian diaspora in the United States, we contacted the Serbian
Orthodox Eparchy of Western America and Serbian Orthodox Eparchy
of Eastern America, which resulted in the publication of the news about
the book “Adventure in the Balkans 1915” on the Serbica Americana
website.5
We also contacted the Serbian Embassy in Washington and Consul-
ates General in New York and Chicago.

4. 4. Phase IV
Upon completion of the previous phases, in February 2019, we
started research on the descendants of the Expedition members. The
research lasted three months and was extremely difficult due to limited
research resources. The research was carried out on the Internet, and
5
https://www.eserbia.org/sa-culture/book-reviews/1266-avantura-na-balkanu-
1915?fbclid=IwAR0PpKgFKo7Ox8ykkIbS1V09w09Vh1KOPszGOIGS9I6F-
PktihBJINaAXuA (30/05/2019).

232
one of the main search bases we used was the Ancestry6 website. The
problem with the websites for researching family origin is that the use
of their contents is not free, and we as an institution were unable to pay
for such services. As the ultimate research result, we managed to find 25
descendants of the Expedition members. Some of them are first degree
descendants, although most are second-degree descendants (grandchil-
dren). The books were sent to them in May, and we are expecting their
feedback.
Unfortunately, Douglas Dold did not have direct descendants, but
our research led to some interesting results. Namely, we learned that
William Colby, son of Elbridge Colby, one of the Expedition members,
was the director of the CIA in the period 1973–1976 under the admin-
istration of Richard Nixon. The research only confirmed the earlier
knowledge that the Expedition members were prominent community
members and members of the upper strata of American society.

4. 5. Phase V
The fifth phase began at the end of May, and the first step within
it is the research of US historians who deal with topics covered by our
publication and who might be interested in its contents. It is planned to
establish contact with them and, if possible, to achieve certain types of
cooperation. Also, it is planned to establish contacts with historians in
Serbia.

4. 6. Phase VI
The beginning of the sixth phase is planned for the autumn of 2019.
The plan is to establish contacts with interested cultural institutions, as
well as for the exhibition and book promotion to be hosted in several
places in Serbia.

5. Measurable Results of Work Done So far

When developing the post-production strategy, we also considered

whether it is possible to numerically express and, if so, how to measure
6
https://www.ancestry.com/ (30/05/2019).

233
the results of our work. We knew that some segments were not measur-
able, but we determined specific indicators that could be tracked, such
as:

• The number of visitors to the exhibition and book promotion –

about 160 visitors. The exhibition was open for three weeks;

• The number of publications about the exhibition and the book

in the media:

o electronic media: until the date of writing of this paper (May

30, 2019) there were a total of 40 publications in electronic
media related to these contents. These were announcements
of the exhibition opening and book promotion, reports
and statements from them, guest appearances in various
TV shows (videos posted on the Internet) and others.
The contents were published by different web sites, from
the Provincial government’s official website, through the
provincial media service RTV, electronic edition of daily
newspaper Dnevnik, to local media and electronic portals;

o the electronic book is also found on the platform for

electronic publications Issuu, which has 85 million readers;

o print media: by May 30, 2019, there were six articles in

print media, mostly published in Novi Sad daily newspaper
Dnevnik. Considering that one of our target groups is high
school students and university students, we were especially
delighted by the excellent article about the book published
in Politikin zabavnik.

It is important to note that none of these announcements were

sponsored and that all published articles had a neutral or positive tone.

• the number of visits to reports dedicated to the exhibition and

the book on the website and Facebook page of the Archives of
Vojvodina:

234
 o website - on the website of the Archives of Vojvodina there
are nine publications with the stated contents. According to
official statistics, these publications had a total of 3,088 views
by May 30, 2019. The book and exhibition are uploaded to
the Archives website in electronic form for, but there are no
official data on the number of views;

o Facebook page – on the official Facebook page of the

Archives, there were 14 posts with these contents that
reached 12,170 users had 178 reactions (likes, comments,
sharing). It is important to note that one of these posts was
sponsored and that as such it managed to reach 7,791 users;

• the number of shared copies of the publication – the book

circulation was 1,000 copies, and 680 copies were distributed in
the previous campaign (the Archives of Vojvodina does not sell
its editions);

• the number of personal contacts and feedback (descendants of

the expedition members) – as previously mentioned, during our
research, we found 25 descendants of the Expedition members.
Given that the publication was recently sent to them, we are still
expecting their reactions.

6. Conclusion

Archives as institutions that hold millions of data and information,

which form our memory in the 21st-century disinformation era are fac-
ing special challenges and temptations. Under the influence of modern
business principles and dynamic environment, but also the demands of
society, they are forced to change their attitude towards the public and
become active agents in their community. Modern society has imposed
on the archives to accept and apply strategic planning of their activity,
and also the strategic planning of public relations and marketing as part
of it. Whether we want it or not, archives are on the market of cultural
products. The time of brutal fight for sources of financing has come, and

235
in today’s world, the funds go to the successful ones. Funds are chan-
neled based on the utility criteria, that is, serving to the public interest.
Cultural institutions can no longer be measured exclusively by academ-
ic achievements. The broader question is whether these achievements
serve the public and how this can be measured.7
In the conditions of the increasingly harsh market for cultural prod-
ucts, archives, with their specific products and information, must pay
special attention to the placement of these. The path from information
to properly placed information and feedback is long; the base of this
process must be to plan, and the goal must be to show that archives do
not have to change their mission and vision to adapt to society, but that
they can reach the new “audience” and better serve the public interest
using new methods and tools of communication and continuous strate-
gic planning of their activities. The advantages of strategic planning of
activities are to enable a better understanding of changes in the environ-
ment, a proactive attitude towards changes, better coordination of activ-
ities, higher quality communication between employees, and better or-
ganization. Marketing and marketing communications are an essential
component of this strategy. Specific theoretical and empirical research
has shown that strategic marketing planning allows the positioning and
survival of cultural institutions and ensures a good reputation and im-
age, or the creation of a strong brand of a cultural institution.8
The Archives of Vojvodina are trying to adapt to the new conditions
of modern 21st-century society with their actions, making the main
changes in the opening to society and fostering public relations. Know-
ing that these relationships are not established and do not take place by
themselves, special attention is paid to planning its activities. One of
the first such projects was the planning of post-production strategy for
“Adventure in the Balkans 1915” publication. The results obtained so far
that indicate a significant increase in visibility encourage us to continue
this way and to apply such an approach in the future to other publica-
tions of our institution.
7
Jillian H. Poole, Managing for Money: A Handbook for International Cultural
Institutions, Belgrade 1999, 47.
8
Read more: Mirjana R. Starčević, Strategic Planning of Marketing in Culture
Institutions, Doctoral Dissertation, Belgrade 2014.

236
 References

Archival Science: International Journal on Recorded Information, Volume

2, Issue 1–2, 2002.
Archival Science: International Journal on Recorded Information, Volume
2, Issue 3–4, 2002.
Pul, Džilijan H., Kako doći do novca – priručnik za ustanove kulture,
Beograd 1999.
Starčević, Mirjana R., Strateško planiranje marketinga u ustanovama
kulture, doktorska disertacija, Beograd 2014.
Terry Cook, Archival Science and Postmodernism: New Formulations for
Old Concepts, http://www.mybestdocs.com/cook-t-postmod-p1-00.
htm (29.05.2019).

Nebojša Kuzmanović
Ljiljana Dožić

ARHIVI KAO AKTIVNI ČINIOCI MODERNOG DRUŠTVA:

PRIMER PUBLIKACIJE AVANTURA NA BALKANU 1915.

Rezime

Savremeni društveni koncepti arhive i arhiviste vide kao aktivne čin-

ioce modernog društva. Arhivi se više ne posmatraju isključivo kao puki
čuvari dokumenata koje istraživači posećuju radi njihovog proučavanja,
već se njihovo poimanje pomera u pravcu shvatanja arhiva kao aktivnih
činilaca čija je svrha, pored tradicionalne, da građanima pruže osećaj
identiteta, odnosno da učestvuju u oblikovanju njihove lične i kolek-
tivne memorije. Do nedavno, arhivisti su uzdizali mit o profesionalnoj
nepristrasnosti, neutralnosti i objektivnosti. Danas, oni su svesni da se
kroz arhive kao mesta ukupnog ljudskog pamćenja može kontrolisati
prošlost, da arhivisti svojim radom konstantno reoblikuju, reinterpreti-
raju stvarajući „novo pamćenje“. Svesni su velike moći arhiva, arhivske
građe i arhivista u kreiranju identiteta, kolektivne i lične memorije, ali i
velike odgovornosti koju ta moć nosi sa sobom.

237
 Arhiv Vojvodine je 2018. godine publikovao rukopis „Avantura na
Balkanu 1915.“ američkog autora Daglasa Merivedera Dolda, čiju kopi-
ju čuva u okviru svog arhivskog fonda. U središtu priče je humanitarna
misija američkih studenata koji su 1915. godine na poziv svog profesora
Mihajla Pupina došli u ratom zahvaćenu Srbiju da bi pomogli postrad-
alom srpskom narodu. Jedan od njih je bio i Daglas Dold, koji je tokom
misije izgubio vid i bio svedok stradanja Niša u novembru 1915, što je i
opisao u svom svedočanstvu. U većini slučajeva arhivi publikujući svoja
izdanja smatraju da je dovoljno što su im dali život. Arhiv Vojvodine
se odlučio na aktivan pristup, sa željom da priča o srpsko-američkom
prijateljstvu dopre do što širih krugova ljudi, kako u srpskom tako i
u američkom društvu, podsećajući da su trenutni odnosi između dve
države samo deo jednog dužeg procesa koji je tokom postojanja većim
delom bio zasnovan na saradnji, međusobnom poštovanju i razume-
vanju.
Ključne reči: Arhiv Vojvodine, arhivska građa, arhivi, Avantura na
Balkanu 1915, postprodukciona strategija

238
 ARCHIVES AS ACTIVE AGENTS OF MODERN
SOCIETY: AN EXAMPLE OF THE ADVENTURE IN THE
BALKANS 1915 PUBLICATION

The “Serbian-American Relations” International Scientific Confer-

ence took place at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia .
The Conference was organized by the Institute for National and Inter-
national Security (INIS) and the National Assembly. It brought together
a number of eminent scientists from countries in the region, Europe
and the US. In the roles of co-chairmen of the first session were Mr.
Dragan Sormaz (Member of Parliament of the National Assembly of
the Republic of Serbia and Head of Serbian-American Parliamentari-
an Caucuses), Prof. Dr. Vladimir Marinkovic (Vice-President of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and founding member of
INIS) and Prof. Dr. Darko Trifunovic (Director of INIS). The introduc-
tory keynote speakers were H.E. Kyle Randolph Scott (U.S. Ambassador
in Serbia), Major General John C. Harris Jr. (Assistant Adjutant Gen-
eral, Ohio Army National Guard) and H.E. Ivica Dacic (The First Dep-
uty Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia). Several
Serbian Ministries were also represented by high ranked officials who
greeted the audience and presented the views of their institutions on the
subject matter, namely Ms. Biljana Ivkovic, State Secretary of the Min-
istry of Police and General LTC Aleksandar Zivkovic, State Secretary of
the Ministry of Defense.
In the presence of numerous guests from the US and Europe, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia H.E. Ivica Dacic, while opening the
Conference, said that Serbia clearly showed that it wants improvement
of relations with the US, based on common strategic orientation towards
establishing a secure and economically stable region in the Western Bal-
kans. US Ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott agreed with the assessment that
there were radical changes in the relations between the two countries
through history, but, as he added, the friendly ties between Serbia and

239
America have been, and still remain, strong and there is still room for
their improvement.
The main conclusion of the Conference was that bilateral relations
have recovered in the last few years and that it’s expected that the Unit-
ed States will exercise its authority in order to help resolve the Kosovo
problem. The date for the meeting was deliberately selected in honor of
the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The Conference can be characterized as
the largest scientific meeting on the topic of Serbian-American relations
in the recent period, which initiated a discussion about problems in re-
lations between the two sides and the possibilities of improving cooper-
ation. Within the preparations for the Conference, Prof. Dr. Trifunovic
said: “The goal of the Conference is to analyze all those things that led
to the deterioration of relations in order to improve them. In the two
world wars, America and Serbia worked together. Our flags were tied,
we spilled the same blood and it is simply inconceivable that for the
last 30 years these relations have been brought to a minimum and that
even today we sometimes perceive the US as a hostile state.” He also said
that the goal is to identify mistakes and problems on both sides and to
give directions and specific suggestions to politicians, which is why the
National Assembly House was chosen as the venue for the Conference.
The roles of co-chairmen of the second session of the Conference
were undertaken by Prof. Dr. Zoran Dragisic (Member of Parliament of
National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and founding member of
INIS), Dr. Nebojsa Kuzmanovic (Archives of Vojvodina) and Prof. Dr.
Darko Trifunovic (Director of INIS).

240
Vladimir Marinković, PhD, Deputy Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly,
Founding member of INIS

H. E. Ivica Dačić, The First Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia
H. E. Kyle Randolph Scott, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia

Jefferson Adams, Professor Emeritus

“Sarah Lawrence College” (Bronxville, New York, USA)
 Gregory R. Copley, President of the International Strategic
Studies Association – ISSA (USA)

Prof. John M. Nomikos, PhD

Research Institute for European and American Studies (Greece)
 Vladimir Marinković, PhD, Deputy Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly,
Founding member of INIS; Dragan Šormaz, Member of the Serbian National
Assembly, Head of Serbian-American Parliamentary Caucuses; Darko Trifunović,
PhD, Director of the Institute for National and International Security – INIS

Steven Oluic, PhD, U.S. Army retired

Nebojša Kuzmanović, PhD, Director of the Archives of Vojvodina (Novi Sad / Serbia)

H. E. Kyle Randolph Scott, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Major General John C. Harris
Jr., Assistant Adjutant General, Ohio Army National Guard
Major General John C. Harris Jr., Assistant Adjutant General,
Ohio Army National Guard

Ephraim Isaac, PhD, full professor, Institute of Semitic Studies

(Princeton, New Jersey / USA)
 Saša Marković, PhD, full professor, University of Novi Sad,
Faculty of Education in Sombor (Serbia)

Nebojša Kuzmanović and Darko Trifunović, PhD, Director of the Institute for
National and International Security – INIS
 The opening of the Conference (National Assembly – Republic of Serbia, Belgrade)

Participants of the International Scientific Conference “Serbian–American Relations”

 CONTENTS

STRIDE TOWARD VALUE: EDITORIAL FOREWORD (Nebojša Kuzmanović,

Darko Trifunović) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
INTRODUCTION (Vladimir Marinković) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
SERBIA HAS CLEARLY SHOWN THAT IT WANTS TO ADVANCE ITS
RELATIONS WITH THE USA (Ivica Dačić) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Gregory Copley
A NEW STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR US–SERBIAN RELATIONS:
A Rare Window of Opportunity Opens for the US in the Balkans . . . . . . . . 15

Darko Trifunović, Zoran Dragišić

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS – SECURITY AND GEOPOLITICAL
ASPECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Steven Oluic
SERBIA – GEOPOLITICAL DIRECTIONS, EAST OR WEST? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Orhan Dragaš
FIVE POINTS FOR BUILDING NEW SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS IN
THE 21st CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

John Nomikos
UNITED STATES – SERBIAN RELATIONS: A GREEK PERSPECTIVE . . . . . . 67

Jefferson Adams
FOUR PORTRAITS OF RARE VALOR: SERBIAN–AMERICANS IN THE US
MILITARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Saša Marković
US POLITICAL VIEWS AS A DECISIVE INTERNATIONAL STRONGHOLD
FOR ANNEXATION OF VOJVODINA TO THE KINGDOM OF SERBIA
IN 1918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Predrag Dimitrijević, Dejan Vučetić, Jelena Vučković
U. S. INFLUENCE ON THE PUBLIC AGENCIES SYSTEM IN SERBIA . . . . . 107

Miomira Kostić, Gordan Pantić, Nikola Obradović

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP – REMINDER OF THE BILATERAL
TREATIES IN THE FIELD OF CRIMINAL LAW FROM A CENTURY-
LONG PERSPECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Predrag Cvetković
USA–SERBIA RELATIONS REINVENTED: FOUNDATIONS FOR A NEW
NARRATIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Miroslav Božić
TRANSFORMING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS INTO THE “INDUSTRY-
READY” ONES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Gregory Moore
SERBIAN–AMERICAN HEROES: MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS AND
THE MEN OF OPERATION HALYARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Ephraim Isaac
SERBIA AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Darko Obradović
SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS – AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM
A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Nebojša Kuzmanović, Ljiljana Dožić

ARCHIVES AS ACTIVE AGENTS OF MODERN SOCIETY: AN EXAMPLE OF
THE ADVENTURE IN THE BALKANS 1915 PUBLICATION . . . . . . . . . . . 225
 BIBLIOTEKA POSEBNA IZDANJA • LIBRARY SPECIAL EDITIONS

SERBIAN–AMERICAN RELATIONS
International Scientific Conference Proceedings

Izdavači • Publishers
Arhiv Vojvodine, Novi Sad • Archives of Vojvodina, Novi Sad
arhivvojvodine.org.rs
Institut za nacionalnu i međunarodnu bezbednost, Beograd • Institute for
National and International Security, Belgrade
intelligence-security.rs

Za izdavača • On Behalf of the Publisher

Nebojša Kuzmanović, PhD

Prevod • Translation
Akademija Oxford, Jagodina

Lektor • Proofreading
Aleksandar Dimitrijević

Priprema za štampu • Prepress

Tatjana Cavnić

Tiraž • Print Run

500

Štampa • Print
Službeni glasnik, Beograd

ISBN
978-86-80017-61-7
CIP - Каталогизација у публикацији
Библиотеке Матице српске, Нови Сад

327(497.11+73)(082)

INTERNATIONAL scientific conference “Serbian–American relations” (2019 ;

Belgrade)
Proceedings / International scientific conference “Serbian–American relations”,
Belgrade, September 11, 2019 ; [editors-in-chief Nebojša Kuzmanović, Darko
Trifunović]. - Novi Sad : Archives of Vojvodina ; Belgrade : Institute for National and
International Security, 2019 (Belgrade : Službeni glasnik). - 252 str. : ilustr. ; 24 cm

Tiraž 500. - Str. 5-7: Stride toward value / Nebojša Kuzmanović, Darko Trifunović. -
Napomene i bibliografske reference uz tekst. - Bibliografija uz svaki rad. - Rezime na
srp. jeziku uz svaki rad.

ISBN 978-86-80017-61-7

а) Међународни односи - Србија - Сједињене Америчке Државе - Зборници

COBISS.SR-ID 330577159