Please join the Fletcher Eurasia Club for a conversation about the evolution of political dynamics across Montenegro and Serbia with scholars, Amb. Vesko Garčević and Kenneth Morrison. Authors of the recently published book, Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce, Kenneth Morrison and Vesko Garčević will reflect on how the President Trump’s return may reshape the Western Balkans’ contemporary political landscape. In particular, both authors will focus on Montenegro and Serbia’s bilateral relationship and the roles of China, Russia, NATO, and the EU in forming the Western Balkans’ contemporary political landscape. Dr. Robin Brooks will serve as a discussant and moderator for this event.  

Questions:  

• Why have Montenegro and Serbia taken the divergent paths following the dissolution of Yugoslavia?  
• Why has Montenegro recognized Kosovo’s independence in spite of Serbian strong opposition? 
• Why have the two countries taken different stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO membership and cooperation with China?  
• How to understand the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church and religious-political dynamics in the region?  

The Eurasia Club lunch seminar series engages with students, faculty, staff, and researchers to foster a better understanding of the region among members of the Fletcher and wider Tufts communities. Please register via the following Microsoft Form to attend the event in person or let us know if you would like to attend virtually. Please contact us with any questions you might have about the event or if you would like to submit discussion questions for the speaker in advance. Lunch will be served following the conversation. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions, and we will do our best to accommodate you.   

Robin S. Brooks, Ph.D., is the State Department Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris for Europe, Eurasia, Multilateral Affairs, and Democracy. She was previously the Director for Central Europe and the Balkans at the National Security Council. Her prior assignments as a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department have included Director of the Office for Multilateral Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassies in Serbia and Bulgaria, Chief of Staff to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and positions at the U.S. Embassies in Russia, Turkey, and the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Dr. Brooks holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and as the State Department’s Davis Fellow has served as adjunct faculty at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.  

Vesko Garčević is the Professor of the practice of international relations at the Pardee School of Boston University (BU) and interim director of the BU Center for the Study of Europe. During his diplomatic career, he held important positions at the challenging political time of the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the democratic transition of Montenegro. He served as the Ambassador of Montenegro in NATO, Brussels, and Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro and Montenegro in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Vienna.   

Kenneth Morrison is a Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Global Challenges and Cultures at De Montfort University, UK. He is a specialist on the modern political history of the Western Balkans and is the author of six monographs on the region. He has worked closely with UK government departments such as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defense. He was the Specialist Adviser for the House of Lords International Relations Committee for their ‘UK and the Western Balkans’ inquiry.