A world-leading expert on the Balkans from De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester believes the withdrawal of funding to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will have lasting implications on the region.

Professor of History Kenneth Morrison was speaking following a tour of Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Boston Universities in the United States, where he discussed research from his new book, Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce?

The United States has played a major role in the rebuilding of both Serbia and Montenegro following the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. According to the USAID’s website, it has contributed more than $1 billion towards the Serbia’s economic and democratic development from 2001 to the present day.

However, relations between the two nations have been strained following Montenegro’s split from the joint state in 2006, with Montenegro leaning more heavily towards NATO while Serbia aligning itself more with the East.

Professor Morrison believes the decision to defund USAID and its projects, announced earlier this year, could be a flash point for the region’s geopolitics.

He said: “Previously, the Americans were underpinning a lot of the institution-building and democratic capacity-building in the region. The likes of USAID helped fund civil society. There’s less chance of those committed to building democratic capacity being able to do their jobs since that funding was stopped but President Trump.

“So, it has huge implications for the region. The sensible thing really to do would be for the European Union to allow the six countries in the Western Balkans in for geopolitical reasons.

“But the problem there is that there are unresolved problems within the Balkans with disputes in Bosnia and the recognition of Kosovo, which could derail these applications. It’s all very interesting.”

Since his re-election, President Trump has been making moves to shut down the agency by freezing its funding and making staff there redundant.

The freeze has already caused fierce debate in Serbia, with pro-government media accused of spreading misinformation about how USAID was being spent in the country. It follows accusations that Serbian authorities raided four non-governmental organisations as part of an investigation into how USAID has been spent.

“At one of the presentations we gave, several of the audience were journalists, and Voice of America and they had been told the previous week that their operation was being suspended,” Professor Morrison said.

“So we were talking to people who had a stake in the situation. They weren’t just external observers.”

Co-authored with former NATO Ambassador to Montenegro, Professor Vesko Garčević, Serbia and Montenegro: A Velvet Divorce? is the first comprehensive analysis of the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro from the 1980s to the present day.

Following the launch of the book, Professor Morrison was appointed Director of DMU’s Institute for Global Challenges and Cultures, one of seven new research institutes that the university has launched this year.

He believes the tour was a chance to showcase the impact of DMU work to an international audience.

Professor Morrison said: “This was a great opportunity to meet fellow research directors in the US and put DMU’s work really on the map. As Director of the Institute, I want our university’s work to have an international footprint.

“The work Professor Garčević and I have done is a major contribution to our understanding of how the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro has developed to the present day.”

Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? is available in hardback from the publisher, Bloomsbury.

DMU is a university of creativity and innovation in the heart of Leicester. We are distinguished by our life-changing research, dynamic international partnerships, vibrant links with business and our commitment to excellence in learning, teaching and the student experience. We celebrate the rich cultural diversity of our staff, students and all our partnerships.

For more information please contact the De Montfort University Communications team on 0116 257 7599 or news@dmu.ac.uk

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