Quo Vadis, Serbia?

Political agency (or political autonomy) is a major characteristic of international actors as it actually implies their capacity to conduct (relatively) independent foreign and domestic policies.Belgrade's chances of retaining its international status and building a "sovereign" democracy largely depend on the smart policy of balancing between two main centersthe EU-NATO and Russia.Notwithstanding the objectively predetermined nature of the European integration, the final choice is complicated for Serbia by the need to achieve a "compromise" on the Kosovo issue, and by its readiness to become a member of NATO.There is a natural counterbalance to Euro-Atlantic pressure-Russia, which has unique opportunities for building an international image of a great power while not claiming, in contrast to the EU, the role of an "empire by invitation."The Serbian situation is complicated by the fact that the historical dualism of the multi-vector policy has been upset by the emergence of a new player in the region-China, which is using economic levers to successfully solve the strategic task of penetrating into European markets, thus consistently challenging RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS Quo Vadis, Serbia?Russia's role as Serbia's main alternative to the West.The results of the analysis show that in the current situation, a multi-vector policy-smart balancing between three centers (EU-NATO, Russia, and China)-may open up opportunities for Serbia to exert political agency on the international stage in the near term.