Just back from Belgrade after a remarkable conference by the
Atlantik Brucke, a German organization bringing together "young leaders" (mind the inverted commas) from Europe and America. I took back the impression that Serbia has shifted gear. Thanks to a young, motivated, and cosmopolitan ruling class, Serbia seems at last willing to meet Europe on its own turf of rules and conditions, while remaining patient in the face of Brussels' continued ambiguity.
As it often happens in the Balkans, however, much of the tone of the discussion centered on Serbia's past, and on how much this past is embedded to the present. I have a particular feeling about this--on which I elaborate further in
my forthcoming book: That much of this focus on the past has now become an obsession. It is a useful obsession for those who claim to justify in that way every one of the region's shortcomings. It is also useful for those Europeans who are concerned about the Balkans. My take is that from corruption to criminality, both Serbia and Europe have much more mundane and yet serious issues to worry about. This emphasis on what historian Maria Todorova calls the "monopoly of barbarity" marks the Balkans as a permanent Europen
exception, which it is not.
Last time I was in Belgrade was in
April 2008, on the night in which Berlusconi won again general elections and was back at at the helm as PM. Little over a year later, one has got to remark that travelling around Europe as an Italian has never been funnier if it weren't so sad.
