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A leading expert on Balkan history from »ÆÉ«²Ö¿â (»ÆÉ«²Ö¿â) Leicester has shared research from his latest book with journalists, policy makers and academics across the US.

Kenneth Morrison, Professor of History at »ÆÉ«²Ö¿â, together with Montenegro’s former Ambassador to NATO, Professor Vesko Garčević, published , the first comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the two Balkan countries from the 1980s to the present day.

To promote the work, the pair embarked on a tour of three prestigious universities on the East Coast of the States.

With growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region and the recent withdrawal of US-led funding following President Donald Trump’s re-election, the authors discussed what the immediate future has in store for the Western Balkan states with audiences at Johns Hopkins in Washington DC, and Tufts and Boston University in Massachusetts.

The invitation to speak in the US comes after »ÆÉ«²Ö¿â officially launched its seven new research institutes, of which Professor Morrison is the Director for the Institute for Global Challenges and Cultures.

Professor Morrison said: “'This was a great opportunity to meet fellow research directors, regional experts and policymakers and to put »ÆÉ«²Ö¿â's work on the map.

The research that Professor Garčević and I have conducted and the resulting book represents a major contribution to our understanding of how the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro has developed to the present day.”

The United States has played a major role in the major role in funding civil society projects since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. According to the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) website, it has contributed towards Serbia’s economic and democratic development from 2001 to the present day.

However, since his re-election, the Trump administration has been making moves to shut down the

The freeze has already caused fierce debate in Serbia, with pro-government about how USAID was being spent in the country. It also follows 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’s Balkan Service and they had been told the previous week that their operation was being suspended. So, we were talking to people who had a stake in the situation. They weren’t just external observers.

“The geopolitical landscape is rapidly changing and areas such as the Western Balkans are both critical and vulnerable,” Professor Morrison said. “So, in foreign policy terms, since Montenegro has regained its independence in 2006, it’s oriented towards NATO membership, while Serbia looks more towards Russia and has no desire to join the western military alliance.”

“Previously, the Americans were underpinning a lot of the institution-building and democratic capacity-building projects 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 by the Trump administration.

“As the US role in the region decreases, it leaves space for other external actors, particularly Russia and China, to increase their influence.

“In an uncertain geopolitical context, this could have significant implications.”

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