Stefan Surlić is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. His research focuses on democratisation, politics and ethnicity, power-sharing, state-building, and constitutional design in post-conflict societies. He teaches several subjects, among which stand out: Comparative Politics, Authoritarian Regimes, Institution Building in the Western Balkans, and Transition and Consolidation of Democracy in Post-Communist Societies. In this project, Stefan examined the impact of the Brussels Agreement (Agreement on the path to the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia) and its Ohrid Annex on the positions of the five EU member states that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence or its membership in international organisations. His research proposal involved collecting and analysing data from relevant documents, agreements, articles, and non-papers related to the implementation of Kosovo-Serbia agreements, with a particular focus on Kosovo’s international representation. The research showed that despite the stalemate in the dialogue, it is evident that significant changes have occurred following the adoption of the European proposal and the Ohrid Annex. Primarily, EU member states have aligned in their support for Kosovo in the Council of Europe and the acceptance of Kosovo’s documents. Despite current reservations toward the agreements, both sides will continue to face a policy of conditionality and the obligation to fulfil the agreed terms on their path toward full EU membership.
You can download his research HERE.