Geopolitics, Ethnopolitics and the EU: The Cases of Serbia and Latvia

Abstract

This work is a study on the patterns of managing ethnic relations in Serbia and Latvia. It aims at enhancing the cross-regional exchange of knowledge between the Western Balkans and the Baltic States. This study demonstrates that as the bond between geopolitics and ethnopolitics grows more powerful, the liberalization of minority policies would become less feasible within a state. It also hints that the intersection between geopolitics and ethnopolitics should not be perceived as ‘fixed’ but it can be subject to fluctuations and readjustments. Therefore, the interaction between endogenous and exogenous actors can impact the engagement(s) by the EU in the field of minority rights to varying degrees and within different contexts.