WESTERN BALKANS RESEARCH SERIES FACT SHEET: Migration, Extremism, & Dangerous Blame Games Development & Dynamics in Serbia
Abstract
This fact sheet aims to provide a succinct conclusion from the RESOLVE Network’s Western Balkans Research Initiative on Migration, Extremism, & Dangerous Blame Games Development & Dynamics in Serbia. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants into the European Union (EU) from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa beginning in 2015 coincided with an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric among far-right in many European countries. In 2020, the presence of migrants within the Balkans spurred increased mobilization among far-right actors opposed to their presence in the region. Far-right rhetoric in Serbia remains centered around frustrations with political establishments, ethnic nationalism, and anti-minority sentiments underpinned by concerns about the dilution of the Serbian national identity. The movement of people from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa through the Western Balkans and their protracted displacement in the region created a new phenomenon around which far-right extremists and organizations have been able to organize and mobilize support, both within the region and through strengthened connections with the global far-right.