In the aftermath of troubling recent violence, this episode sees Ivan Vejvoda host Ilir Deda for a discussion of the uncertain future facing the Western Balkans as the complex Serbian/Kosovan relationship hangs in the balance. Making a strong case for a robust and immediate diplomatic effort to ensure that the agreement reached in March is implemented quickly, Deda runs through the obstacles to progress and discusses the roles of the EU, the US and NATO in stabilizing the region and preventing any escalation of tensions, then examines the hopeful possibilities that have come with cooperation efforts, initiatives and moves toward a common regional market with freer movement and greater integration.

Ilir Deda is an expert on Kosovo's governance, security, and foreign affairs with over a decade of experience in public service and policy research. He has held roles including Member of Parliament, Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development, political advisor to Kosovo's Prime Minister, analyst for the International Crisis Group and Senior Expert on Human Capital Development at the Regional Cooperation Council. Deda has also lectured on European integration and published extensively. His current research as an IWM Europe's Futures Fellow focuses on the EU-sponsored Basic Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Find Ilir on X @ilir_deda

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

For further information about the Institute:

https://www.iwm.at/