No (geo)politics, just altruism: an analysis of the discourses by Serbia's political elite on the successful procurement of COVID-19 vaccines

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Serbian government procured COVID-19 vaccines before some of the more prosperous EU Member States could. From the Serbian government's perspective, this success was attributed to its "pragmatic" and "rational" policies. In essence, it leveraged competing geopolitical interests that the Serbian government has benefitted from. Nonetheless, it is through these geopolitical games that Serbia and its political elite have created a narrative that portrays Serbia as a bridge between the West and East. In light of this, this research seeks to understand to what extent these geopolitical discourses were incorporated into the discourses of Serbia's political elite and their transmission in the publications of Danas and Politika.