Sanja Jelisavac Trošić analyzed the European Union’s normative power in the context of democratic fatigue in Serbia

During the international seminar Advances and Setbacks of Democracy in the European Space, Sanja Jelisavac Trošić, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, analyzed the European Union’s normative power in the context of democratic fatigue in Serbia. Her presentation examined how the EU’s influence in promoting democratic reforms has faced growing limitations, particularly amid slowing enlargement dynamics and declining political incentives for transformation.

She also explored societal perceptions of EU conditionality, emphasizing increasing skepticism and reduced public enthusiasm toward reforms associated with EU accession. Jelisavac Trošić argued that these trends reveal the boundaries of EU leverage and highlighted the need to reassess engagement strategies in order to strengthen democratic commitment and credibility in candidate countries.