Serbian Lithium: Geo-Economic Boon or Environmental Disaster?

Serbia has some of the largest lithium deposits in the world. But mining this critical resource is a huge controversy in Serbia. After successfully forcing the Serbian government to shelve lithium mining in 2021, strong public protests have resumed as the Jadar project has been revived.

So what is really at stake? How benign or detrimental is lithium mining? What are the environmental risks? Are the economic benefits real or illusory? Will it alter the geopolitical direction of Serbia or solidify the government's current orientation?

On December 4th, 2024, FPI Senior Fellow Edward P. Joseph hosted an online discussion with five leading Serbian experts, academics and activists, plus two SAIS student discussants. Playing the role of mining proponents, the SAIS hosts challenged the Serbian guests, illuminating the fierce debate over the Jadar Lithium Project.

About the Panelists

Aleksandar Matković is a research associate at the Institute of Economic Sciences in Belgrade, a member of the “China, Law, and Development” network at Oxford University in the UK, and a Fellow at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, as well as a member of the Green-Left Front in Serbia.

Bojana Novaković is an award-winning actress, organizer and researcher. She is the coordinator of the Marš sa Drine campaign against Rio Tinto in Serbia. In 2023 she was a research associate for Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability and co-authored papers on the development of solar energy in the American West, focusing on the link between green transition and continuity of colonialism and themes of state and corporate corruption. Bojana is also an Australian Academy Film and TV Award winning actress and the director of upcoming documentary The Forbidden Aunt.

Mirko Popović is an environmental policy analyst with expertise in the field of environmental impact assessment, Aarhus Convention and application of the EU environmental and the rule of law standards in the Western Balkans. He is a programme director at the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory institute, civil society organisation based in Belgrade, Serbia.

Zoran Stevanović is a hydrogeologist and a retired Professor of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. He has served as a Consultant to the UN organizations FAO and UNESCO and has vast experience in implementation of groundwater supply projects in the Balkans, Middle East, and North and East Africa. He has published more than 350 papers, four text-books, authored and edited 20 monographs, including renewed publishers (Springer, Elsevier, CRC). He is a former President of the Serbian Geological Society, an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Geological Society, and a member of the Bulgarian Geological Society. He is also a Permanent member of the Scientific Society of Serbia and the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia. He previsously served as the Chair of the Karst Commission and is a recipient of the Applied Hydrogeology Award of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.

Milan Krstić is an Assistant Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science, where he teaches Serbian Foreign Policy, US Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy Theory, and Balkan Relations. He has published more than 20 articles in scientific journals in Serbian and English and is currently working on his first book, accepted for publishing by Central European University Press. Since 2010, Milan has been active in the civil society sector in Serbia. He is one of the founders, board members, and senior researchers at the Center for Social Dialogue and Regional Initiatives (CSDRI), a think-and-do-tank from Belgrade.

About the Moderator

Edward P. Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Adjunct Lecturer at SAIS, specializing in Conflict Management. Edward served on the ground in the Balkans for a dozen years, including during the conflicts in each war-affected country: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, and then-Macedonia.

In 2012, as the US-nominated Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Edward negotiated the breakthrough agreement with Pristina and Belgrade to hold Serbian elections in independent Kosovo.

In July 1995, Edward and one UN colleague coordinated the evacuation of Zepa, close to neighboring Srebrenica.

In 1995-1996, Edward deployed with the NATO Implementation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a US Army officer. He is a veteran and former Army helicopter pilot.

Edward has authored dozens of articles and reports on the region, including in SAIS Review. His June 2023 Foreign Policy article, ‘The United States is Creating a Kosovo Crisis’ described the overlooked obstacle to establishing autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. Edward was the lead author on the January 2022 SAIS-Wilson Center report explaining how the European non-recognizers (of Kosovo) stymie the entire region, and setting out a corrective strategy.

Edward has led and currently serves on the Board of the National Council on US-Libya Relations. Edward earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and its School of Advanced International Studies.

About the Student Discussants

Kaja Burja is a second year MAIR student from Slovenia. She finished her first year of SAIS in Bologna and is focusing on Conflict Managment, International Human Rights law and Environmental Law, with a regional focus in Europe and Eurasia. She has previously worked with Professor Edward P. Joseph on a NATO Project "Seeing is Believing", focusing on combating Russian subversion and disinformation in the Balkans, and building NATO resilience in the area.

Matej Sekulić is a first-year MASCI student specializing in Economic Statecraft and Strategic Studies. Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, he now resides in Pennsylvania. During his undergraduate studies at Princeton University, Matej was published as an Associate Researcher with the Belgrade Centre for Security Studies, where he explored the evolving political discourse surrounding the Jadar lithium project. His senior thesis at Princeton examined the critical importance of securing a social license to operate within the context of lithium excavation projects.