Christian Costamagna

Junior Fellow in the cluster Knowledge transfer and concepts of Europe

This project investigates Serbian perceptions of the United States and selected European allies during the 1990s, with a focus on the domestic debate over the democratic legitimacy of NATO’s 1999 intervention. Drawing on declassified Yugoslav and Serbian documents, it reconstructs how political leaders in Belgrade framed the transatlantic community, its democratic model, and its role in the Yugoslav wars. The study examines the paradox whereby liberal democracies, acting through NATO, were accused of undermining the very principles they sought to defend. By situating these debates, the project reflects on their implications for contemporary transatlantic relations and the challenges facing liberal democracies today.