Podeli : The Novi Sad accident has all the hallmarks of a collapsing social canopy. The surplus of funds has not been used to improve the standard of living, but rather to fund projects like the Belgrade Waterfront, luxury villas, and SUVs that the new elite arrogantly drive through streets, which are falling apart, the weekly Radar said in its latest issue. Igor Stiks is a political theorist and author, he was born in Sarajevo, grew up in Zagreb, and studied in Paris and Chicago.
He has worked at the University of Edinburgh and has lived in Belgrade for the past decade. He currently teaches at the Faculty of Media and Communications. In his interview with Radar, he discussed Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium mining project, the vision of society it imposes, and the political untouchability of the ruling regime – especially when it makes mistakes.
Lithium and Kosovo dominate the Serbian public sphere, competing for attention. How do you assess the current situation? It must be acknowledged that, over the past ten years, the Serbian authorities have been very skilled in shaping and controlling the public agenda – deciding what gets discussed, what doesn’t, what is important, and what is concealed. Initially, lithium was concealed beneath major topics like war, Kosovo, and East-versus-West tensions – which failed because environmental protests happened.
Now, a different strategy is being tested: marketing lithium as an unmissable opportunity for the country’s future! When i.