Garčević Comments on the Current State of US Diplomacy and the Balkans
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School, was recently featured in “Waiting for American Ambassadors: Is the Balkans a Cause for Concern,” published by BBC News in Serbian on February 2. The article examines the challenges currently facing U.S. diplomacy, including the fact that in early 2026 there were around 80 ambassadorial vacancies awaiting Senate confirmation, encompassing almost all Balkan states.
Alongside former U.S. ambassadors to the Balkans, diplomats from the region, and representatives of U.S. think tanks and non-profit organizations, Garčević commented on the current state of U.S. diplomacy, that there was broad agreement among interlocutors that today’s U.S. diplomatic approach can be characterized as highly transactional and unilateral, coupled with a deep distrust of the professional diplomatic service, exemplified by the mass layoffs at the Department of State in 2025.
This skepticism toward established diplomatic institutions has also extended to the international arena. In seeking to resolve global crises, President Trump has frequently bypassed the UN, further weakening multilateral engagement.
Ambassador Garčević noted that the current administration has effectively created a parallel diplomatic service that President Trump relies on exclusively. Decision-making and coordination are centralized in the White House, conducted through direct presidential involvement and close advisors.
Focusing on the Balkans, Ambassador Garčević emphasized that Trump’s rise to power has emboldened regional nationalists and autocratic leaders, observing that “the same political forces that supported nationalist policies during the wars of the 1990s are now attempting to align themselves with Trump’s approach and present themselves as allies.”
The full feature can be read here in Serbian.
Vesko Garčević is a professor of the practice of international studies at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and the director of the Center for the Study of Europe. An expert on multilateral issues, Garčević is the co-author of Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce? (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) which explores the divergent past between Serbia and Montenegro between 1988 and 2023. To read more about his work and accomplishments, visit his faculty profile.