Garčević Speaks to NATO Political Committee
On Monday, March 9th, Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School, was invited by the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to address the NATO Political Committee. The 75-minute briefing included a presentation on the current state of play in the Balkans, followed by an exchange of views with Allied representatives.
Ambassador Garčević elaborated on how the emerging multiplex world order—characterized by strategic competition across multiple domains, including security, energy, trade, economic influence, norm-setting, and artificial intelligence—affects the situation in the Balkans. He explained how these dynamics create space for the involvement of external actors seeking to expand their influence in the region.
Against this backdrop, Garčević commented on how the ongoing conflict with Iran introduces additional security considerations for the region’s strategic environment. Although Iran’s direct influence in the region remains limited, the conflict could still have indirect and longer-term political, and particularly economic, implications.
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.