Project information
Greener than the EU? Contesting the EU from an environmental perspective: a narrative analysis of the Serbian anti-mining protest movements

This thesis aims to identify how the EU is being constructed in the narratives of the Serbian environmental protest movements. Serbia is a strategic partner of the EU in the domain of critical raw materials needed for achieving climate neutrality, a central commitment of the European Green Deal. The possibility of EU-approved lithium mining in Serbia’s Jadar River Valley catalysed the formation of the national protest movements that influence the public debate. This thesis utilizes the method of narrative analysis to establish dominant narratives regarding the EU in the official documents and media statements of these actors, alongside the semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the movements as a complementary source. The work contributes to the theoretical discussion on the contestation of the EU in the non-member states and bridges the gap in the research of the protest movements in post-socialist countries.