Aleksandar Popov, the Director of the Center for Regionalism, has sharply criticized the ruling regime in Serbia, asserting that the continuous fabrication of external and internal enemies is the government’s primary mechanism for political survival.
Speaking to the Podgorica-based outlet Pobjeda, Popov argued that these diversionary tactics are strategically deployed by Belgrade to deflect public attention away from deep-seated domestic scandals and a systemic collapse of state institutions.
Montenegro as “Potential Prey” and Croatia as the “Eternal Strawman”
Popov detailed how Serbia’s foreign policy and state-controlled media rhetoric are deliberately calibrated to destabilize neighboring countries for domestic political gain:
- The Mirror of Failure in Montenegro: Popov stated that official Belgrade does not view Montenegro as a truly sovereign nation, but rather as a “temporarily alienated territory.” He argued that Montenegro’s steady progress toward the European Union directly exposes the fact that Serbia is regressing under autocracy. To stall this, Belgrade routinely deploys its “soft power”—including the church and local political proxies—to paint Montenegro as dysfunctional.
- Croatia as the Everlasting Alibi: Whenever the Serbian government faces domestic pressure, massive citizen protests, or international demands for democratization, events are immediately labeled as “colored revolutions” allegedly financed by Croatian intelligence. Popov noted that Belgrade and Zagreb act as perfect “nationalist sparring partners,” stoking traumas from the 1990s to homogenize their electorates without solving real public issues.
Regime Survival & Diversionary Framework (June 2026 Geopolitical Analysis)
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Target: Montenegro --> Undermine EU integration to hide Serbia's domestic stagnation.
Target: Croatia --> Blame for citizen protests; frame dissent as a "foreign plot."
Internal Victims --> Threats against journalists (Gruhonjić) and political critics.
Diversion Targets --> Deflect from the Novi Sad canopy collapse and massive drug busts.
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Intimidation of Critical Voices and the Blurred Lines of Crime
Popov touched upon the ongoing state-sponsored intimidation of journalists and independent analysts, explicitly pointing to the recent police interrogations of military commentator Aleksandar Radić, lawyer Aleksandar Olenik, and Beta News Agency Editor-in-Chief Vojkan Kostić regarding a probe into a “sound cannon.” He classified this as a textbook case of turning reality on its head.
Aleksandar Popov: “The message being sent through the interrogation of Radić, Olenik, and Kostić is the brutal intimidation of the remaining critical voices. The clear goal is to drag anyone who dares expose the government’s dirty business through a media gauntlet, deliberately shifting focus away from catastrophic domestic scandals.”
Popov emphasized that these high-profile interrogations are engineered to draw public awareness away from grave internal crises. Among these, he cited the fatal Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, the “Milić” affair, the massive five-ton marijuana seizure in Konjuh, and the controversial privatization of the former General Staff building.
Furthermore, addressing the recent spike in violent gang warfare on Serbian streets, Popov dismissed the idea of state impotence. He concluded that the boundaries between the state and organized crime have been completely erased, noting that the regime deliberately refuses to crack down on street clans because soccer hooligans and criminal factions have long been weaponized as political enforcers to suppress public dissent.
