The final multistakeholder conference of the project “Contributing to Modern Partnerships: Assessments of Sino-EU-Serbian Relations – COMPASS” was held on 26 November at the Nobel Zira Hotel.

The conference was opened by the Director of the Institute of International Politics and Economics, Prof. Dr. Branislav Đorđević, and the Deputy Director, Dr. Ivona Lađevac, the project PI.

The first panel was dedicated to the results and achievements accomplished during the two-year duration of the project. Through the presentations of team members Dr. Ivona Lađevac, Dr. Aleksandar Mitić, Dr. Katarina Zakić, Dr. Sanja Filipović, and Pavle Nedić, MA, several key outputs were presented, including the thematic edited volume, the COMPASS Annual Yearbook, two policy briefs with recommendations for Serbia’s  international positioning, the results of two public opinion surveys on Serbian foreign policy, and the database of risks for Serbia’s foreign policy.

The second panel focused on practical risks for Serbia’s foreign policy. Dr. Marko Dašić from the Faculty of Political Sciences discussed Serbia’s position amid global fragmentation, while Dr. Filip Ž. Bugarčić from the Faculty of Economics in Kragujevac presented the economic and trade challenges Serbia faces in a period of geopolitical disruption. IIPE Research Fellow Dr. Nevena Šekarić Stojanović focused her talk on energy risks, challenges, and diversification options for Serbia. Dr. Mladen Lišanin, Research Fellow at IIPE, delivered a presentation on foreign policy risks for Serbia in the context of European security.

As the COMPASS project approaches its conclusion, the final set of project results and corresponding publications is becoming available.

These include an edited volume titled “Risks for Serbian Foreign Policy in the Fragmentation of the International Order – Actors, Processes, and Outcomes”, edited by guest editor Prof. Dr. Toni Mileski. The book contains eleven papers, six of which are authored or co-authored by members of the project team.

Two books of policy recommendations, addressing Serbia–EU and Serbia–China relations respectively, have also been published.

All publications are available here:

Dr Aleksandar Mitić, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, addressed the „Global Strategy Conference 2025” in Istanbul, Turkey on November 20 and 21.

Over 100 participants from Turkey and worldwide participated in the conference, held this year under the title “Regionalization in the International System: The Search for Stability in a Fragmenting World”, and organized by the Center for Diplomatic Affairs and Political Studies-DIPAM and Beykoz University from Istanbul, as well as the University of Cagliari, Italy.

Dr Mitić presented research on Serbia’s foreign policy, as well as the results of the “COMPASS” scientific project realized by an IIPE team.

Dr Aleksandar Mitić, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, participated in Beijing at the first International Forum of the Overseas Studies on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, held on November 12 and 13.

Under the title “Changes Unseen in a Century and the Governance of China”, the forum organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences gathered over 200 experts from 40 countries.

Dr Mitić presented the results of the “COMPASS” project, implemented by a team of IIPE researchers and financed by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.

COMPASS team members Dr. Ivona Lađevac, Dr. Katarina Zakić, and Dr. Nenad Stekić, participated in the 11th High-level Think Tanks Symposium of China – Central and Eastern European Countries”. The conference was organized by the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in cooperation with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Zagreb and the Zagreb School of Economics and Management. The annual conference brought together 57 researchers from 16 countries.

Dr. Lađevac and Dr. Stekić presented papers developed within the framework of the COMPASS project.

The Institute of International Politics and Economics successfully organized the international scientific conference “Dialogues on China 2025” on October 15 and 16, 2025 in Belgrade. The event brought together 140 participants from 36 countries. The conference program included 15 panels, two keynote sessions, and one side event – exhibition on the occasion of the 70 years of friendship between the Serbian and the Chinese peoples. 

The opening ceremony featured, amon others, a speech by Prof. Dr. Branislav Đorđević, Director of the Institute of International Politics and Economics, and COMPASS team member, while the second keynote was presented by Dr. Ivona Lađevac, Deputy Director of the Institute and COMPASS PI.

Furthermore, within the special COMPASS dedicated panel on the second day of the conference, the project research and results were presented in presentations given by team members Sanja Filipović, Katarina Zakić, Aleksandar Mitić, Nenad Stekić and Pavle Nedić.

In the “Topic of the Week” of the daily newspaper Politika on September 14, 2025, the results of the public opinion survey on international relations and Serbia’s foreign policy position, conducted within the COMPASS project, were presented.

The COMPASS contributions were authored by Dr. Aleksandar Mitić and Dr. Katarina Zakić.

COMPASS team member dr. Aleksandar Mitić, took part in two China-Europe forums held in Beijing.

The traditional „China-Europe Think Tank Dialogue“ and the first „China-Europe Forum on Security Cooperation“ were held under the auspices of the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The forums were attended by leading institutes from China and the European Union, while the IIPE was the only non-EU participant from Europe.

Dr. Mitić presented the results of the “Compass” project, implemented by the IIPE in cooperation with the Institute of Social Sciences and under the auspices of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.

The press conference dedicated to the presentation of the results of the second COMPASS public opinion survey took place on September 8, 2025.

During the presentation, members of the project team presented and explained the findings stemming from the second Survey on Foreign Policy Attitudes of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia. The survey provided a comprehensive overview of public perceptions regarding Serbia’s foreign relations, with a particular focus on its ties with the European Union and China and follows the first iteration conducted in the previous year.

The presentation was attended by researchers, diplomats, policymakers, and members of the public. The survey results were presented by COMPASS project PI Dr. Ivona Ladjevac, and team members Dr. Katarina Zakić, Dr. Aleksandar Mitić, and Dr. Nenad Stekić.

The results of the second COMPASS survey have been published. The survey concerns public opinion on Serbia’s foreign policy, its directions, priorities and relations with Serbia’s main partners EU and China.

The results are available at the following link:
https://serbiacompass.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/CompassAnketa02_250805.pdf