ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA THROUGH THE PRISM OF RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND NATO

The purpose of the paper is to use an adequate methodology to show the importance of relations between the Republic of Serbia and the United States and NATO for the development of positive social norms, as well as the economic development of the Republic of Serbia through a decades-long relationship marked by the ups and downs of cooperation if we take into account the relations of the former Yugoslavia, of which the Republic of Serbia is the legal successor. The paper aims to confirm the hypothesis that the economic, security, and social development of Serbia in the last 20 years is related to the rise of cooperation with the United States and NATO, as was the case with the former Yugoslavia after the break with the Soviet Union in 1948 and the signing of the agreement with the United States. Agreements, protocols, treaties, and other acts signed and implemented between Serbia on the one hand and the United States and NATO on the other, especially those that have elements of the Petersburg Declaration, have significantly contributed to the status of a trusted partner of Serbia when it comes to regional security and stability, which, along with its participation in peacekeeping missions, played a crucial role in being characterized completely differently after the wars of the 1990s compared to the end of the twentieth century. That is why it has made all the progress in the face of international sanctions. Characterized as a partner by NATO, the Republic of Serbia has become a leader in attracting foreign direct investments in the Western Balkans, especially those from NATO member states and the largest exporter of products and services in the field of IT industry to the backbone of NATO, the United States of America from this area. At the end of the paper, the authors, after confirming the given hypothesis, present a proposal of measures and actions that the Republic of Serbia should take in the future to bring to an end the Euro-Atlantic integration with adequate relations with NATO and the members of the alliance at the bilateral level, with a special emphasis on membership in the European Union, which is contained in the most important legislative and strategic documents as the highest state goal.