Global Influence of the Contemporary American Far Right: A Case Study of Serbia

The process of globalization in recent years has ignited an unprecedented level of far-right transatlantic cooperation. Individuals and members of organizations from the United States traveled to Europe intending to establish permanent relations with their ideological cousins, while new ways of online communication enabled extreme right-wing organizations to share ideas and methods of political activism and learn from each other. This phenomenon is observable in Serbia even though bilateral relations with the United States are troubled by the US-led NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. For this reason, anti-American feelings developed among many Serbs, with the far right taking the most uncompromising attitude. Nevertheless, the American far right has inspired and influenced right-wing and even mainstream political organizations in Serbia. The first part of this article examines how extreme right-wing groups in Serbia became exposed to American far-right ideas over the Internet. It also shows how more recent connections have been established between the Serbian far right and alt-right figures from the United States. The second part will examine the effect of the populist right-wing movement created by Donald Trump on Serbian mainstream politics. Trump’s non-interventionism in his first term awakened optimism that better relations between Serbia and the United States are possible while influencing Serbian narratives, ideology, and political practice.