Vaccine diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic on the example of the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in scale and scope. The COVID-19 vaccines have not only become an indispensable weapon in the fight against the pandemic but also served as a sign of the technological and scientific prestige of the countries that developed them. While the term "vaccine diplomacy" is not new, it may have become much more relevant in times of global pandemic. The aim of this research is to analyze the vaccine diplomacy of China, the EU, and Russia towards Serbia during the global COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the study also presents Serbia's efforts to engage in its own vaccine diplomacy at the global level. The novelty of this research can be seen in a comparative analysis of the efforts of the "vaccine diplomacy" of the EU, China, and Russia towards Serbia. In addition, this research also presents the results of the survey data on Serbian citizens and their perceptions of foreign aid received during the pandemic. It can be concluded that the Chinese and Russian medical aid to Serbia were very well received by the Serbian government, government-aligned media, and the Serbian public. Concerning the aid of the European Union, it was neither significantly advertised by the media, nor was the Serbian public perception significantly changed in the favour of the EU. At the same time, the Serbian government engaged in vaccine diplomacy of its own, to strengthen the ties with Yugoslavia's former allies from the Non-Alignment Movement.