Geopolitical designs and realities in Yugoslavia's foreign policy: The issue of access to the sea

WOS: 000235044600001The birth of Serbia occurred in the wider context of the Eastern Question. Austro-Hungary viewed the birth of the new state negatively, as Serbia secured an outlet to the Adriatic Sea. Following that, Austro-Hungary had a leading role in the creation of the Albanian state. A great part of the Serbian Great Idea is identified with the need of an autonomous outlet to the Adriatic or/and the Aegean Sea. This article examines the historical evolution of Serbia's geopolitical designs and realities in the application of the country's foreign policy mainly to Bulgaria and Greece. The analysis covers the period from independence to the Milocevic regime, with emphasis on Tito's Great Idea. With the new state under the name of Serbia and Montenegro, the issue of access to the sea comes at the epicenter again with the potential secession of Montenegro. Within this context, the capabilities of the new state to administer its trade needs through the free zones that the EU has adopted in favor of third-outside the EU-states is approached. For geographical reasons the Thessaloniki freezone in Greece is still the most interesting one for the Serbian trade