This is one more lesson in why you shouldn't be too friendly to Washington and Brussels.

I hope the votes can somehow be found to make Sejdiu president, not because of who he is but because it is high time to get back to the serious business of governing. 

Miloš Ćirić, a political scientist in Belgrade, writes in Danas, Sept. 12-13, 2026: Serbia buried the war criminal Ratko Mladic with a ceremonial unit, an honor guard, a rifle volley and eulogies. Patriarch Porfirije led the funeral service. In attendance were Serbia's ministers of defense, justice, culture and labor; the son of President Aleksandar Vucic and his friends; Milorad Dodik; the Russian ambassador; and, by some accounts, more than 15,000 people.

So what's the bright spot? I hope the election. Americans on November 3 have an opportunity to send most of the Trump sycophants in Congress home. I hope they do.

A war criminal can die, while the ideology that made him a hero survives. That is the real challenge Serbia continues to face.

We are witnessing a new variation on Milan Kundera’s famous *The Joke*: “Optimism is opium for the people.”

It is high time to get on with the serious business of governing, which includes an important role for the opposition. It's time to fish and cut bait.

Belgrade talks the talk, takes the EU money, and does nearly nothing. It is time to insist that the borders in the Western Balkans open up.

Allowing the powers that be in the region to reach their own equilibrium, with US backing for its friends in the background, is worth a try.

I expect Trump to continue promising an agreement while Iran and Oman reach an agreement on tolls in the strait of Hormuz.

The Ukraine and Iran war have damage US standing. Rebuilding the US military and diplomacy will take time and money. The sooner it starts, the better.

Negotiation will save lives and money. But the agenda will have to be the terms of tolling. That is a big loss for the US, but it's where we are at.

For now, Donald and Mojtaba seem content to batter each other. Only more pain and little gain will convince them otherwise.

President Vucic is getting a boost. Transactions are on the agenda. Democracy, rule of law, corruption, Kosovo, and Europe are off.

The US will try to get Serbia aligned with US objectives. Serbia will offer half a loaf. It's an old game. They'll play it again.

If even a handful of retiring Republicans announce that they will caucus with the Democrats, the majority in both Houses would shift.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have both launched wars of aggression, the former against Ukraine and the latter, with Israel, against Iran. Unable to win and unable to negotiate an exit each deems worth his while, both are stuck. They are choosing to double down to justify their sunk costs. Why is this happening to two countries whose military power far exceeds that of their adversaries?

With NATO and EU membership, Kosovo won't care much about UN membership, which can't happen until Russia and Serbia enjoy a democratic resurgence hard to picture today.

No, America is no longer the America Europeans, including Kosovars, want it to be. And it won't recover soon.

The protests and upheaval the Israelis and Trump hoped would happen during the war are much more likely in its aftermath.

People in the Balkans and elsewhere are entitled to their own memories of the past. But to avoid conflict they need to share the future.

The State Department report to Congress on "United States Policy to Promote Regional Stability and Prosperity in the Western Balkans" merits analysis and comment. Like most official statements, it is as important for what it doesn't say as what it does say. And it important for the who as well as the what. For the uninitiated, "Western Balkans" refers to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Accession of Montenegro and Albania would help the EU stake its claim to leadership of the liberal democratic world. That's the best alternative to the US.

I am going to repeat that hope that Montenegro will be an EU member in four years, which requires that you be fully qualified in two.

Trump touted the Beijing meetings as maybe "the biggest summit ever." That's his usual hyperbole. It was a bust, and he knows it.

This clip reveals two things about Trump. He has downgraded his goals for the Iran war. And he really doesn't care about ordinary Americans.

The international community, as it used to be called, could be generous. It also makes mistakes. Bosnia and Kosovo are prime examples of both.

This is not rocket science. If the Americans want to prevent tolling, they need to settle with Tehran soon. That will hurt but is better than the alternative.

The November election is six months off. In the meanwhile, prices will remain elevated. From that, there is nowhere to hide.

President Trump is stuck in a war he should never have even thought about starting. The prospects for getting out of it are dim.

The regime was arguably on its last legs when the Israelis and Americans attacked. It might not survive an end to tension with the West.

The best way to generate international norms for technology is in what we call in international relations an epistemic group of global experts.

Albanian as an official language is a right, a reflection of the state’s multiethnic character, and a necessity for a just and sustainable constitutional order.

The war is ending with the strait of Hormuz in Iranian control. The US and the Gulf lost. Iran lost militarily but won strategically.

Trump is now desperate to end the war before it causes more damage to the world economy. He can't credibly claim victory if Iran owns the strait.

America is not better off now than before the war. Trump should have ducked out by now. He is stuck in a war without an upside for the United States.

Surrender of the strait to Iran and retreat from the Middle East will weaken the US. So too will failure to support Ukraine.

The Iranians will try to impose unilaterally a permanent toll on passage through the strait of Hormuz. It is going to be hard to stop them.

Trump is in peril of losing all but his most loyal voters. No wonder he is trying not only to end the war but also to make voting harder.

Trump is stuck in a war of his own making. But it is the rest of us worldwide who will pay for his mistake.

Trump wants to pull the plug. The Israelis don't. And the Iranians are demanding outcomes that neither Israel nor the US can concede.

A year from now, we are likely to be remembering a highly effective military operation that did not achieve its strategic objectives. Or we'll still be at war.

The devil is not only in the details, but in a highly uncertain future. This war was a giant wager. There is a lot to lose on both sides.

When the political window opens for Iceland or Ukraine, I hope the Balkan candidates will be ready and willing.

Even if the war were to end tomorrow, the impact would continue to ripple into the future. There are lots of known unknowns and unknown unknowns.

The greater powers often excepted themselves from the rules-based order. Now it is in tatters. We are going to miss it when it is gone.

Recognizing and addressing discrimination against Albanians in Serbia is essential not only for Albanians, but for democratic principles across the region.

Regime change in Iran is a giant gamble. There is no guarantee that more reasonable people will be able to take power as a result of this war of choice.

Trump's peacemaking week is looking like a bust. The Ukraine war isn't ending, Gaza isn't getting reconstructed, and so far there is no deal with Iran.

SAIS scholars will try to answer: