On July 17, the United States and Serbia jointly announced a strategic dialogue—a formal, permanent architecture of diplomatic engagement between the two states. The move is hardly earth-shattering; the United States maintains the same posture with dozens of other countries, and even does the same in the Western Balkans with Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, and North Macedonia.

Yet the shift suggests worrying things about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and its impact on the security and stability of a highly volatile region. It is especially strange in the context of Serbia’s growing closeness with China and its leaders’ aspirations to autocracy.

On July 17, the United States and Serbia jointly announced a strategic dialogue—a formal, permanent architecture of diplomatic engagement between the two states. The move is hardly earth-shattering; the United States maintains the same posture with dozens of other countries, and even does the same in the Western Balkans with Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, and North Macedonia.

Yet the shift suggests worrying things about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and its impact on the security and stability of a highly volatile region. It is especially strange in the context of Serbia’s growing closeness with China and its leaders’ aspirations to autocracy.

In mid-July, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s government suffered a major political setback when it became clear that, despite the urging of the European Commission, Serbia would not be permitted to proceed to the next stage of its European Union membership accession process. Nearly a third of all EU capitals opposed the move due to significant democratic backsliding in Serbia, which has occurred under Vucic’s leadership and has particularly accelerated over the past........

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