Commentary. Serbian Geopolitical Thought Through its Epitome: Jovan Cvijić and his Geopolitical Ideas

Abstract

This paper examines Serbian geopolitical thought through the work of Jovan Cvijić (1865-1927), an early 20th century geographer widely regarded as the epitome of the Serbian geopolitical tradition. Departing from the Western-centric bias that dominates the discipline, thestudy argues that an exclusive focus on great power geopolitical traditions overlooks intellectually significant contributions from smaller states. The paper pursues three interrelated objectives. First is to provide a systematic overview of five phases in the evolution of Serbian geopolitical thought from the early 19th century to 2020. Second is systematizing Cvijić’s geopolitical ideas into four principal focal areas—the physical geography of the Balkans, the imperative of sea access, questions of ethnicity, language and religion, and the dynamics of great power relations. And finally, the third objective of the paper is to give a commentary of arguably his most epitomizing paper «The Geographical and Cultural Position of Serbia», through which the utility of his geopolitical ideas scattered throughout his writings. The analysis demonstrates that Cvijić’s thought, developed in parallel with the major classical geopolitical authors of his era, was distinguished by its small-state perspective—one that necessarily incorporated great power calculations into its strategic reasoning. His concepts of the Central Area and the Balkan Core, his sustained advocacy for Serbian access to the Adriatic Sea, and his nuanced treatment of ethno-linguistic boundaries constitute meaningful contributions to geopolitical theory. The paper concludes that Serbian geopolitical thought, and Cvijić’s intellectual legacy in particular, warrants broader attention within the global study of geopolitics.