The so-called green transition, often presented as a universal good, carries with it a long shadow of resource neocolonialism. Wars and competition over strategic raw materials around the world have carved out new mining frontiers at Europe’s periphery. While the financial benefits of extraction flow to multinational corporations and political elites, local communities are left to shoulder the biggest risks. In the Jadar Valley, western Serbia, the British-Australian corporation Rio Tinto plans to open a lithium and boron mine, an ore processing facility, and two tailings dumps, in concert with the Serbian government and the European Union, and against the wishes of almost 60% of the Serbian population.
Authors:
Dr. Ana Vilenica
Dr. Vladimir Mentus
Copy-editing:
Bojana Novaković
Reviewers:
Dr. Filip Alexandrescu
Dr. Melissa García-Lamarca
Dr. Dominika V. Polanska
Publisher:
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
Southeast Europe Regional Office
Gospodar Jevremova 47
11000 Belgrade
Serbia
In cooperation with:
Marš sa Drine
Translation to English:
Dr. Ana Vilenica
Dr. Vladimir Mentus
Proofreader:
Mike Watson
Layout and Design:
шkart
Production:
Ksenija Forca
Dr. Vladan Jeremić
Publishing Year:
2026
ISBN-978-86-88745-59-8
Ana Vilenica is an Associate Research Professor working at Södertörn University and at the University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory. Her research explores urban struggles, urban marginality, housing, and displacement in Europe and the Americas. Her recent projects focus on extractivism, and infrastructures of engagement in Serbia, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic Sea region.
Vladimir Mentus is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Sociological and Anthropological Research at the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade. He was a visiting researcher at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Complutense University in Madrid. His current research primarily
focuses on economic sociology.
