Week in Review: Old Influencers and New Influences

Buying Influence

China's presence in the Balkans may be nothing new, but the massive increase in its investment in the region is something worth taking note of, as Visar Xhambazi points out in his comment for Balkan Insight. In the simplest of terms, he argues that China has been using its money to increase its influence in the region.

While Turkey and Russia offer brotherly love and warm words to their respective Muslim and Orthodox Christian target audiences in the Balkans, China's tool is much more effective - and what the region is really hungry for: capital investments. Yet along with its investments, China exports many of the problems it has at home to the Balkans.

Read more: China Buying Balkans Influence, Competing with West (January 28, 2020)

Key Facts

Protest rally in Podgorica, Montenegro, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/BORIS PEJOVIC

The protests and societal upheaval sparked in Montenegro by the Law on religious freedom show no sign of calming down. Across the country, demonstrators and supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church continue to gather, demanding that the controversial law be repealed.

We take a look at the key facts surrounding the protests, in what is not always an easily understandable story. How did the protests start? What do protesters demand? How has politics become involved? These are some of the questions we seek to shed light on.

Read more: Church Protests in Montenegro - Key Facts (January 27, 2020)

Movers and Shakers

Illustration: BIRN/Igor Vujcic

As the dispute over the controversial religious freedom law in Montenegro continues to grab regional headlines, we take a look at some of the religious leaders in the region who wield influence and attract public...