In what way, in general, are we in this Vicinity abandoning our previous specializations – to produce a labor force that leaves, conflicts that do not stop, and economic lag behind the EU that continues?

Voja Žanetić

A story, to start.

A friend of mine once traveled by car through some of the united states of America. At one point, a rather strong and even more unpleasant smell began to fill the inside of the car.

“What is this smell?” – my friend asked, a little suspicious of his other companions, because the windows were closed.

“Pigsties,” explained the car driver briefly, obviously being used to it. He pointed his hand at an almost endless series of uniform objects, the source of the unpleasant smell.

“Oh, there are so many” – my friend said, looking at the pigsties, then in the direction of the driver, who indifferently shrugged his shoulders, silently confirming that there were many buildings indeed. “And how long are we going to breathe this in?”

“Another 40 kilometers,” the driver stated shortly, pointing to the buildings dotted along the road, with no visible end.

And that’s this smart specialization we are going to be talking about.

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The modern world we live in is filled with fancy abbreviations. One of them is “S3”, 3 words in one textual place – Smart Specialization Strategy. This abbreviation is used by another abbreviation – the EU, which here specifically denotes 27 countries that do not know exactly what to do with the heated economic globalization, because in the past they have mainly tended to produce as much as possible of everything they need and depend on others as little as possible.

But this task of building self-sufficiency is no longer possible, because it has become impossible to make everything that one territory would need. It is also unprofitable, because there is always someone who makes something cheaper or better, or both. No one makes everything anymore, and everyone makes something of their own: en mass, cheaper and of better quality than others. This, among other things, was the reason why the socialist industry in the Western Balkans (WB, for friends) failed: everything made by, say, Tito’s economic heirs, could be found cheaper, and often of better quality, by the economic heirs of Mao Zedong .

And that, in simplified terms, would be the topic of this Vicinity: the EU wants each of its countries to find its own S3, and it would be good if the WB had its place in that. Very figuratively speaking, each of the countries in this vicinity of ours needs to find what to fill its 40 kilometers of roads with. Stink or no stink.

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Thousands of questions (1000Q) can be asked at this point. Here are some: in what order does smart specialization go, do those who are stronger and more powerful specialize first, and the poorer and weaker ones are left to specialize in something less profitable or less developmentally potent. Or, if it refers to us here: will there be any possibility of specialization left for us, when everyone from the EU, which we are not a part of, specialize? Will  EU countries have an advantage in specializing over those who are candidates for the EU, will they be prohibited from some activities determined by specialization because of possible competitiveness? Or let’s ask a question on behalf of all of us who live and work on the European continent: do we want to specialize better and smarter than the countries of other continents, is there any agreement or are we fighting until specialization and globalization fail us? But before answering any of these questions, one very important question can certainly be asked:

In what way, in general, are we in this Vicinity abandoning our previous specializations – to produce a labor force that leaves, conflicts that do not stop, and economic lag behind the EU that continues? There are certainly more of these specializations, but the specialty of this editorial has always been to keep it short and simple. The answers will be found in the other columns of this issue.

Specially written for him. SWH, in short.