It’s Time for Washington to Sanction Vucic

The free world cannot afford to tolerate corruption and autocracy from strongman leaders, and Washington must act soon to make sure that that message is clear.

The argument: Aleksandar Vucic has robbed the people of Serbia of freedom and prosperity—and the free people of the world of an ally—for far too long.

WHY IT MATTERS

Aleksandar Vucic was first elected to public office in Serbia in 1993. Over the following decades he steadily consolidated power, rising through government ranks to become prime minister and, ultimately, president in 2017. For the people of Serbia, this thirty-year period has been marked by corruption, election irregularities, and a sharp decline in press freedom. A nation with the potential to stabilize the region’s economy and help secure Europe’s borders has instead been constrained by the autocratic and narcissistic control of a single leader.

In response to decades of stagnant progress and empty promises, the United States Congress took the extraordinary step of passing the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act, signed into law in December 2025 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation underscores the region’s strategic importance while detailing the many challenges that have hindered its development. Notably, Serbia is identified as a particularly problematic actor in the region. The act notably includes provisions for imposing sanctions on individuals and organizations. Europe is not typically a breeding ground for sanction-worthy autocrats, but the case for sanctioning Aleksandar Vucic is clear if there is to be any real hope for freedom in Serbia and for the nation to take its place among those advancing liberty and prosperity.

On November 1, 2024, tragedy struck in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, when a train station’s concrete canopy collapsed, killing 16 people. Renovations on the Yugoslav-era structure had been completed just months earlier to prepare the station as a hub for a high-speed rail. The collapse was likely the result of corruption that turned a blind eye to poor workmanship. In response, university students took to the streets in protest, and the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the lack of transparency in Vucic’s government regarding both the construction of the canopy and the investigation into its collapse.

Just a year after the Novi Sad tragedy, another scandal erupted in the capital. Vucic announced plans to invoke a law—intended only for extraordinary circumstances—to remove cultural protections from a parcel of land containing the ruins of government buildings bombed by NATO in 1999. His government then pushed legislation through the National Assembly to enable the site’s redevelopment as a luxury Trump-branded hotel. The plan was ultimately scrapped, and Vucic offered up proxies in an effort to quell the anti-corruption protests that once again rocked the nation.

Serbia currently holds the third-lowest Freedom House score among Council of Europe member states. In just the past few days, another round of elections has been compromised by Vucic’s party, as hundreds of thousands of dollars flowed into just ten contests in small municipalities, overwhelming the modest resources of opposition parties. Unsurprisingly, these developments have sparked renewed anti-Vucic demonstrations, both in the affected municipalities and in the capital.

THE BOTTOM LINE

For the twentieth consecutive year, global freedom has declined. Autocrats like Aleksandar Vucic have been able to operate in the shadows for far too long, impeding the economic, political, and social progress of their nations and regions. Congress has now provided the tools for an appropriate response. It is time to use them to hold Vucic accountable and to send a clear message to autocrats everywhere.

Trey Dimsdale, Senior Editor of Law & Liberty at Restoring the West, is president of the AHA Foundation. Follow him on X @TreyDimsdale.