He came, he saw, and he conquered. When late Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was elected to office in 2000, he inherited a struggling country and an economy rife with corruption and crime. After his predecessor, former President Slobodan Milosevic, had ravaged the country with a military campaign to cleanse the republic of ethnic Albanians, and after NATO had launched a succession of military strikes, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was utterly devastated. The republic soon dissolved, and Djindjic began the arduous process of reconstructing the Serbian state. Although Djindjic was initially faced with an abundance of setbacks and hardships, his progressive reforms have since propelled the economy, fought corruption, and established Serbia as a democratic and nearly autonomous entity.

After the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, the United States warned that it would block international funding for Serbian reconstruction until Belgrade pursued democratic reform, giving Serbia a good incentive to start the reconstruction process by democratizing. Under Djindjic, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia commenced talks targeted at forging a looser and more democratic relationship, and in 2003, the Yugoslavian republic was replaced by the state union of Serbia-Montenegro. The two entities also agreed to hold a referendum in 2006 to establish full independence of both Serbia and Montenegro. Although these progressive talks resulted in more democratic autonomy for both governments, they unfortunately coincided with the ill-fated assassination of Djindjic as well. In February 2003, Djindjic was succeeded as Prime Minister by Zoran Zivkovic, who has since supported and even enhanced Djindjic's efforts at reform.

Like many post-communist countries, Serbia has sought to develop a modern and law-abiding culture to reduce the high levels of corruption and crime that have long plagued it. The Budget Inspection Control Review, a survey of budget use conducted at the end of 2000, indicated that the public administration was mired in corruption and that funds had been fraudulently taken and misused. As a result, the administration took tough actions to bring 24 criminal charges against 47 former government officials and filed 29 settlements for restitution of illegally spent resources. Additionally, Serbia has sought to increase public awareness and engagement in the fight against corruption by encouraging scrutiny by the media and non-governmental organizations. To achieve this goal, the government hopes to both facilitate a higher level of freedom of information and create forums for public discussion of draft laws, although neither goal has yet come to fruition. While there is still more to accomplish, the public fight against corruption and the strict governmental stance have contributed immensely to the development of progressive reform.

Privatization, however, has been the most prominent theme of recent Serbian policy. Zivkovic has encouraged the development of a competitive market that offers both stability and profit incentives. Since 2000, over 900 companies have been privatized and 15 multinational corporations have begun expanding business into the Serbian market. As a result, Serbian gross domestic product per capita has risen from US$829 in 2000 to US$2,579 in 2003, and average hourly wages have increased from US$0.50 to US$2.43. Similarly, the turnover of goods rose by 15 percent during the same period, while inflation rates decreased from 113 percent to 5.6 percent. Moreover, Zivkovic has launched plans for a small business development program that is expected to generate nearly one million new jobs in the next five years by increasing the total number of businesses to 280,000. It is clear that Serbia's open economic policy has proven profitable, and the future is finally starting to look promising.

These economic advancements have been enthusiastically applauded by the European community at large. In October, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development chose Belgrade as the host city of its 2005 annual meeting, indicating its confidence in the progression of Serbian reforms and reconstruction. More than 10,000 of Europe's financial elite will flock to Belgrade for the meeting, providing the country with a significant opportunity to establish contacts and attract foreign capital from prominent economic, banking, and investment leaders. Likewise, in an effort to modernize and develop Serbian public administration, the Swedish Agency for International Development and Cooperation has offered to donate US$1 million worth of computer hardware and software to Serbia, as well as training services, technical support, and systematic maintenance. Serbia has also recently been selected to host the European basketball and volleyball community championships in 2005.

As a result of the reforms of the late Djindjic and Zivkovic, the future looks hopeful for the state union of Serbia-Montenegro. The economy has finally picked up, corruption is waning, and foreign acclaim is high. There are still roadblocks in Serbia's road to reform, including the drafting of a concrete constitution and the imposition of more stable laws, but there has been significant progress so far. In a world marked by war-torn nations and calls for redevelopment, Serbia's message rings clear: successful reconstruction and relative peace are achievable.