When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last month, a shoot-out between ethnic Serbs and police in northern Kosovo increased already raised tensions between Serbia and Kosovo just a few months after clashes in the region. Serbia amassed an “unprecedented” number of troops on Kosovo’s border at the end of September, stoking fears that a European Union–brokered agreement passed just eight months ago could crumble. We asked four experts to weigh in on how this could all play out.Editor’s Note: This edition of In Brief was drafted last week, before war broke out between Israel and Hamas. Next week’s edition will be focused on the conflict in Gaza.  Gorana Grgić Senior Lecturer, Department of Government and International Relations & the United States Studies Centre, University of SydneyThe second episode of extremely violent clashes in northern Kosovo this year demonstrates how the issue of normalizing Serbia-Kosovo relations, which was for a good part of the past decade a political issue, became a full-blown security issue. In the aftermath of both episodes, there have been growing calls for the European Union and United States to radically change their policy of lenience and engagement of Serbia that has primarily been informed by geopolitical interests. The violence against NATO troops in May prompted members of legislatures from both sides of the Atlantic to pen a letter that called for a reorientation of approach. Following the recent terrorist attack and siege in Kosovo in September, such calls have been renewed. At present, there is no indication whether these appeals will result in a major Western policy change, even though there have