The Serbian protests against the lithium mining project proposed by Rio Tinto were not motivated by environmentalism but instead were aimed against the Serbian ruling kleptocratic coalition with an outpouring of anti-Western hysteria. Protesting against a non-existent, “neo-colonial” mining project is fashionable and safe over here. But it’s an exercise in futility to try to damage President Vucic’s standing by using his own rhetoric and methods.