Security Challenges as a Link Between the Citizens and Instituions

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), in cooperation with the partners from the Western Balkans region, invites you to the conference Security Challenges as a Link Between the Citizens and Instituions, which will take place at Mikser House (Karađorđeva 46, Belgrade) on Wednesday, 21 December 2016, beginning at 10am. 

The aim of the conference is to encourage discussion regarding how citizens can contribute to solving security issues that are hardwired into the state and usually kept away from the interference of the wider public. Despite the fact that security domain is at the core of statehood and the state’s monopoly over the use of power, civilian dimension is an inevitable part of the security equation in democratic societies. With this in mind, the conference is comprised of three panels where various aspects of civilian involvement in security issues will be discussed.

The first session deals with the Western Balkans civilian capacities for peace operations. Here, a panel of regional practitioners, researchers and policy makers will discuss the current potential of WB countries to contribute to peacekeeping missions, as well as future obligations in the process of accession to the EU. The second panel presents the state of play regarding the rule of law in three WB countries: Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, from the civil society perspective. Special attention will be devoted to the state of democratic institutions and oversight mechanisms for civilian control of the security sector. Third panel discusses the relationship between the media and the police in Serbia, especially how the former can contribute to increasing the citizens’ trust in the latter. A panel of experienced journalists will tackle the issues of information leakage, influence of politics on police and reporting, media coverage of police actions and many more.

As the final part of the conference, a cinematic luncheon will take place, where you can enjoy socially responsibly prepared food while viewing a film on the relationship between the police and the media, produced by BIRN Serbia.

Complete agenda available.

The discussion will take place in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian/Montenegrin. Simultaneous translation to English will be provided.

The event was organised with the support of Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union through Civil Society Facility Programme and European Fund for the Balkans through Think and Link regional programme. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Norwegian government, European Union, European Fund for the Balkans or any of their affiliated organizations.