PUBLICATION: Analysis
The Crime-Politics Nexus Entrapping The Balkans
We are presenting you the Dossier on organized crime in the Balkans, produced in cooperation between the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
In some of the countries of the Western Balkans, criminal groups and political elites have grown increasingly interdependent. In particular, Serbia’s and Montenegro’s societies have suffered the most from these links. The two countries have long been considered frontrunners in the EU integration process, whose final completion, however, is difficult to foresee. Similarly, Albania’s EU negotiating process has also been delayed for years, in part because of the country’s role in global drug trafficking schemes. The crime-politics nexus is contributing to the erosion of the rule of law in several Balkan countries, where the risk – or reality – of state capture is increasingly worrisome. In light of recent events, Serbia appears to be the most concerning case as its authoritarian drift currently seems hard to reverse. Which consequences does the situation in Serbia have on other Balkan countries? What impact does state capture have on regional stability? And what is changing for the region’s integration prospects with the EU?
Edited by Giorgio Fruscione and Bojan Elek.
The Fight against Organized Crime in the Balkans: The EU’s Push and Pull
By Bojan Elek
Much More than a Captured State: Top Serbian Institutions Scandals
By Giorgio Fruscione
Fighting Organized Crime in a Captured State: Is Serbia’s “War on Mafia” Genuine?
By Jelena Pejić Nikić
The Regional Dimension of a Montenegro’s Local Feud
By Bojana Jovanović
An unexpected cooperation: Albanians and Serbs “Affairs” in Kosovo
By Ivana Jeremić
Albania’s Key Position in Global Drug Trafficking
By Fatjona Mejdini
Beyond Football: The Power of Balkans’ Hooligans
By Loic Tregoures
Tags: balkans, Organised crime, security
PDF PREVIEW
RELATED
Date: 27.05.2026.
Author: Anđela Savić |
Civil society organisations, journalists, and human rights defenders across the Western Balkans and European Union (EU) are operating in a digital environment defined by raising threats and inadequate protection. This analysis presents findings from a needs assessment survey conducted within the “Defending Digital Freedoms: Strengthening Civil Society Resilience against Digital Repression in Europe” project, gathering 239 responses from 11 countries (six Western Balkan and five EU member states).
Date: 01.02.2026.
Author: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
The war in Ukraine has reverberated across the Western Balkans in ways that reflect the region’s own political dynamics more than the influence of any external actor, including Russia. In Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, media coverage and public narratives surrounding the conflict have been shaped primarily by domestic political realities, local media structures, and long-standing identity divides.
Date: 26.01.2026.
Author: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
The point of departure for this analysis was the idea that spyware, by its nature, is an indiscriminate, comprehensive and covert surveillance tool, structurally incompatible with the principles of necessity, proportionality and targeted data processing.
