PUBLICATIONS

Multiple murders in Belgrade and Mladenovac at the beginning of May deeply affected Serbian society. These tragic events and the response of the competent institutions to them revealed a number of systemic problems, among which a large quantity of weapons among the citizens of Serbia without adequate control, the delay in changes to the regulations and the educational campaign on the misuse of firearms, the lack of regulations for minors in shooting ranges, violation of the rules of investigation and personal data protection. Read more about them in the brief alert BCBP researchers wrote for the prEUgovor coalition.

This publication comes after months of research conducted by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, in collaboration with its partners in the Western Balkans region - Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (Prishtina), Centre for Security Studies (Sarajevo), Institute Alternative (Podgorica), Institute for Democracy and Mediation (Tirana) and Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” (Skopje).

Islamist extremism in Serbia is declining despite receiving significant attention, however, its non-violent forms have gained some traction in areas like Sanjak. On the other hand, political divisions signal a growing potential for political extremism in the region. In contrast, right-wing extremism is experiencing an upward trend, largely due to the Government's inaction and favourable media reporting.

What are contributing factors to the rise of drones in the Balkans and how might they change the military balance of power in the region? Find out in the BCSP analysis written by the BCSP Senior Researcher Vuk Vuksanović, and Filip Ejdus, a professor in security studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade and the Member of the Executive Board at the BCSP.

Within the prEUgovor coalition, BCBP continues to monitor reforms in key areas of European integration – parliamentary oversight of the security sector, the space for civil society, the fight against corruption in the police, personal data protection, police reform, the fight against organized crime, the fight against extremism and terrorism.

Since Orbán reassumed power in 2010, the Hungarian government has taken a more active role in the Western Balkans. In a short time period, it has increased its political and economic footprint. 

The relationship between Serbia and Hungary is very specific and is characterised by intensive cooperation, which is primarily the result of very good relations between Serbian President Vučić and Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán. The two countries already cooperate in the field of energy. Namely, Serbia uses Hungarian gas storage capacities, while Hungary receives its gas via Serbia

On 24-25 February 2023, in cooperation with partner organisations, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) organised a citizens’ assembly in Vrnjačka Banja. The topic of the assembly was how the police could better respond to the needs of citizens in the area of fighting serious and organised crime, while the immediate reason was the ongoing debate on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs.

The relations between the two countries from the moment Ukraine gained its independence, in 1991, to date can be marked as formally friendly relations. The peak of friendship and solidarity came with NATO’s bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, which has remained one of the most traumatic episodes in Serbian contemporary history.