What can the states and governments do to protect civilians in conflict and prevent further civilian losses in war in Ukraine? Read about it in the new analysis written by a member of the BCSP International Advisory Committee, Marta Martinelli.

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).

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) organised a roundtable discussion titled "How to De-capture a State?" during which we presented recommendations for Serbia's exit from state capture and the latest research findings on digital captivity.

The network of associations of citizens, journalists and media standing up against violence, that supports the civil demands of the “Serbia against violence” protests, reminds the Minister of the Interior Bratislav Gašić and the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) Aleksandar Vulin of the citizens’ demand to resign and thus open up space for the reform of the security system that, captured by party interests, currently fails to stand in the way of widespread violence.

Under the title “Russian Aggression Against Ukraine: New Momentum for the EU Enlargement?”, the second in a series of BSC Leaders Meetings events took place in Skopje on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

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.

The citizens of Serbia are still shocked and appalled by the last week’s two mass shootings that took place in less than 48 hours, resulting in 17 dead and another 20 wounded.