The chapter analyses the emergence and development of discriminatory narratives against the LGBTQ+ community in Serbia, and how cyberspace has provided them fertile ground, affecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people both online and offline. Using the example of EuroPride, which took place in Belgrade in 2022, it is demonstrated how digital spaces are being used as mobilizing tools by various anti-rights movements in Serbia.

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.

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.

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.   

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) organized a panel discussion titled “Serbia and Ukraine: Challenges of War” that gathered experts from Ukraine and Serbia, aiming to discuss the relations between Serbia and Ukraine, pro-Russian narratives and position of Ukraine and the Western Balkans in the European security architecture after the end of the war. Helena Ivanov, an associate research fellow from the Henry Jackson Society, moderated the panel.

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.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 pushed Europe into a new era of instability. The fundamentals of the continent’s political and economic order are shifting as Russia’s brutal methods of war undermine the prospects of the slightest cooperation between Moscow and European states.