REGIONAL SECURITY COOPERATION

This overview is one of the outputs of the regional project “Western Balkans Security Barometer” (WBSB), led by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) in partnership with the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) in Serbia. This edition of the WBSB presents the findings of this survey conducted simultaneously in Kosovo and Serbia in September - October 2020.

The citizens of Serbia and Kosovo support the dialogue, but it is not clear to them what exactly Belgrade and Pristina are negotiating about. The dialogue has not improved mutual relations, nor do citizens feel personal benefit from it. At the interpersonal level, the ethnic distance between Serbs and Albanians is great and most would not accept the other as a family member or superior at work. This could change if politicians and the media close to them change their current narratives, it was pointed out during event co-organized by the Belgrade Centrr for Security Policy (BCSP), Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS) on December 7th.

The findings of public opinion poll on Kosovo issue were analysed by Belgrade Centre for Security Policy researchers Maja Bjeloš and Bojan Elek.

According to a public opinion survey Serbian citizens identify Russia and China as their greatest friends. As the country's most important foreign policy priorities, citizens recognize preserving Kosovo as part of Serbia, strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries and strengthening cooperation with Russia. More than half of the citizens do not support Serbia's membership in the EU.

What experts from Belgrade, Pristina, Brussels and Washington think about the role of the United States in solving the Kosovo problem - read in the BCSP publication published within this year's Belgrade Security Forum.

As NATO’s presence in the Balkan region continues to grow, experts generally agree that NATO’s pursuit of regional cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships for security has had some level of success, but also acknowledge that NATO membership has been a source of bureaucratic frustration for some members. In the discussion “NATO in the Balkans, the Balkans in NATO,” the balance of these benefits and challenges were reflected upon by experts who analyzed how this influence has impacted the region.

The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina must be at the service of citizens, so that they can have confidence in it. The important roles are played by the political aspect of the normalization of relations, as well as the media, are some of the conclusions of the meeting organized by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP) on the 24th of February 2020 in Belgrade.

In light of the current debate on the future of the EU enlargement, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) with other think-tanks and civil society organizations from Serbia specialized in European integration prepared a set of recommendations on how to effectively improve the EU enlargement framework.

The current challenges of the European Union's enlargement to the Western Balkans are a good opportunity to rethink our own efforts towards the realization of the rule of law. This was one of the conclusions of the discussion "What can we do for the rule of law in the Western Balkans in 2020?" in which BCSP Director Igor Bandovic  participated. The event was held on 20 November 2019 in ...