This paper examines how the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is portrayed in existing research and media discourse, primarily as a major conduit of Russian influence in the Western Balkans through narratives tied to the Kremlin’s “Russian World” project and hybrid warfare activities.

This publication assesses how six external actors - Russia, China, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, and Azerbaijan - engage with the Western Balkans (WB) and how such engagement affects the European Union (EU) enlargement process.

The concept of the “colour revolution” has shifted from describing democratic uprisings in post-socialist states to serving as a powerful tool of authoritarian control. In Serbia, the ruling elite—drawing heavily on the Russian strategic playbook—has reframed the term as a symbol of foreign subversion aimed at overthrowing the government and destabilising the country. Since 2012, this narrative has been systematically used to delegitimise dissent, protests, and civic mobilisation.

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.

In the past decade, European countries have witnessed a rise in anti-establishment extremism (AEE), which challenges the modern democratic order and offers authoritarian modes of governance as a “solution” to consecutive, overlapping crises.

Anti-systemic extremism (ASE) in Serbia has expanded amid prolonged political crises, institutional distrust, and disillusionment with the European integration. Like elsewhere in Europe, ASE thrives in periods of societal instability that expose weaknesses in democratic governance. In Serbia, authoritarian tendencies, media control, and pervasive conspiracy narratives have further fueled skepticism toward institutions and “global elites.”

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) recently received an official notification from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center regarding a cybersecurity incident affecting our systems.

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy awards the 2025 "Lighthouse" Award to Irena Joveva, member of the European Parliament from the Republic of Slovenia.

The BCSP policy brief “Political and Institutional Crisis in Serbia: Possible Scenarios (November 2025 – June 2026)” analyses the country’s deepest political and institutional turmoil in over a decade, rooted in systemic corruption, impunity and the erosion of public trust following the Novi Sad tragedy.