Walking the (Barb)wire: Balkans Between the War and Peace
Channel: Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku
Date: 28/02/2023

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) presents the new edition of the Balkan Defence Monitor and the key conclusions of the Serbian public opinion poll on regional relations.

The Balkan Defence Monitor is a regional report aiming to provide a credible and reliable annual update on defence policies in the Western Balkans. The report provides an overview of defence expenditures, strategic documents, participation in international military missions, largest military donors, gender participation and transparency of the defence systems. In the first panel, the participants will discuss the trends in regional defence policies, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine.

1 – 2:30 pm (CET)

Welcome address: Igor Bandović, Director, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
Opening remarks: H.E. Giles Norman, Ambassador of Canada to Serbia
Panellists: 
Vuk Vuksanović, Senior Researcher, BCSP
Andreja Stojkovski, Executive Director and Senior Researcher-Analyst, Prespa Institute
Arjan Dyrmishi, Executive Director, Centre for the Study of Democracy and Governance

Moderator: Stefan Goranović, Journalist
 

The Balkan Defence Monitor is a project implemented since 2022 with the support of the Transparent Defence Systems for Peaceful Western Balkans project with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

The second panel will discuss the results of a public opinion survey in Serbia on regional relations. The analysis of public opinion will be published as part of the study “Echoes of war strengthen fears – the views of Serbian citizens on relations in the region”. To what extent are the citizens of Serbia concerned about stability in the region, and what do they see as key security challenges? How do they understand Serbia’s bilateral relations with its neighbours, and what does the term Serbian world mean to them? How do citizens see regional cooperation and initiatives like the Open Balkans, and what do they perceive as the key benefits and possibilities of such cooperation? The results we present will be a catalyst for a discussion with interlocutors from the region about the views that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have on these issues.

2:45 – 4:00 pm (CET)

Panellists: 
Ivana Ranković, Junior Researcher, BCSP
Lejla Ramić-Mesihović, PhD, President of the Foreign Affairs Council of the Member of the BiH Presidency
Olivera Injac, PhD, former Minister of Defence of the Republic of Montenegro

Moderator: Luka Šterić, Researcher, BCSP
 

The data presented in the report derive from the Western Balkans Security Barometer (WBSB) survey. WBSB is a new regional initiative launched by KCSS in 2020, implemented in cooperation with the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) in Serbia and Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance (CSDG) in Albania, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).