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BELGRADE – SERBIA

BSC2025

500+ participants / 80+ speakers
20+ panels and side sessions

17-19 November / SAVA CENTER
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BSC 2025

The Frontlines of Equality: Defending the WPS Agenda in Hostile Times

November 19, 2025 BSC

At the Belgrade Security Conference, the panel “Feminist Peace in Hostile Times” examined how global backlash, militarization, and anti-gender movements challenge the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

 

Moderator Maja Bjeloš (BCSP) emphasized that women’s contributions to peacebuilding remain undervalued, even as conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere make feminist approaches more urgent.

Nicola Popović (Gender Associations International) reflected on the 25-year legacy of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, noting that it emerged from pacifist women’s movements demanding human security rather than state-centric security. She warned that today the WPS agenda risks being “co-opted rather than transformed,” stressing that states must confront the structures that enable violence and militarization.

 

From Lebanon, Shirine Jurdi (WILPF) described the severe insecurity facing women across the Middle East. She stressed that in conflicts from Gaza to Yemen, women repeatedly ask “who protects us,” as civilian suffering continues to intensify. Jurdi called for demilitarizing security, restoring dignity, and ensuring women’s participation and access to resources: “Protection cannot be selective.”

Ukraine’s experience was outlined by Olena Kharytonova, adviser to the Ministry of Education. She highlighted efforts to secure justice for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and underscored the difference between “sustained” peace and “just” peace. With thousands of women on the frontlines yet excluded from negotiations, she argued that accountability for war crimes and the inclusion of displaced Ukrainians must be non-negotiable.

From North Macedonia, Sara Milenkovska (Stella Network) emphasized that anti-gender actors exploit insecurity, eroding mechanisms for equality even as the country presents itself as progressive. She warned of rising transphobia and shrinking democratic space, arguing that feminist strategies must rely on transnational solidarity, coalition-building, and mutual aid.

Serbian activist Snežana Jakovljević (Sandglass) stressed that women’s rights and security are inseparable. Drawing on experiences from the 1990s anti-war protests to the present, she argued that women remain the first to resist violence, yet state institutions increasingly co-opt and militarize WPS language while civil society faces growing financial constraints.

International consultant Milena Stošić linked the regional backlash to global trends of state capture and rising gender-based violence. She underscored that young women are leading today’s democratic resistance but often face unacknowledged risks. She called for bottom-up strategies and renewed investment in grassroots organizing: “We must return to the basics of direct democratic practice.”

From Kosovo, Marigona Shabiu (YIHR) highlighted shrinking civic space as political actors attempt to limit women’s agency. She stressed intergenerational cooperation and cross-border feminist solidarity as essential tools for preserving progress: “Resistance is our shared task — losing hope is exactly what anti-gender actors want.”

Audience questions addressed the influence of religion on anti-gender movements and whether cooperation with religious leaders is necessary. Panelists agreed that confronting the backlash will require broader alliances, clearer messaging, and persistent community engagement.

Despite increasingly hostile contexts, speakers shared a unified message: feminist peace approaches remain vital, and safeguarding the WPS agenda depends on solidarity, resilience, and sustained grassroots action.

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BSC 2025

Public Presentation of SecuriMeter 2025 Report: Western Balkans Regional Security Perceptions

November 19, 2025 BSC

The third day of the Belgrade Security Conference continues with the public presentation of the “SecuriMeter 2025 Report: Western Balkans Regional Security Perceptions”.

 

 

The Regional Cooperation Council’s SecuriMeter 2025 survey offers a detailed insight into how citizens across the Western Balkan Six perceive security, governance, and everyday risks ranging from corruption and migration to cyber threats and economic uncertainty. As the fifth annual edition, the report aims to inform the public with factual, data-driven findings so that key decisions affecting the region are based on evidence rather than prejudice. With responses from more than 6,000 citizens, the report shows increasing trust in regional and European cooperation, while still highlighting persistent concerns about general security, personal safety, corruption, economic pressures, and depopulation.

 

 

Mr Amer Kapetanović, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, opened the session with welcoming remarks and highlighting three main messages drawn from citizens across the region. First, people are increasingly afraid of institutions that they feel are not performing as they should. Second, trust is shaped by delivery, not declarations. Mr Kapetanović presented a developed statistical model showing clear trends. Third, youth and the EU remain the strongest anchors in the Western Balkans. The model shows that citizens who trust local institutions are more likely to trust EU institutions as well. When the EU perspective feels tangible, trust increases. Security, he concluded, is not only about threats but also about trust.

 

 

Mr Aner Zuković, Senior Security Advisor at the Regional Cooperation Council, continued by presenting some of the most interesting results from SecuriMeter 2025. Only 25% of WB citizens are satisfied with the way things are going in their economy. 38% believe the Western Balkans is a secure region, while 49% consider their own economy safe. Just 31% are optimistic about regional security over the next 12 months. 46% of WB citizens think the continuation of the war in Ukraine negatively impacts security in the region. About 53% of WB citizens feel personally secure, yet everyday fears remain common. One-third believe domestic violence is widespread. Half of WB citizens carry less cash to avoid being robbed. 21% have installed security cameras, while 2% own a gun, and around 10% are considering getting one. The whole report is available here.

 

 

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Dr Tijana Rečević talked about the importance of distinguishing security from safety as both analytical and theoretical concepts, with the main difference between the two being the intention behind the harm. She then mentioned how, unfortunately, we live in a society where slogans such as “corruption kills” are becoming less metaphorical, with issues such as unsafe roads, weakened standards, weak law enforcement, etc., becoming everyday life. She also linked this to growing issues of immigration, low trust in the media and police, and other related concerns. Later on, she emphasised the role of education in making long-term, lasting changes to society. As an education worker herself, she provided useful insight into how the student movement inspired changes in the way critical thinking is perceived in our societies.

 

 

Dr Sonja Stojanović Gajić, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies South East Europe, University of Rijeka, talked about the role of wars, or rather narratives of war, as a security issue. She feels it boils down to two main issues. The first is a deep-rooted fear of war in our society, while the second is the shared trauma of war that characterises this region. However, she stayed on a positive note by giving the example of the student protests in Serbia, especially the movement from Novi Pazar, and how this generation normalised a relationship that previously was not very good. An important topic she mentioned was the fact that two-thirds of people in Serbia would not trade their freedom for security, which she points out as a significant improvement and a source of optimism.

 

 

Research Analyst at Carnegie Europe, Ms Iliriana Gjoni, pointed out the deeply rooted clientelism in societies throughout the Western Balkans. She later touched upon EU accession and the importance of the Serbian market, which undermines the process by giving Serbia a kind of privileged treatment. She was critical of the EU’s justification for this and said that the time of stabilitocracy has run out. Later on, she pointed out the importance of reconciliation in the region in order to move forward, which we as a region still have not achieved. To that end, she stressed the importance of ending nationalistic slurs while protesting against governments in the region.

 

 

Ms Nikolina Stojanovska, Managing Director and Project Manager at Market Vision, talked about the irony of corruption being normalised as a part of our daily lives. She emphasised that the latest tragedy in North Macedonia happened exclusively because of corruption. She pointed out a positive aspect in the SecurityMeter 2025 results: contrary to popular narratives, 68% of citizens wish to stay in their economy.

 

 

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BSC 2025News

Lost in Geopolitics? Post-Yugoslav Views on Security, Sovereignty and the Future of Europe

November 19, 2025 BSC

At the Belgrade Security Conference, the panel “Lost in Geopolitics? Post-Yugoslav Views on Security” brought together regional experts who warned that the Western Balkans is facing a convergence of geopolitical uncertainty, democratic erosion, and weakening public trust in institutions

Moderated by Ivan Vujačić, Professor at the University of Belgrade, the discussion emphasised that the region stands at the intersection of major global power shifts and persistent domestic challenges – and that future stability will depend on renewed democratic reforms and more reliable international engagement.

 

 

Vuk Vuksanović, Senior Researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, opened the debate with findings from the Security Radar report. He noted that public attitudes across the region toward major powers are increasingly marked by skepticism. Rather than being perceived as stabilizing forces, great powers are more often seen as potential sources of risk. Vuksanović explained that confidence in the EU has declined sharply, partly because citizens feel the Union does not uphold the standards it promotes. Citing North Macedonia, he argued that what was once considered a success story has become an example of the EU’s diminishing credibility.

Despite geopolitical pressures, he added, most people in the region remain focused on domestic problems – economic stagnation, environmental degradation, and weak institutions. Recent protests in Serbia, he suggested, reflect growing civic agency and rising dissatisfaction with the status quo.

 

From Slovenia, Petra Roter, Professor of International Relations at the University of Ljubljana, outlined a complex relationship between political elites and the public. Slovenia often presents itself as a principled international actor, illustrated by its current role on the UN Security Council. Yet at home, she noted, many citizens remain skeptical about defense spending and are more concerned with corruption, organized crime, and governance challenges than with traditional security threats. Roter also highlighted rising tensions around identity and minority issues, observing that these debates mirror broader European struggles over how values, rights, and security intersect – and at times collide.

 

 

Speaking about Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nedžma Džananović Miraščija, Professor at the University of Sarajevo, underscored the enduring influence of external actors on the country’s stability. While the presence of the United States and the EU remains vital for maintaining peace, she argued that inconsistent policies and shifting priorities have generated frustration and uncertainty. She pointed to instances in which EU institutions downplayed security risks shortly before increasing their military presence, noting that such contradictions undermine confidence in international engagement. Džananović Miraščija also warned that certain EU decisions – including controversial appointments within EUFOR – have raised concerns about judgment and sensitivity in a fragile environment.

 

 

Representing North Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, President and Co-Founder of Solution and former Deputy Prime Minister, reflected on Europe’s broader democratic challenges. He argued that declining respect for democratic norms, coupled with institutional weaknesses and widespread impunity, poses a greater threat to the region than external actors. Public opinion in North Macedonia, he noted, is often contradictory: many citizens perceive neighbouring Bulgaria or Russia as threats, yet express admiration for authoritarian leaders elsewhere. Dimitrov stressed that EU membership remains the region’s key strategic goal but warned that the credibility of the enlargement process is eroding. Without clearer commitments and timelines, he said, there is a risk that future generations will lose faith in the EU altogether.

 

 

Moderator Vujačić encouraged speakers to reflect on what meaningful democratic renewal would require. He noted that the war in Ukraine has pushed EU enlargement back onto the agenda but cautioned that superficial or procedural reforms will not suffice. Democracy, he argued, must be rebuilt in substance as well as in form.

In their concluding remarks, panelists highlighted democratic fatigue, institutional instability, and inconsistent international support as core concerns for the region. They called for stronger regional cooperation, firmer rule-of-law commitments, and closer coordination with international partners.

Overall, the panel agreed that the Western Balkans is confronting both global turbulence and unfinished internal transitions. Navigating this period will require resilience, deeper civic engagement, and a renewed capacity to shape the region’s democratic and security future.

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BSC 2025

BSC 2025 Keynote Speech: H.E. Andreas von Beckerath on the Strategic Imperative of EU Enlargement

November 18, 2025 BSC
At the 2025 Belgrade Security Conference, H.E. Andreas von Beckerath, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, opened his keynote address by noting the rapid pace of political developments in Serbia. Precisely because events unfold so quickly, he stressed, conferences like the BSC are essential spaces to pause, reflect, and take stock of where the region and Europe are heading.
Ambassador von Beckerath reminded the audience that the European Commission is guided by three overarching objectives: security, competitiveness, and sustainability. Russia’s aggression, he said, has fundamentally changed Europe’s strategic landscape. As a result, EU enlargement has become a geopolitical necessity.
Enlargement is no longer a question of whether, but of how fast. This pace depends on both the candidate countries and the EU. While the EU already treats candidate countries as close partners, Ambassador von Beckerath emphasized that there are no shortcuts: the process must remain rigorous and credible.
Reform is required on both sides – within the EU and within candidate countries. The rule of law, the fight against corruption, and freedom of expression are not abstract concepts, he stressed, but core foundations of the European project. The EU’s interests and values do not contradict one another, which is why enlargement cannot be reduced to a matter of either values or interests.
Enlargement, he said, is ultimately a question of political choice. Joining the EU is not only about accessing the single market; it requires alignment on foreign and security policy. For this reason, policy alignment is not symbolic, but a signal of Serbia’s long-term strategic orientation. The EU expects to see a clearer and more consistent signal from Serbia – just as from all candidate countries – especially regarding support for Ukraine.
Serbia, according to Ambassador von Beckerath, is at a crucial moment. Reform momentum has slowed considerably. To move forward, political leadership is needed to protect democratic space, strengthen media freedom, and reaffirm Serbia’s geopolitical direction.
A secure Europe cannot be built without the Western Balkans, he emphasized. Trust, sustainability, and continued reforms are the pillars on which this shared future must rest.
In closing, Ambassador von Beckerath warned that Europe cannot afford to lose the current momentum for enlargement. Preserving this momentum requires courage – courage to pursue reforms and to defend the values that the European Union and its partners aspire to share.
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