We are thrilled to unveil the Thematic Agenda for the BSC 2024! As a flagship high-level conference hosted by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, the Belgrade Security Conference 2024 entitled “In Defence of Humanity” will take place on 18-20 November 2024, at the Sava Center in Belgrade, Serbia.

For the third year in a row, the event will gather prominent world leaders, decision-makers from Serbia and the Western Balkans, diplomats, representatives of international organisations, think-tank experts, journalists, academics, young leaders, and other influential thinkers committed to shaping the present and guiding us towards a better future.

Ever since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the devastating conflict in Gaza that began in October last year, the darkest moments of human history have threatened to become our daily reality. The precondition for effectively responding to these challenges is to defend democracy at home in Europe and the Balkans. Almost half of the world’s population has been called to the polls in a year, marking a new global decline of democracy. For this reason, the outcome of the most consequential electoral year in history will shape the future trajectory of humanity.

Could the 2024 elections reshape the world order as we know it? Will the elections pave the way for establishing a new, less democratic world order, marked by conflicts and heightened polarization? Will the Transatlantic partnership survive this challenge? As Ukraine enters the third year of the war, will it manage to resist and overturn Russian pressures on the front, or will war fatigue prevail, forcing Kyiv to the negotiating table? What needs to happen to bring about a lasting ceasefire in Gaza? Is the EU enlargement by 2030 a realistic goal? What is the future, if any, of democracy in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood? What would a further change in the geopolitical balance of powers bring to the Western Balkans? How do cyber threats to civil society organisations and media affect the broader socio-political environment in the Western Balkans? How do bilateral disputes affect the EU accession process of the Western Balkans and undermine their essential reform agenda? These are some of the complex questions that will be discussed.

It is with the realisation that we can no longer pretend that we will be sheltered from the global turmoil and that we all need to jointly rise to the defence of humanity that we convene this year’s Belgrade Security Conference. The BSC 2024 will address all these pressing issues and encourage open and honest discussion, courageous and lucid ideas, innovative and out-of-the-box solutions. The BSC 2024 is dedicated to Budimir Lončar, the last Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia serving from 1987 until 1991, and a long-serving career diplomat who passed away this year.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in November.

Download the BSC 2024 Thematic Agenda HERE.