Publisher: BCBP Beogradski centar za bezbednosnu politiku

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The (un)desirable partner – analysis of the narrative on civil society as a tool to capture the state

The (un)desirable partner – analysis of the narrative on civil society as a tool to capture the state

Author(s): Srđan Hercigonja / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbian Security Policy; State Capture

As stakeholders with corrective function in a state which holds itself democratic, civil society organizations and activists indicate the threats borne by captured state. Precisely for this, the way of the government’s and public institutions’ way of communicating towards the civil society has been identified as an important element to analyse – on the one hand, due to the government’s need for legitimacy on the international scale, there are so-called “positive narratives” about civil society as a guarantor of the rule of law and democracy in the country, and, on the other hand, “negative narratives” about civil society articulated through attacks and pressure exerted on the civil society, demonstrated by unfounded statements in form of discreditation of any criticism. Both “positive” and “negative” narratives have a direct impact on the relations between the civil society and institutions in Serbia, and the indirect consequences of the relations thus fashioned on the state capturing process could also be analysed.

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Development of resistance against small hydropower plants in Serbia

Development of resistance against small hydropower plants in Serbia

Author(s): Dina Đorđević / Language(s): English

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy; small hydropower plants; environmental revolt; climate change

In a new case study, Dina Djordjevic, a journalist of the Centre for Investigative Reporting, presents how local actions against small hydropower plants in Serbia have turned into a mass environmental revolt at the national level.For more than a decade now, small hydropower plants (SHPPs) are being erected en masse on Serbian mountain rivers and streams. Their encouragement is part of a wider story that revolves around the fight against climate change, and around attempts to reduce the production of energy by use of coal, thus increasing the production of electricity in a way that would be less harmful to nature and human health.

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Legal Position of Human Rights Defenders in Serbia in Terms of Basic Human Rights – Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly, the Right to Liberty and Security, and the Right to Association

Legal Position of Human Rights Defenders in Serbia in Terms of Basic Human Rights – Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly, the Right to Liberty and Security, and the Right to Association

Author(s): Milena Vasić / Language(s): English

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy

This document aims to positively address the legal framework of four basic rights that are necessary for human rights defenders to be able to perform their activities, to point out problems in legislation, but also to present a real picture of the position of activists in Serbia who encounter direct or indirect violations of these rights on a daily basis.Freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to liberty and security, and freedom of association are often inseparable rights when it comes to any form of activism. In this document, they were specifically addressed because it is precisely these rights that were violated by most of the recorded attacks and pressures suffered by human rights defenders. In its practice, the European Court of Human Rights frequently connects these four rights and emphasises their importance in a democratic society.

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Security sector in a captured state: act two

Security sector in a captured state: act two

Author(s): Predrag Petrović,Jelena Pejić Nikić,Luka Šterić / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbian Security Policy; State Capture

Due to the damage that state capture causes to the public interest, it is very important to investigate and closely monitor this process in the security sector of Serbia. The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy was the first organisation in the country to point out this negative process and the role that the security sector plays in it. It has conducted its first research on this topic, the findings of which can be found in a study entitled “Capturing the Security Sector of Serbia”. The study in front of you is a continuation of that research. In it, we monitored and documented further state capture and the role of security institutions in that negative process. The research covered the period from the beginning of 2020 to November 2021. It explained the political context of capturing the state, the security services, the police, the army and the Ministry of Defence, within which we analysed the capture of special-purpose [arms] industry and parliamentary oversight of the security sector. Considering the fact that actors who participate in state capture are trying to secure international support for their endeavor, and that they are also making use of the experiences of other captured states, we have analysed the foreign policy aspect of capturing the state, which is a novelty compared to earlier research.

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Managing change and uncertainty within a Serbian think tank

Managing change and uncertainty within a Serbian think tank

Author(s): Igor Bandović / Language(s): English

Keywords: Think Tanks; Western Balkans; Leadership Transition; Organizational Resilience

After two years as director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), I have written this piece about the process BCSP went through to consolidate itself as an organisation and to spearhead the work of the think tank community in Serbia and the Balkans on contested and challenging topics in the times of global crisis. Here is our story.

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A Quasi-Arms Race: Serbia and Croatia

A Quasi-Arms Race: Serbia and Croatia

Author(s): Marija Ignjatijević,Vuk Vuksanović / Language(s): English

Keywords: arms race; Serbia and Croatia; Arms Procurement; Serbia-Croatia Relations; Military Modernization; Regional Mistrust

In the last six years, Serbia and Croatia have been upgrading their military arsenals, leading to the conclusion that the two countries are spearheading a new arms race in the Western Balkans. This narrative is misleading as the strategic environment makes inter-state war unlikely and the process is actually about Serbia and Croatia replacing old equipment from the Yugoslav days. However, the two countries use arms procurement as leverage in their respective foreign policies and tools of domestic promotion for their rulling elites. The return of hostility is highly unlikely, but there is a political threat of cementing an atmosphere of mistrust in the region.

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The Crime-Politics Nexus Entrapping The Balkans

The Crime-Politics Nexus Entrapping The Balkans

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Keywords: Western Balkans; EU integration; crime-politics

In some of the countries of the Western Balkans, criminal groups and political elites have grown increasingly interdependent. In particular, Serbia’s and Montenegro’s societies have suffered the most from these links. The two countries have long been considered frontrunners in the EU integration process, whose final completion, however, is difficult to foresee. Similarly, Albania’s EU negotiating process has also been delayed for years, in part because of the country’s role in global drug trafficking schemes. The crime-politics nexus is contributing to the erosion of the rule of law in several Balkan countries, where the risk – or reality – of state capture is increasingly worrisome. In light of recent events, Serbia appears to be the most concerning case as its authoritarian drift currently seems hard to reverse. Which consequences does the situation in Serbia have on other Balkan countries? What impact does state capture have on regional stability? And what is changing for the region’s integration prospects with the EU?

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Protection of Public Interest by Legal Means – Judgment of the Administrative Court in the “Cable Car” Case

Protection of Public Interest by Legal Means – Judgment of the Administrative Court in the “Cable Car” Case

Author(s): Jovana Rajić,Marko Popović / Language(s): English

Keywords: cable car terminal; Kalemegdan; Activism; Serbian Security Policy

On 12 February 2021, the Administrative Court issued the judgment concerning the lawsuit that was filed by the Regulatory Institute for Renewable Energy and Environment (RERI), in which it approved the plaintiff’s request and annulled the building permit for the construction of a cable car terminal in Kalemegdan. The Court accepted the arguments of the plaintiff (RERI) and annulled the decision (building permit) of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, returning the case to the competent first instance body for retrial.

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Attacks on Civil Society Activists and Organizations in Serbia in 2020

Attacks on Civil Society Activists and Organizations in Serbia in 2020

Author(s): Bojana Selaković / Language(s): English

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy; political crisis; Serbia; extremism

Lack of institutional dialogue has led to a deepening of the political crisis in Serbia, which has been recognised by international organisations such as the European Parliament, the European Commission and other organisations dealing with the protection and promotion of human rights. Such an environment has also contributed to the further polarisation of society, the spread of inflammatory and discriminatory rhetoric, and the rise of extremism due to the lack of action of the competent state authorities. These trends have inevitably affected all civil society organisations, regardless of the range of values they represent.

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Covidocracy – An Analysis of Narratives About the Pandemic in the Function of Capturing the State

Covidocracy – An Analysis of Narratives About the Pandemic in the Function of Capturing the State

Author(s): Jelena Pejić Nikić,Srđan Hercigonja / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbian Security Policy; State Capture; Covid-19

Although the analysis covers the entire year 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the greatest attention was given to the state of emergency in the spring of 2020. The construction of the narrative was facilitated in the conditions of excessive presence of government representatives in the media, at almost daily press conferences, addresses to the nation, and numerous appearances of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, doctors from the government’s Crisis Response Team and several ministers on television. In addition, access to authentic information on the consequences of the pandemic was largely denied to the public. In that narrative, the holders of power, the President of the Republic in particular, were presented as skillful and dedicated saviors of the citizens from the plague. The elderly population, the functionality of the healthcare system and the economy took turns as priorities (victims) that needed to be protected.

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Murder of the Law – No Justice for Mountain Rivers

Murder of the Law – No Justice for Mountain Rivers

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy

On 15 August 2020, activists from all parts of Serbia have gathered in the vicinity of the village of Rakita and removed part of the pipeline of the mini hydro power plant “Zvonce” (“Little Bell”) on the Rakita River. This was one of the largest initiatives of environmental activists (as well as other citizens interested in environmental protection) in the last few years in Serbia. The action was, in fact, a reflection of an increasing number of initiatives and movements that deal with endangered environment, and an increasing number of examples where investors endanger the environmental safety, both of citizens and beyond. In order to fully understand how and why the construction of MHPPs on the Rakita River became a national-level topic, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy – in cooperation with the movement “Let’s Defend the Rivers of Stara Planina [Old Mountain]” – developed a case study to better understand the context, activities and problems that led to the “Rakita issue” becoming a topic that attracted the attention of a large number of citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

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International Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

International Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Author(s): Katarina Golubović / Language(s): English

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy

This guidebook serves activists to recognise themselves as human rights defenders, to find out what minimum rights of defenders are guaranteed at the international level, and to obtain information on the addresses and ways in which the international community provides them with support and protection.

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Don’t Talk to Me about Democracy while I’m Guarding Kosovo – analysis of narratives used to capture the state

Don’t Talk to Me about Democracy while I’m Guarding Kosovo – analysis of narratives used to capture the state

Author(s): Maja Bjeloš,Bojan Elek / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbian Security Policy; State Capture

This analysis has shown the mechanism by which the Serbian authorities, by controlling and strategically using narratives on resolving the Kosovo dispute, manage to increase their own discretionary powers while simultaneously abolishing control mechanisms. In other words, under the pretext of resolving the Kosovo issue, the separation of powers and democratic decision-making are being abolished, leading to an even greater level of state capture.

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Whistleblowers in Serbia

Whistleblowers in Serbia

Author(s): Vuk Z. Cvijić / Language(s): English

Keywords: whistleblowers; Serbia; Activism; Serbian Security Policy

The path of whistleblowers in Serbia is difficult as, instead of receiving the support of state institutions, they are often exposed to the persecution of those who are formally charged with their protection. Examples of completed court proceedings that were initiated based on whistleblowers’ reports are very rare. In the few such cases, the reported officials did not suffer any serious consequences, and no one has ever been convicted in cases where whistleblowers’ disclosures involved higher-ranking government officials. There are also no examples of absence of resistance to whistleblowers, regardless of whether they provided information on corruption of local inspectors related to parking fines, or that of ministers in relation to arms trafficking. They suffered mobbing, professional degradation, and were in most cases finally dismissed.

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Protection of whistleblowers in the security sector

Protection of whistleblowers in the security sector

Author(s): Sofija Mandić / Language(s): Serbian

Keywords: Activism; Serbian Security Policy

Serbia provided legal protection for whistleblowers for the first time when it adopted the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers in 2014. This protection is exercised in special court proceedings. The Law was adopted on 25 November 2014 and its implementation began on 5 June 2015. The explanation that accompanied the Draft Law made it clear that it was adopted to fulfil the international recommendations and meet the obligations of the Republic of Serbia, primarily those prescribed by the acts of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. The Law regulates whistleblowing, the whistleblowing procedure, the rights of whistleblowers, the obligations of state and other authorities and organisations, legal entities and natural persons related to whistleblowing, as well as other issues of importance for whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers.

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The Lie Detector and the Stories about It: Narrative of the Fight against Organised Crime in the Function of Capturing the State

The Lie Detector and the Stories about It: Narrative of the Fight against Organised Crime in the Function of Capturing the State

Author(s): Marija Pavlović,Bojan Elek,Miloš Jovanović / Language(s): English

Keywords: Organised Crime; Serbian Security Policy; State Capture

The objective of this report is to analyze the narrative of the fight against organised crime, i.e., the story the authorities are offering the public concerning this topic, for the purpose of establishing how it is used to capture the state. More precisely, the analysis attempts to explain how the polygraph was abused during the declared war on mafia to suspend judicial institutions, ‘cleanse’ some in the eyes of the public or criminalise others outside the statutory criminal procedure, and to identify the consequences of this approach to fighting organised crime.

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Public perceptions towards regional cooperation and EU integration

Public perceptions towards regional cooperation and EU integration

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: EU integration; Regional Security Cooperation

Serbia’s cooperation with some neighboring countries is hampered by conflicts during the 1990s, while citizens’ attitudes are burdened by a negative perception of neighboring countries’ political influence on Serbia. This have not been surprising, taking into account a very belligerent narrative about other regional actors that have dominated the pro-government mainstream media landscape in Serbia in recent years. Citizens are either unaware of the current level of cooperation with Kosovo security institutions or are dissatisfied with certain segments of cooperation. An exception to the dominant view on security cooperation is that most Serbian citizens would accept assistance from Kosovo security institutions in case of a state of emergency or natural/ humanitarian disaster in Serbia.

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Perception on Kosovo – Serbia Dialogue and Identity Issues – Kosovo and Serbia Citizens’ Perspective

Perception on Kosovo – Serbia Dialogue and Identity Issues – Kosovo and Serbia Citizens’ Perspective

Author(s): Plator Avdiu / Language(s): English

Keywords: Foreign Policy; Regional Security Cooperation; Kosovo

In the latest report you can find comparative results of the public opinion surveys conducted during September and October 2020 in Serbia and Kosovo. This report focuses on citizens perception on Kosovo - Serbia Dialogue and Identity Issues.

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How Police Communicate: Analysis of Press Releases on Local Safety

How Police Communicate: Analysis of Press Releases on Local Safety

Author(s): Marija Pavlović / Language(s): English

Keywords: criminal offences; Ministry of the Interior; Local Security; Police; Serbian Security Policy

The main finding of this research is that there is a large disproportion between the press releases of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia and the actual number of criminal offence committed on the territory of the Republic of Serbia during the year, and that some criminal offences are more common than others.Based on the analysis of the press releases from the website of the Ministry of the Interior for a period of two and a half years, one gets the impression that the MoI prioritises criminal offences that have a higher degree of organization than opportunistic and impulsive crimes, even when the latter appear to be more numerous. Consequently, in the MoI press releases, the most common criminal offences are drug trafficking, manufacturing or acquiring weapons, ammunition and explosive substances, aggravated theft and robbery, while according to the official data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS) this is not the case.

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Serbia Forging Closer Ties with The West – Americanization as a Way of Life

Serbia Forging Closer Ties with The West – Americanization as a Way of Life

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Bilateral Relations; Foreign Influence; Foreign Policy; Serbian Foreign Policy

In the analysis you can find examples which indicate strong ties between Yugoslavia and America in the fields of science, education, art and culture, which are accompanied by intensive political and economic ties, thanks to which Yugoslavia could consider itself on a par with the most developed Western states.

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