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Strengthening the civil society’s resilience in Serbia

Despite growing authoritarianism and a shrinking civic space in Serbia, civil society has demonstrated remarkable resilience through grassroots environmental movements, student protests, and citizens’ assemblies. These forms of activism have expanded locally and transnationally, mobilizing citizens, especially the youth, to demand accountability and democratic reforms.

September 27, 2025 - Sofija Popović

Civil society in Armenia: from peak to decline in advocacy

Faced with rising populism, polarization, socio-economic challenges, and mounting geopolitical pressure, Armenia’s civil society remains one of the key pillars of the country’s democratic resilience. Having evolved from fragmented local initiatives into a relatively mature and thematically diverse institutional sector, NGOs are entitled to play a significant role in shaping public discourse, monitoring state reforms, protecting vulnerable groups, and developing expert capacity. At the same time, the sector faces serious and growing challenges.

September 27, 2025 - Arshaluis Mgdesyan

Silenced by law: how Azerbaijan uses legislation to crush dissent

Despite early efforts towards civil society formation following independence, serious setbacks have been observed in Azerbaijan in recent decades. Restrictive legislation on the activities of NGOs, strict limitations on foreign donors to operate within the country, the de facto restriction of freedom of assembly, and pressure on independent media have all had a negative impact on organized and independent civic activism in the country.

September 27, 2025 - Zumrud Pashayeva

Propaganda’s mixed response to Russia’s provocation against Poland

The incursion of Russian drones and missiles into Polish airspace echoes the “ikhtamnet” tactic, a sarcastic term for a Russian soldier or mercenary whose deployment abroad is denied by the Kremlin, a strategy long tested in Ukraine and now evident here. The Kremlin is testing NATO’s red lines, while its propaganda machine works to cover the tracks of a creeping war.

September 22, 2025 - Lesia Bidochko

Russian drones in Poland, will NATO pass the test?

NATO has the opportunity to demonstrate its own strength without a direct military clash with Russia if it takes decisive steps after this provocation. Otherwise, new attempts by the Russian side to penetrate the Alliance’s airspace will be even more large-scale and provocative.

September 11, 2025 - Anton Naychuk

“We have no family of plans for European defence, as NATO does”

An interview with General Robert Brieger, former Chairman of the EU Military Committee. Interviewer: Jan Farfał

September 10, 2025 - Jan Farfał Robert Brieger

From Verdun to the 21st century

The European Union has the financial resources to defend itself. But it lacks the political will to do so. This political will needs to be asserted and require important decisions to be made now.

September 8, 2025 - Jean-Yves Leconte

How Zelenskyy undermined Ukraine’s path to EU membership and what happens next

The adoption of laws that undermine the independence of NABU and SAPO has sparked the first mass protests against the government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

July 29, 2025 - Serhiy Sydorenko

If the EU wants peace, it needs to prepare for war

An interview with Andrius Kubilius, the European Union’s Commissioner for Defence and Space. Interviewers: Joanna Maria Stolarek and Adam Reichardt

July 8, 2025 - Adam Reichardt Andrius Kubilius Joanna Maria Stolarek

Nordic-Baltic total defence: easier said than done

NATO’s newest members Finland and Sweden are already net contributors to Allied security. Well known for their military capability, the two countries also bring a new approach into the Alliance: total defence. While military cooperation is intensifying, civil defence and civil-military cooperation need to be better integrated into Nordic-Baltic regional defence.

Finland and Sweden are known for their so-called “total defence” approach to security, in which national defence is not only a task for the military but for the whole of society. The security concept was primarily developed for three reasons: their history outside of NATO, geographical proximity to the Soviet/Russian threat, and large territories with small populations.

July 8, 2025 - Eric Adamson Minna Ålander

Estonia’s road to comprehensive security

Since regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has undergone a rapid and determined transformation, embracing modernization, democracy and western integration. Yet its path to NATO membership and security reform was anything but straightforward, as it was shaped by regional geopolitics, western hesitations, and the lessons of Nordic neighbours.

Social modernization has been unrelenting since Estonia restored its independence in 1991. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Estonia, like many other post-communist aspirants for European Union and NATO membership, was criticized by its western neighbours for following an overly “modernist” security policy outlook. Re-establishing the armed forces and consolidating border controls dominated its early outlook sometimes at the expense of civil defence, crisis management and cooperative security then prioritized in the West’s shifting post-Cold War security mindset.

July 8, 2025 - Eoin Micheál McNamara

Is Latvia ready for war?

Riga has found itself at the centre of questions concerning NATO defence for many years. However, in recent years, these issues have increasingly moved beyond the abstract. Latvia must now prepare itself for a potential confrontation with Russian aggression while also ensuring the effectiveness of long-term alliance commitments.

On January 13th, as dusk settled over Riga, Artur Savelyev, an employee at Riga Airport, glanced out the window and caught sight of a drone in flight. He promptly contacted security, who quickly discovered it was neither an airport drone, nor was there any record of its ownership. What was even more concerning was that the airport radar had failed to detect it.

July 8, 2025 - Nasta Zakharevich

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