Spinning and Hedging: - Serbia’s National Security Posture - Filip Ejdus, Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade

consists of the prime minister and the Cabinet It oversees the state administration, including ministries Although the normative framework ascribes significant and other entities within the security sector, such as competencies to the legislative branch, in practice, it the ministries of Defense, Interior, Justice, and Foreign has served as a rubber-stamp institution controlled Affairs, and intell. [...] is headed by a secretary appointed by the president In such cases, the president’s actual influence would Given the secretary’s power in setting the bureau’s significantly increase, approximating that of a pure agenda and access to highly sensitive information, presidential system While democratic backsliding it considered one of the most influential roles in the began not long after ascension of. [...] The Office of the National Security it accelerated following the victory of its leader, Council and the Protection of Classified Information Aleksandar Vučić, in the 2017 presidential election. [...] On the international stage, Vučić carefully Serbia initiated a campaign of de-recognition, claiming curates his image as a pragmatic leader willing to that it has convinced 27 countries to withdraw their compromise, in contrast to the hotheaded politicians recognition of Kosovo The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pristina who are blamed for the normalization of Kosovo contends the accuracy of that. [...] In addition, Ejdus is the president of the Central and Eastern European International Studies Association, a board member of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, and the co-chair of the Regional Stability in South East Europe Study Group at the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes In November 2023, he was one of the initiators of ProGlas, a pro-democracy group.