The Journal of Regional Security Special Collections is a curated thematic section that brings together selected articles from previous issues of the Journal of Regional Security into one easily accessible “virtual issue.” Designed as a dynamic reference point for readers, it gathers the most relevant scholarship on pressing contemporary security themes in a single place, making it easier to navigate the journal’s rich archive. Current collections include Crises and Conflicts, Theory, European Security, Western Balkans, Global Security, Security and Society, and Security and Development. In particular, the Western Balkans collection brings together articles that examine the region’s evolving security landscape, focusing on post-conflict legacies, regional cooperation, democratic backsliding, external influences, migration dynamics, EU and NATO integration processes, and the broader geopolitical tensions shaping stability and security in Southeast Europe.
“The Balkan Peace Index: Three Years of Measuring Peace“, by Tepšić, Goran, and Nemanja Džuverović, Journal of Regional Security 20 (1): 195-204 (2025).
Abstract: The Balkan Peace Index (BPI) was created in 2022 as part of the research project entitled Monitoring and Indexing Peace and Security in the Western Balkans (MIND). It emerged in response to critiques of universal peace measurements that fail to consider local contexts, such as the Global Peace Index (Džuverović 2023; Tepšić 2024). BPI sought to address these theoretical and methodological issues by implementing a ‘local turn’ in peace measurement and indexing (Džuverović 2024). Empirically, it focused on accurately assessing the quality of peace in the Western Balkans, a region still experiencing considerable political instability several decades after the so-called Yugoslav wars (1991–2001). In addition to integrating ‘local voices’, a key innovation of BPI is its use of an algorithmic approach called Decision Expert Model (DEX) (Džuverović et al. 2024b).
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs20-59695
“Ontological security dynamics in the EU accession process of North Macedonia” by Jekić, Aleksandar, Journal of Regional Security 19 (2): 159-84 (2024).
Abstract: Ontological security studies emphasize the importance of routinized relations with others. European Integration is understood as a driver of such routinized relations, making it a source of ontological security and the EU an ontological security provider. Yet, as the case of North Macedonia illustrates, the process of EU accession goes along with bilateral disputes and can trigger concerns about ontological (in)security. To fully understand the dynamics of ontological security-seeking and -provision in the EU, the article investigates its limitations in the context of enlargement. This is done through a qualitative analysis of public statements of Macedonian representatives in the period between the Bulgarian veto in 2020 and the French proposal in 2022. Results indicate that the EU’s role as a provider of ontological security in the Macedonian case highly depends on the perceived credibility of EU membership, as the latter is seen as a means to gain external recognition and thereby ensure the maintenance of a coherent sense of the Self. Perceptions of low membership credibility, however, challenge the ability of maintaining a coherent sense of the Self and turn the EU into a depriver of ontological security.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-49142
“Stealth conflicts: Unpacking the causes of underreported and invisible wars” by Konečná, Lucie, Journal of Regional Security 19 (2): 185-206 (2024).
Abstract: This study aims to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions that contribute to categorizing certain conflicts as “stealth,” meaning significant yet underreported or overlooked, as opposed to conflicts well-covered by the media. Focusing on cases in Asia and Africa from 2014 to 2024, the research employs qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to assess six conditions for the conflict to be recognized as a stealth conflict derived from Hawkins’ theory which explains that conflicts are overlooked when key actors (policy makers, media, the public, and academia) are not engaged due to factors such as national/political interest, geographic proximity and access, ability to identify with conflict participants, ability to sympathize with victims, simplicity (how easy it is to understand a conflict) and sensationalism (involves events that are dramatic and attention-grabbing). Our findings suggest that a lack of simplicity and limited sensationalism are key factors in hindering the visibility of conflicts, especially in regions like West Papua and Balochistan. The analysis reveals that there are two necessary conditions and three sufficient conditions that influence the visibility of conflicts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-54950
“Images of (in)security: Visualizing borders, migrants and control in Serbia’s news media” by Krstić, Aleksandra, Journal of Regional Security 19 (1): 59-76 (2024).
Abstract: Media images of borders and their control have been one of the most dominant frames in reporting on the migrant crisis in European media and the negative coverage of the topic of migrants, presenting them as a threat to security and public health dominates media narratives around the world. This paper examines the way migrants and refugees have been portrayed on the borders of Serbia, a transit country alongside the Western Balkans migration corridor. The mixed method analysis is based on 300 images published in relevant national and regional print media and their online versions from 2015 until 2020. The results show that the visual depiction of walls, wires, control, law and order, modern technological equipment, security providers, and important political authorities have been often intensified with sensational headlines and tabloid coverage and at the same time confronted with images framing migrants as violent and deviant, threatening borders, people, and security.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs18-41755
“Achilles steel?: Investigating corrosive capital in the Smederevo Železara privatization“, Ben, Reade, Journal of Regional Security 18 (2): 187-216 (2023).
Abstract: The term “corrosive capital” has become a popular phrase in Serbia and across the Western Balkans used to describe opaque and scandalous foreign investments that are believed to enable state capture. Particularly in Serbia, existing approaches to corrosive capital have certainly identified which investments are problematic. However, there is still a lack of understanding about which key actors are culpable for corrosive investments and the practices that enable them. Responsibility is often binarily assigned, either to the Vučić regime or non-Western actors. This paper, however, more rigidly explores the networked structures and practices that bring about corrosive capital. Through the development of an analytical framework and an investigation of the Smederevo Železara privatization, this paper argues that corrosive capital is a multi-level phenomenon enabled by interactions between various domestic and foreign actors that leads to state capture. This paper particularly notes how the combined effect of actions taken by Serbia, the EU, and the Chinese firm HBIS has facilitated corrosiveness with respect to the Železara privatization.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs18-45217
“Brazil between global recognition and neutrality over the Russian war against Ukraine“, Tabosa, Clarissa, Journal of Regional Security 18 (1): 69-76 (2023).
Abstract: This contribution investigates what explains Brazil’s neutrality narrative regarding the Russian war against Ukraine. Brazil’s position can be seen as a consequence of the economic interests of Brazilian agrobusiness, but mainly due to its historical tradition of diplomatic neutrality. However, neutrality seems to clash with Brazil’s self-conceptualization as being a relevant player at the international level, especially since the 2000s. I show how this identitarian clash has led to an attempt to move from “neutrality” to an “impartiality” discourse, and argue that Brazil might partially align with the West to meet core strategic foreign policy goals.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs18-41792
“Women as an emerging actor in peace and security: The impact of UNSCR 1325 in Albania” by Jusufi, Islam, Zenelaj Shehi Reina, and Vila Zeka Jubjana, Journal of Regional Security 17 (1): 111-40 (2022).
Abstract: Implementing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace, and Security in practice is emerging as a priority for Albanian security politics , in which the Government of Albania is endeavouring to act by increasing compliance with the norms promoted by the Resolution. This article reflects on the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 by focusing on the discourse on mainstreaming the women, peace and security norms in Albanian society. It finds that the UNSCR 1325 contributed to the increase of gender-related content in Albanian political, academic and civil society elite discourse, albeit selectively. Albanian political, academic and civil society actors appear to have been less responsive to the responsibilities of the UNSCR 1325, predictably due to the fact that Albania is not a conflict or post-conflict country, the status of which the Resolution primarily addresses. In conditions that Albania has been more responsive, the focus has been more on issues of gender equality in general rather than being guided by the specific norms of the UNSCR 1325.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs17-33425
“Turkey and the European Union: Strategic partners or competitors in the Western Balkans?” by Dursun Özkanca, Oya, Journal of Regional Security 11 (1): 33-54 (2016).
Abstract: Since the 1990s, Turkey and the European Union (EU) have each increasingly pursued active foreign policies in the Western Balkans, aimed at establishing peace, stability, and security in the region. Over the past few years, Turkey’s active foreign policy approach has been frequently labelled as ‘Neo-Ottomanism’. Against this backdrop of deteriorating relations between the EU and Turkey, Turkey has been attempting to use its soft power potential to consolidate its political, economic, and cultural influence in the Western Balkans. The article explores the factors contributing to and hindering Turkish influence in the region. It then analyzes factors behind Turkey’s renewed activism within the context of recent developments in EU-Turkey relations. Drawing on an extensive series of elite interviews conducted in Turkey, the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Bosnia from 2011 to 2013, the article concludes with an examination of whether Turkey and the EU may best be regarded as strategic partners or competitors in the region.
