From Powder Keg to Bulwark: The Balkans can Save Europe.
5 March 2025 Since sitting down to write this article last week a lot happened. The Zelensky-Trump meeting, an appalling commentary on how far the West has fallen. Worse still,…
Strategic Instability and Vulnerability in the Balkans
27 January 2025 This week, despite EU protests, Kosovo has moved forward with the closure of parallel institutions used by the country’s ethnic Serb minority. This, as an election observation…
What to watch for in 2025
1 January 2025 If there is one thing that we at DefRep enjoy – it’s predicting the future, something we are shockingly good at considering the amount of beer and…
Kosovo: A thorn in the side of the Balkans
14 November 2024 In August connected to my writing on Bulgaria’s election woes I dedicated time to exploring the move in Belgrade towards Europe and the ways in which relations…
Bulgaria sits on the front line of a brewing Balkan crisis and Serbia could be the solution.
26 August 2024 Over the last three years, Bulgaria has faced no less than six general elections, with a seventh (until recently) scheduled for the 20th of October. Despite repeated…
The Balkans: The Next Domino After Ukraine.
4 March 2022 Last week DefRep reported in the opening days of Russia’s appalling assault on Ukraine that as part of Putin’s attempt to upend the international order Moscow has…
The Balkan Geopolitical Frontline: NATO in the Region and Increasing Tensions with Russia
8 February 2019 – London, UK by Chris Murray In recent weeks NATO has made two key moves that signal its intentions to expand its presence in the Balkans. The…
The Bear in the Mountains: Russia’s Balkan Exercise
2 November 2016 – London, UK by Chris Murray On 31 October, the Associated Press reported that Russia will be conducting joint exercises in Serbia with local Serbian and Belarusian…