ABSTRACT
This study examines how hybrid warfare undermines state sovereignty in the Western Balkans and evaluates the role of regional cooperation in reducing vulnerability gaps and strengthening regional security. It argues that hybrid threats, particularly disinformation and the exploitation of transnational organized crime networks, operate as interconnected mechanisms that amplify structural weaknesses in institutionally fragile states. The research adopts a qualitative approach based on academic literature, policy documents, and regional security reports, focusing on the interaction between hybrid interference, governance deficits, weak intelligence capacities, and fragmented institutional responses. The findings show that hybrid warfare functions as a continuous and multidimensional process that erodes institutional authority and reinforces contested sovereignty. Transnational organized crime emerges as a key intermediary, facilitating political influence and destabilization through financial and operational networks. Fragmented national responses increase exposure to hybrid threats, while regional cooperation enhances resilience through intelligence sharing, coordinated law enforcement, joint early-warning systems, and policy harmonization. The study contributes to theoretical debates by conceptualizing sovereignty as a dynamic and continuously contested process under hybrid threat conditions. It concludes that effective security governance in the Western Balkans requires the integration of national institutional capacities, intelligence-led resilience, rule-of-law strengthening, and institutionalized regional cooperation.
REFERENCES
Bellingcat. (2017). The Montenegro coup attempt: A Russian intelligence operation. Bellingcat Investigations.
Bechev, D. (2019). Rival power: Russia in Southeast Europe. Yale University Press.
Bieber, F. (2018). Patterns of competitive authoritarianism in the Western Balkans. East Europe an Politics, 34(3), 337-354. https://doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2018.1490272
Born, H., & Leigh, I. (2005). Making intelligence accountable: Legal standards and good practice for oversight of intelligence services. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces.
Buzan, B., & Wæver, O. (2003). Regions and powers: The structure of international security. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511491252
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685853808
Dolan, K. (2022). Hybrid warfare in the Western Balkans: Vulnerabilities and resilience. SEEU Review, 17(1), 19-43. https://doi.org/10.2478/seeur-2022-0018
European Audiovisual Observatory. (2025). Foreign information manipulation and interference in the Western Balkans.Council of Europe.
European Commission. (2020). Enhancing the accession process: A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans. European Commission.
European Commission. (2023). EU counter-terrorism agenda for the Western Balkans.European Commission.
European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). (2024). Cyber-enabled hybrid interference and foreign information manipulation in the Western Balkans.EUISS.
European Western Balkans (EWB). (2025). Hybrid threats and corruption as foreign influence: Discussion at the Belgrade Security Conference. European Western Balkans.
Europol.(2023). Serious and organised crime threat assessment (SOCTA). European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.
EUvsDisinfo. (2023). Disinformation trends in the Western Balkans. European External Action Service.
Freedom House. (2024). Nations in transit 2024. Freedom House.
Frontex. (2024). Irregular migration into the European Union: Annual overview. European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
Galeotti, M. (2017). The “Gerasimov doctrine” and Russian non-linear war. Journal of Strategic Studies, 40(3), 282-298.
Gardner, C. (2025). Western Balkans security environment: Defence trends and regional dynamics. European Security & Defence.
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. (2025). Western Balkans forum on security. Marshall Center.
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). (2023). Global organized crime index 2023.GI-TOC.
Hoffman, F. G. (2007). Conflict in the 21st century: The rise of hybrid wars. Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.
Kapetanović, A. (2025). SecuriMeter 2025: Regional security perceptions in the Western Balkans. Regional Cooperation Council.
Krasner, S. D. (1999). Sovereignty: Organized hypocrisy. Princeton University Press.
Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS). (2023). Hybrid threats and disinformation in Kosovo. KCSS.
Kovalčíková, V., et al. (2024). Hybrid threats in the Western Balkans: Trends and responses. GLOBSEC.
Mabee, B. (2009). The globalization of security: State power, security provision and legitimacy. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230234123
Migdal, J. S. (2001). State in society. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/ CBO9780511613067
NATO Parliamentary Assembly. (2024). The Western Balkans: Stability, security and Euro-Atlantic integration. NATO PA.
NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence. (2019). Hybrid threats: A strategic communications perspective. https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/hybrid-threats-a-strategic-communications-perspective/79
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (2022). NATO 2022 strategic concept. NATO.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (2023). NATO’s engagement in the Western Balkans.
NATO.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). (2023). Irregular migration along the Western Balkan route. OSCE.
RAND Corporation. (2019). Building resilience against hybrid threats. RAND Corporation.
Renz, B., & Smith, H. (2016). Russia and hybrid warfare: Going beyond the label (Aleksanteri Papers No. 1/2016). Kikimora Publications.
Rid, T. (2020). Active measures: The secret history of disinformation and political warfare. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). (2025). Western Balkans security roundtable. RUSI.
Shelley, L. I. (2014). Dirty entanglements: Corruption, crime, and terrorism. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139059039
Support4Partnership. (2025). The Western Balkans and Russia. Support4Partnership. Transparency International. (2023). Corruption perceptions index 2023. Transparency International.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2021). Measuring organized crime in the Western Balkans. UNODC.
Vangeli, A. (2019). China. In F. Bieber & N. Tzifakis (Eds.), The Western Balkans in the world: Linkages and relations with non-Western countries (Chapter 11). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429243349-11
Weller, M. (2009). Contested statehood: Kosovo’s struggle for independence. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566167.001.0001
Zorić, B., Džankić, J., Barbullushi, O., Ilazi, R., & Vladisavljević, S. (2024). Regional security cooperation in the Western Balkans. Open Society Foundations.