https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/issue/feedSecurity Dialogues2025-06-28T19:47:41+02:00Open Journal Systems<p>The <em><strong>Journal</strong> <strong>Security Dialogues (SD) </strong></em>is particularly interested in papers that link domestic and international political issues and developments with national and regional security concerns and implications. Security is understood both in its traditional (e.g., interstate wars and conflict, weapons proliferation, military modernization, alliance building, defence and foreign policy, arms control, etc.) and non-traditional (e.g., weak states, civil wars, insurgency movements, ethnic violence, economic crisis, social conflicts, democratic change, transnational terrorism, piracy, human security, etc.) senses.</p>https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3713MULTIDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS OF SPECIAL FORCES AND THEIR IMPACT ON NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY2025-06-27T10:03:01+02:00Dževad Terzićdzevadterzic0@gmail.com<p><span class="fontstyle0">This research examines the unconventional tactics and strategies inherent in special<br>forces, focusing on methods such as diversion, sabotage, assassination, and subversion. We<br>analyse how these strategies affect national and international security using a multidisciplinary<br>approach that incorporates theoretical frameworks from criminology, political science, and<br>security studies. The article reveals the complex interactions between special tactics and<br>broader security dynamics, highlighting how they can simultaneously serve as instruments to<br>achieve political goals and raise significant ethical and legal dilemmas. The research results<br>provide deeper insight into the mechanisms of special operations and their consequences,<br>offering practical guidelines for shaping effective responses to security challenges in the<br>modern world. This article is not only theoretically relevant but also has direct practical<br>implications for security policies and strategies at the global level.</span></p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3714CONTROL OVER THE SECURITY SERVICES AS AN INDICATOR OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM2025-06-28T19:47:41+02:00Emil Dimitrievemil.dimitriev@fzf.ukim.edu.mk<p><span class="fontstyle0">Liberal democracy as a current and dominant political model in the world represents<br>a kind of equilibrium of a multitude of social relations and connections between the people<br>who make up the society. Democracy as a form of political arrangement has freedom and<br>equality in its essence.In order to enable or realize these two main postulates, society creates<br>a system based on norms and institutions, which in turn model the citizenship of man today.<br>Part of the institutions of the system are the security institutions, whose main mission is the<br>guarantor of one of the basic human motives, security. The security services, like no other<br>institution, in the realization of their mission use means and methods whose possible abuse<br>devastates the entire political system and society in general. This is the foundation of the<br>need for adequate control that will ensure their legal operation. Legality in the operation of<br>the security services is imperative because their work methodology encroaches on the most<br>basic human rights, they have information whose misuse is a flagrant violation of human<br>freedom and rights. A fact that is established in the history of mankind.<br>The world, the region and our country are witnessing the abuse of these institutions, which<br>created great consequences for the future. Macedonia has witnessed several abuses of these<br>institutions since independence until now. The last abuse that was discovered in 2015, with<br>the illegal wiretapping, is the largest so far in terms of its scope and substance. From it,<br>materials were illegally created for a large part of the political and media public, the business<br>community, the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office as well as other segments of society. Even<br>today, the dilemma about the integrity of the persons and the institutions managed by<br>them, for which there is material from the illegal wiretapping, is still relevant. It is legitimate<br>to question whether we can call ourselves a free society if a large part of the elite daily<br>performs important duties aware that someone owns a part of their privacy. Therefore, it is<br>quite natural that the quality of the control of the security services rises to the rank of an<br>indicator of the degree of democracy in a society. Macedonia has entered the fourth decade<br>of liberal democratic life, from a legal and normative point of view it is creating a model of<br>parliamentary and civil control of services, but the practice is disappointing, confronting us<br>with the fact that the form has no substance, that the declarative differs from the real.</span></p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3715APPLYING NEGOTIATION PROCESS – THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDINGS2025-06-27T09:28:26+02:00Aleksandar Pavleskipavleski@fzf.ukim.edu.mk<p><span class="fontstyle0">There is no doubt that conflicts (violent or non-violent) are an integral part of the<br>relations between different actors at both, the national, regional and international levels.<br>Starting from this conclusion, there is an inevitable need for applying appropriate strategies<br>and approaches that will enable their efficient and successful management and resolution.<br>It is exactly from such aspect that the significance of the negotiation process arises as an<br>instrument for peaceful resolution of open issues or disputes, through the establishment and<br>realization of communication between the opposing parties. However, as the experience to<br>date in this regard shows, the realization of the negotiation process is not always established<br>and realized in accordance with the projected visions. Hence, the focus of this paper is<br>specifically directed towards the analysis of the negotiation process essence, mainly through<br>the prism of some of the existing theoretical and practical aspects in this regard. Specifically,<br>by analyzing the characteristics of the basic elements, phases and models of the negotiation<br>process, the aim is closer identification of the main challenges and perspectives related to<br>the applicability of the negotiation process.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3716THE EUROPEAN UNION AND FOOD INSECURITY AS A LOOMING THREAT2025-06-27T09:31:45+02:00Gönül Tezcangkucukyoru@adu.edu.tr<p><span class="fontstyle0">From climate change to ethnic conflicts, from pandemics to cyber terrorism,<br>humanity faces many non-traditional, multi-dimensional and complex security threats in the<br>21st century. Food security is one of these challenges that concerns the whole world and<br>requires global solutions. The European Union (EU), as one of the actors with the highest<br>level of welfare and providing the most humanitarian aid in the world, is not currently facing<br>a serious food crisis. However, the adverse effects of climate change and the challenges that<br>the Union has recently faced, such as the European debt crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and<br>the Russia-Ukraine war, have brought food security to the top of the EU agenda. This study<br>aims to research the issue of food insecurity in the European Union. The main argument of<br>the study is that food security is not currently an acute problem for the European Union,<br>but it is a looming threat. Although the EU has addressed food insecurity within the scope<br>of agricultural policy until recently, in today’s “overheated” world full of natural disasters,<br>economic crises, wars and conflicts, food security is now requiring a multidimensional<br>approach, including economic, energy, health, environmental and social policies.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3717COMMON SECURITY DENOMINATOR OF THE WESTERN NALKANS IN THE THIRD DECADE OD 21ST CENTURY: RISKS, OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES2025-06-27T09:37:40+02:00Marjan Gjurovskimarjan.gjurovski@fzf.ukim.edu.mkMitko Arnaudovmitko@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs<p><span class="fontstyle0">The purpose of this paper is to identify the key security risks in the area of the<br>Western Balkans, which are actually the common denominator in attempts at cooperation,<br>coordination and integration in the field of creating defense and security policies, on regional<br>and national level. Apart from the identification of security risks that determine the viability<br>of Western Balkan actors, the fact that it is a region that is not fully integrated within the<br>NATO defense and security infrastructure, partial integration will be used as a variable in the<br>analysis of cooperation opportunities, in the political and contractual context. Finally, the<br>capacities of regional cooperation in the field of security, determined by bilateral and regional<br>agreement frameworks, will be presented. The contribution of this work in a scientific sense<br>will be the answer to the question of how much the potential joint action of small states in<br>the face of modern security risks affects the process of creating security sustainability at the<br>individual (state) level, as the ultimate goal in understanding national interests.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3718KEY COMMITMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS FROM THE 2024 NATO SUMMIT IN WASHINGTON2025-06-27T09:41:40+02:00Igor Gjoreskiigor.gjoreski@mod.gov.mkZoran Nacevnacevz@fzf.ukim.edu.mk<p><span class="fontstyle0">In the period from 9 until 11 July, 2024, the 75 anniversary Summit of the Heads<br>of State and Government of the Alliance was held in Washington, in the conditions of a<br>conventional threat to the security of the Alliance and in a time of war on the soil of Europe.<br>NATO leaders discussed strategically important issues related to deterrence and defense,<br>long-term support for Ukraine and cooperation with the Alliance’s global partners. The<br>focus in strengthening the Alliance’s defense and deterrence is placed through “investing<br>in new, modern high-end military capabilities” and “increasing the readiness of our forces,”<br>(Stoltenberg, 2024) all underpinned by major increases in defence spending across the<br>Alliance by supporting the increase in defense spending.<br>I have suggested that at the Summit, we agree a big NATO role in coordinating and providing<br>security assistance and training for Ukraine,” he said. “I strongly believe that we need a<br>firmer, stronger institutionalized structure for the support. Ad-hoc, short term, voluntary<br>announcements are good – but in the long term, we need more predictable, stronger support<br>for Ukraine. In relation to the support of Ukraine, NATO is expected to increase its role in<br>the coordinating and providing security assistance and training for Ukraine. According to<br>Stoltenberg, this implies the establishment of a “firmer, stronger institutionalized structure”<br>that will ensure a more predictable and sustainable long-term support of Ukraine. Cooperation<br>with partners is crucial for security and stability because security is not only a regional issue<br>but also a global issue.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3719NATO AND SECURITY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IMPACT AND CHALLENGES2025-06-27T09:45:40+02:00Zlatan Bajramovićzlatan.bajramovic@fpn.unsa.baSanja Škuletić-Malagićsanja.skuletic@mkt.gov.ba<p><span class="fontstyle0">The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), comprised of 32 member states<br>from North America and Europe, represents the largest military and political alliance of<br>today. Membership in NATO is widely accepted as a guarantee of security, but it has been<br>a subject of political conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an extended period, as well<br>as in other countries in the region. Currently, all Western Balkan countries (Albania, North<br>Macedonia, and Montenegro) except Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia are<br>full members of NATO. Under the guise of military neutrality, the Republic of Serbia rejects<br>the desire for full NATO membership, citing the NATO bombing of the then Federal Republic<br>of Yugoslavia in 1999 as a key argument against joining. Bosnia and Herzegovina initially had<br>unanimous support for full NATO membership after the signing of the General Framework<br>Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but over time, this support weakened and<br>transformed into open opposition from representatives of the Republika Srpska entity. The<br>lack of a pragmatic and thorough assessment of the interests of joining NATO, considering<br>regional and global developments, Russian influence on the Balkans and the fact that there<br>is a new reordering of the fragmented order in which military-political neutrality loses its<br>meaning, further complicates the integration process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Analyze of<br>the impact of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership in NATO and its consequences are in<br>focus of this paper.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3720CONTEMPORARY REFLECTIONS ON THE INTERSECTIONS OF POLITICS, CORRUPTION AND SPORTS2025-06-27T09:49:19+02:00Admir Hadžikadunićahadzikadunic@fkn.unsa.baSarina Bakićsarina.bakic@fpn.unsa.ba<p><span class="fontstyle0">This paper aims to present the negative impacts of politics and corruption on<br>sports as a social phenomenon, which, due to such malign influences, is increasingly moving<br>away from its original humanistic concept. The impact of politics and corruption is driving<br>sports towards dehumanisation and national, religious, and racial discrimination of all its<br>participants. Sports have become a battleground for power struggles between superpowers<br>and small states, with nationalism and xenophobia imposing characteristics that contradict<br>the very essence of sports.<br>Today, sports are a crucial aspect of the ideological operations of systems that use sports<br>to solve certain problems or as a mobilising force to support the system. Often, sports are<br>treated as a means of achieving the basic ideological goals of society or the government.<br>Sports have become an ideological tool to deceive the masses and maintain the control of<br>the ruling powers. The integration of politics, sports, and power allows sports to be turned<br>into entertainment for the masses, and under the motto “bread and circuses,” the people are<br>turned into an audience, a crowd, which, through repressive behaviour control, absorbs social<br>discontent arising from the marginal social position of certain groups.<br>Sports are suitable for influencing the masses, especially the youth, and for affirming various<br>political ideologies and social anomalies and irregularities. Therefore, corruption, a negative<br>phenomenon that has not spared sports despite its initially noble assumptions, is not new. In<br>one form or another, it has always existed. Corruption appears in various forms throughout<br>sports, undermining honesty, fair play, and trust in the game. The increasing amounts of<br>money inherent in sports make this industry susceptible to corruption, while the participants<br>become addicted to power, elitism, and betting.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3721RESHAPING NORTH MACEDONIA: THE NAME CHANGE AND THE PRESPA AGREEMENT2025-06-27T09:52:10+02:00Cansu Yazarcansu.yazar@alshaya.com<p><span class="fontstyle0">The Balkans have been a significant region in political history. Despite being a<br>small, mountainous country without a coastline, Macedonia’s territory has been a significant<br>region throughout history, attracting the attention of major powers due to its strategic<br>location. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia declared its independence.<br>During this period, Greece reacted strongly against the independence. In this context, North<br>Macedonia has been experiencing a name and other crisis. According to Greece, Macedonia<br>doesn’t have the territory to use this name, flag, and the national anthem. In addition, they<br>blame to Macedonia with appropriate to Greek cultural values as, Vergina Sun, Alexander<br>the Great. Also, the statue of Alexander the Great built in the center of Skopje, renaming<br>of Skopje airport to “Alexander the Great Airport,” and the description of the Thessaloniki<br>Tower on the Macedonian currency have all been perceived as provocative actions by Greece.<br>Greece identifies Macedonia’s historical and cultural heritage with its own identity, while<br>the presence of minorities also raises concerns. Additionally, the fact that the preamble<br>of the “Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia” states that the principles of the 1944<br>ASNOM Declaration are inherited and emphasizes that Macedonians living in the territories<br>of Greece and Bulgaria will be united under the Macedonian Socialist Republic, constitutes<br>one of the main reasons for Greece’s concerns. Greece has clearly opposed the use of the<br>name “Macedonia” by rejecting both the existence of the Macedonian minority living within<br>its borders and the recognition of the Macedonian nation. Greece has created international<br>pressure for the resolution of the name issue by blocking Macedonia’s NATO and European<br>Union membership process. After the discussions, the Prespa Agreement was signed in 2018<br>(Gounaris & Kofos, 2019).</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3722NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA AND ITS COHERENT IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL INTERESTS2025-06-27T09:55:34+02:00Slobodan Stojanovskistojanovskislobodan@hotmail.comStojanche MasevskiStole_k2@hotmail.com<p><span class="fontstyle0">National security is a segment that is considered from the perspective of an integral<br>part of the theory of regional security complex. The focus of this paper is to determine<br>the relevance of the state national interests, with special reference to giving appropriate<br>proposals in the part of better management of them in the future and its more adequate<br>complementarity during the renewal of strategies. The necessity of rebuilding the national<br>interests is necessary in order to monitor the fight against modern threats. The need to<br>specify long-term national interests is of vital importance for every modern state, so our<br>state needs to build a solid foundation for the analogous functioning of all segments of the<br>state system by specifically defining strategic national interests based on the existing ones.<br>Analogous to what was written, certain theoretical proposals were given that would be useful<br>in terms of the survival of national interests as the core of a state and a guide for further<br>strategic challenges.</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c) https://journals.ukim.mk/index.php/sd/article/view/3723NEED ASSESSMENT OF UKRAINIAN REFUGEES IN NORTH MACEDONIA2025-06-27T09:59:28+02:00Natasa Stanojkovska-Trajkovskanatasa.stanojkovska@fzf.ukim.edu.mkSofija Georgievskasofija.arnaudova@fzf.ukim.edu.mk<p><span class="fontstyle0">Between mid-May and mid-June 2022, 10 students from the Faculty of Philosophy,<br>supported by 3 Ukrainian language interpreters, conducted 49 interviews with refugees from<br>Ukraine, overall covering 244 individuals in Skopje, Ohrid, Stip and Bitola. This report presents<br>the main findings relating to refugees’ profiles, intentions, and needs, aiming to provide an<br>evidence-based document to support advocacy interventions that will be most beneficial to<br>these refugees, complementary support to the one to be provided by the government as well<br>as individual assistance when/if needed.<br></span><span class="fontstyle0">Key findings<br></span><span class="fontstyle2">• </span><span class="fontstyle0">The majority of refugees from Ukraine are women and children, with high levels<br>of education and diverse professional skills among adults<br></span><span class="fontstyle2">• </span><span class="fontstyle0">While most refugees hope to return to Ukraine one day, for the time being, the<br>majority plan to stay in their current host country</span> </p>2025-06-26T00:00:00+02:00Copyright (c)