Latest Articles about Balkans

Italy’s Lady Jihad: Maria Gulia Sergio of the Islamic State

The Islamic State has drawn an overwhelming number of female followers, who play a key role in recruiting other female volunteers, promoting the organization’s propaganda online and even engaging in combat operations. This contradicts perceptions that women are less prone to partake in violent Islamist... MORE

The Islamic State’s Balkan ‘Strongholds’

To the Islamic State militant group, foreign fighters from the Balkans have particular importance due to their historical ties to Islam, their homelands’ proximity to other Western Europe and because ethnic disputes in the region remain close to the surface. A video released in June... MORE

Slavic Brotherhood 2015 Rehearses Anti–Color Revolution Operations

Russia’s Armed Forces conducted a military exercise indicating Moscow’s intent and planning to use military force to thwart future “color revolutions.” Elite Airborne Forces and special forces from Russia, Belarus and Serbia participated in Slavyanskoye Bratstvo (Slavic Brotherhood) 2015, signaling that color revolutions—as a potential... MORE

Almir Daci: The Albanian Recruiter for the Islamic State

According to recent reports, over 1,000 foreign fighters from the Western Balkans have joined the Islamic State, predominantly coming from Muslim communities throughout the region (Illyria Press, August 8). Several Balkan think tanks have attempted to provide the generic profiles of foreign fighters that have... MORE

Why Is AGRI Back on Europe’s Energy Security Agenda?

The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI)—a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which aims to bring Azerbaijani gas and, in the future, gas from Turkmenistan to Romania and Hungary by way of Georgia and across the Black Sea—was at the center of attention of regional decision makers late... MORE