low willingness for long-term engagement, which slows progress and ham­pers the full realization of the potential of these initiatives. Security Threats, Strategies, and Means for Preserving Serbia’s Security The history of Balkan states, from the Berlin Congress to the disintegration of SFR Yugoslavia, has been marked by numerous disruptions in inter-state relations, often involving armed conflicts, with the most common cause or reason being unresolved national issues or border disputes. Security chal­lenges, and subsequently threats, in the Balkans have always been complex and multi-layered, and the complexity of internal relations among different countries has often been exacerbated by external pressures, ambitions, and interests of great powers. Looking at the present moment, this complexity is heightened by new secu­rity risks and threats resulting from global changes with local interactions, as well as technological development. Security threats for Serbia include various forms of danger, such as traditional military threats, terrorism, or­ganised crime, cyberattacks, economic threats, and threats arising from political tensions and regional destabilization. Recently, the importance of threats emerging from the digital environment, like cyberattacks, as well as challenges related to migration and border protection, has increased. To be more precise and within the institutional framework, a list of contemporary security challenges, risks, and threats to the Republic of Serbia can be found in the current National Security Strategy of the Republic of Serbia(2019). The perception of threats in Serbia is primarily focused on immediate and traditional challenges such as crime, terrorism, and regional conflicts. Mod­ern threats like cyberattacks or climate change are less recognized or insuf­ficiently understood as systemic challenges. Understanding and perception of these threats are shaped by historical context, media reporting, and the level of societal education, which further influence society’s preparedness and resilience to these challenges. According to a recent study conducted by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy in 2022, citizens in Serbia perceive the greatest risks to national se­curity as economic and energy crises, inflation, organised crime, and illegal drug trafficking. Residents of Southern and Eastern Serbia see the highest risks from organised crime, corruption, the COVID-19 pandemic, extremism and terrorism, inflation, and emigration. Meanwhile, inhabitants of Shu­Chapter 2 – Case Of The Republic Of Serbia 101