Southeast & Eastern Europe

The future of Europe's biodiversity may also be decided outside the European Union. In Albania's Narta Lagoon, a conflict over tourism is testing Europe's environmental credibility.

How can survivors of conflict-related sexualized violence be supported in the midst of war and beyond? Three leading experts: Lina Kushch, Ukraine, Dr. Feride Rushiti, Kosovo, and Ajna Mahmić Ćatić, Bosnia and Herzegovina share their experiences from region to region on justice, reparations, and survivor-centered care. 

Armenia is often seen as a role model in the South Caucasus, especially when it comes to democratization. But this development is accompanied by a increasing personalization of power, weakened institutional autonomy, and a deeply polarized political landscape.

Over the past decade, the Russian state nuclear enterprise Rosatom has become the most active exporter of nuclear technology in the world. Beyond building reactors, Rosatom establishes an integrated model of political and societal influence.

Chornobyl set a civic movement in motion — and laid the foundation for environmental engagement in Ukraine that continues to this day. The memory makes clear: the consequences of potential damage to nuclear facilities in wartime are real, not abstract.

Chernobyl/Chornobyl is once again becoming a risk – this time as a matter of policy. Russia is deliberately using nuclear power plants and electricity grids as leverage in its war against Ukraine. International rules fall short while the risk for Europe as a whole grows.

The severe trauma of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster continues to shape Belarus to this day. Almost a quarter of the country was contaminated. Nevertheless, long-time President Alexander Lukashenko is leading the country into strong nuclear dependence on Russia.

As the only country in the socialist bloc, Bulgaria took no protective measures after the Chernobyl disaster and paid a heavy price. At the same time, the fallout exposed the regime’s cynicism and shaped the country’s ecological and democratic awakening.

Local elections taking place in ten Serbian municipalities were meant to be routine. Instead, for the first time in years, the seemingly untouchable SNS faces a credible challenger. All eyes are now on them as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming general elections.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has forced Europe to rethink what defense means. At Café Kyiv, experts discussed how hybrid attacks target societies far beyond the battlefield - and why resilient democracies require comprehensive defense.