Marshall Center Security Forum 2020
Marshall Center Security Forum
The Geopolitical Confluences in the Western Balkans in the Midst of the Coronavirus Crisis: Euro-Atlantic Perspective
27 August 2020, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Marshall Center Macedonia hosted the MARSHALL CENTER ALUMNI SECURITY FORUM, 27 August 2020 in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. The event was sponsored by the Alumni Programs, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Macedonian Marshall Center Alumni Association and NATO Public Diplomacy Division. The gathering provided an excellent setting to discuss important defense issues and take stock of how the Marshall Center’s alumni can be agents of change, working together to resolve contemporary security challenges. Out of 50 applications from seven countries, 20 alumni were selected to participate in the event.
The gathering was opened by the President of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Dr. Stevo Pendarovski, US Ambassador to North Macedonia, Kate Marie Byrnes, Anke Holstein, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Northern Macedonia, and Colonel Zoran Jankovich, Chief, NLO, Skopje.
Session 1 – The Implications of the Covid -19 Crisis on the Power Competition in the Western Balkans
Session 2 – NATO’s role in Providing Security and Stability in the Southern Flank; Combating Multidimensional Security Threats
Session 3 – Fighting Disinformation in the WB: The Information Integration Approach
This Forum proved to be a good opportunity to talk about NATO, regional cooperation and other defense related issues.
Establishing a link between the new forms of warfare and the European and Atlantistic perspectives of the WB region, the Forum tended to provide practical examples and lessons learned on the mutual cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic partnership and the Western Balkans on these common security challenges. In particular, the Forum focused on: hybrid security and countering fake information (mis/dis information), malicious disruptive propaganda, strategic communication, human security and cyber defense mechanisms.
