Students Participate in the Scientific Conference “The Balkans: History and Contemporaneity”

Students of the Faculty of Security Sciences, Bojan Šimčić (fourth year) and Ognjen Simić (second year), participated in the online conference “The Balkans: History and Contemporaneity” on April 18, 2023.

The conference was organized by the Balkan Club of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in cooperation with the Republic Center for Research on War, War Crimes, and Searching for Missing Persons of the Government of Republika Srpska.

The conference addressed topics such as historical processes in the Balkans, inter-ethnic relations in the post-Yugoslav space, contemporary economic and political processes, security issues in Southeastern Europe, and the role of regressive ideologies.

Bojan Šimčić presented on the topic “Yugoslav Intelligence Services as a Factor of Historical Processes in the Balkans.” In an insightful presentation, Šimčić analyzed the Yugoslav intelligence, counter-intelligence, and civilian services of SFR Yugoslavia (OZNA, UDBA, SDB), their affirmative and repressive roles in the country’s life, and their operations before and after the end of the Cold War.

Ognjen Simić spoke on “The Consequences of Nazi Ideology on the Soil of the Former Yugoslavia: A Security Context.” Simić synthesized the consequences of Nazi and Ustaše ideologies on the Serbian population and the Yugoslav state from the beginning of World War II until the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia. He emphasized the genocide of Serbs in the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) carried out by Croatian and Muslim Ustaše under the patronage of Nazi Germany. Simić also analyzed a series of security problems arising from the aggressive actions of the Ustaše movement after World War II (including MASPOK, and demands for autonomy and secession).

The conference will continue with the panel “Security Issues in Southeastern Europe,” to be held on April 21, 2023.