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Dialogue Southeast Europe

Our Mission
Seven members of the FES Dialogue Southeast Europe project team pose for a formal group photo in front of white blinds. In the back row, from left to right, stand Selma Šehović, Saša Vasić, Ema-Džejna Smolo-Zukan, and Harun Cero. In the front row, seated at a wooden table from left to right, are Lejla Garaplija, Sarah Hees-Kalyani, and Jasmina Pirija.
Creator: FES / Admir Kuburović

Our Mission

After more than two decades of engagement in southeastern Europe, the FES recognizes that the challenges and problems still facing this region can best be resolved through a shared regional framework. Our commitment to advancing our core interests in democratic consolidation, social and economic justice and peace through regional cooperation, has since 2015 been strengthened by establishing an infrastructure to coordinate the FES' regional work out of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Regional Dialogue Southeast Europe (Dialogue SOE).

To that end, Dialogue SOE provides analysis of shared challenges in the region and develops suitable regional programs and activities in cooperation with the respective FES offices. Our work is conducted in close cooperation with colleagues and partners across the region. Activities are jointly implemented and overseen by either an FES office or Dialogue SOE. Furthermore, we integrate our regional work into joint initiatives with our colleagues in Berlin and Brussels. We aim to inform and be informed by the efforts of both local and international organizations in order to further our work in southeastern Europe as effectively as possible.

Our regional initiatives are advanced through three broad working lines:

Our website provides information about individual projects within each of these working lines, past events, and future initiatives.

Our Areas of Work

Just Cry for Justice
Creator: We Cry for Justice by David Haigh - License: CC BY 2.0

Social Democratic Politics and Values

Dialogue SOE is committed to advancing social democratic policies and values in southeastern Europe. Our work in this field is based upon youth exchange and political academy programs.

Ne u EU - Enlargement Policy Trash
Creator: Nel Pavletić / License: Pixel Media d.o.o.

Social and Economic Justice

Substantive democratic governance practices are rooted in fair and equitable economic arrangements. Social justice, more broadly, is intrinsic to the regional agenda the FES advances through its respective offices and individual projects.

Progressive Peace Policy

Peace and stability initiatives represent a decades-long cornerstone of FES work in southeastern Europe. Recent events have only reaffirmed the centrality of southeast European stability within the broader continental security paradigm.

Socio-Ecological Transformation
Creator: Azra Kadic

Socio-Ecological Transformation in SEE

The FES Dialogue Southeast Europe aims to address social challenges in climate and energy policy in the region.

Latest Publications

  • Publication
  • Publication Socio-ecological transformation in SEE

Pedagogija odrastanja – ka školi budućnosti

Prenos znanja oduvijek je bio temelj društvenog opstanka, ali savremeni obrazovni sistemi sve češće zaostaju za stvarnošću koju sami oblikuju. U ovoj analizi Adna Sokolović razotkriva duboki raskorak između obrazovanja u Bosni i...

  • Publication
  • Publication Socio-ecological transformation in SEE

The EU's critical raw materials dilemma in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina

This concise policy brief explores how the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act intersects with political tensions, environmental risks, and local resistance in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper analyses key pitfalls, governance...

  • Publication

Critical Raw Materials: Dispatch from Bosnia and Herzegovina

A comprehensive analysis of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s growing role in the EU’s search for critical raw materials, this report maps current mining projects, examines environmental and socio-economic risks, and highlights how weak...

  • Publication
  • Publication Socio-ecological transformation in SEE

There and Back Again: Extractive Diplomacy, Rule of Law Deterioration and Lithium Rush in Serbia

In June 2025, the European Commission approved the Jadar lithium and boron mining project in Serbia, led by Rio Tinto, as a “Strategic Project” under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Although the decision does not constitute an...

  • News
  • Publication

Europeʿs overlooked allies: Why the Western Balkans matter for EU defence readiness

This factsheet highlights how the Western Balkans (WB) can strengthen European defence readiness, both in terms of operational delivery and industrial capacity, provided they are integrated in EU’s policy thinking and key existing and...

  • News
  • Publication

Strategic partners at Europeʿs edge: Harnessing the Western Balkans for EU defence readiness

The report “Europe’s Overlooked Allies: Why the Western Balkans Matter for EU Defence Readiness” explores the strategic importance of the Western Balkans in the context of the European Union’s pursuit of strategic autonomy and enhanced...

  • News
  • Publication
  • Youth Studies

The Gender Gap Report: Mapping Youth Attitudes in Southeast Europe

In a time when young men and women are diverging in their attitudes, beliefs, and values across the globe, this series takes a closer look at how that dynamic plays out in Southeast Europe. Drawing on survey data from nearly 9,000 young...

  • Publication
  • Publication Social Democratic Politics and Values
  • Publication Political Trends & Dynamics

The Rise of Radical Right and Eurosceptic Political Forces and the Impact on the EU’s Enlargement Policy

With war raging on the European Union’s eastern border and the bloc seeking to redefine its geopolitical identity, another political transformation is unfolding within: the growing influence of radical right and Eurosceptic parties. Once...

  • Publication
  • Publication Social Democratic Politics and Values
  • Publication Political Trends & Dynamics

Factsheet: The Rise of Radical Right and Eurosceptic Political Forces and the Impact on the EU’s Enlargement Policy

This factsheet provides a condensed outline on how the growing influence of radical right and Eurosceptic parties is reshaping EU politics—and what this means for the future of EU enlargement.

  • Publication
  • Publication Social Democratic Politics and Values
  • Publication Political Trends & Dynamics

Learning from the 1990s: Germany’s Evolving Security Posture

Despite steps toward military normalization, Germany remains a security recipient—de facto still reliant on American forces stationed on its territory. This enduring dependence complicates its aspirations for strategic autonomy and...