While the great powers carve out the borders of security from Washington to Moscow, the Western Balkans tried to present itself not as a problem, but as part of the solution. The Skopje Security Forum 2026 was held at the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia under the motto „Architects of stability: the security identity of the Western Balkans."

The forum brought together representatives of institutions, the academic community, the diplomatic corps, international organisations, and civil society. The opening address was given by Professor Iulian Chifu from the Romanian Conflict Prevention Centre, while the panels featured experts and diplomats from Poland, Serbia, Romania, Austria, and Macedonia. The organisers were the „St. Kliment Ohridski" University of Bitola and the University of Tetovo.

The topics were precisely the ones that plague the region: disinformation and hybrid threats, energy security, institutional resilience, and the great-power competition playing out across Europe. The war in Ukraine, as a constant shadow, ran through almost every discussion - a reminder that the stability of the Balkans depends on things resolved far from it too.

Forums are useful - but the Balkans already have an abundance of conferences, declarations, and panels on stability. The question rarely asked at such gatherings is whether words turn into policies. „Architect of stability" sounds good on a banner in the Assembly; whether the region is really building something, or just describing its problems again in nicer words - that won't be shown by the forum, but by what follows it.