Serbia - Military Doctrine

Tensions with the former Serbian province of Kosovo remain the single most important determinant of national security for Serbia. Most of Serbia’s planning and strategic documents remain hidden from the public eye or are non-existent. Serbian Armed Forces and armament are constantly used in pompous nationally broadcast exercises and parades, followed by tabloid outlet campaigns – to consolidate power and gain votes, and to score in geostrategic games.

Serbia is beefing up its ties to Russia and China, reducing its European aspirations, and focusing on the ‘Serb World,’ which is another name for Greater Serbia. In September 2021, as Serb unity was celebrated as part of a new national holiday, President Aleksandar Vucic said the army was “five times stronger” than a few years ago, as he announced greater expenditure. Following a June 2021 military drill in the Sandzak region, Vucic said that the army will be “drastically increased in the next nine months”, and will “always be in a position to defend our country and people”.

The announcements made some in neighboring countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro wary about Serbia’s motives, especially amid calls by Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin on forming a “Serb World”. Vulin has repeatedly said in public and to local media that all Serbs need to unite politically under the direction of Belgrade, and “with time, to peacefully … unite formally”, suggesting they unite the territories where they live.

Critics have slammed his calls as an updated version of the Greater Serbia ideology of the 1990s, which culminated in war and ethnic cleansing in the region. “The Serb World is indistinguishable from Greater Serbia, or all Serbs in one country,” said Daniel Serwer, one of the negotiators of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia.

Serbia would have to abandon any EU ambitions if it acted militarily against Bosnia or Kosovo, Serwer said in October 2021, adding, “But Vucic appears to have already given up on EU accession. “The situation is dangerous. NATO needs to make clear that it will not tolerate Serbian mobilisation of forces against its neighbors, as it did last week against Kosovo, which has no army.”

Reuf Bajrovic, co-chair of the US-Europe Alliance organisation, told Al Jazeera that he believes Vucic is preparing to use military force in Kosovo and Bosnia when international circumstances change in his favour – such as when US troops withdraw from KFOR (the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo) or when Russia – Serbia’s ally – decides to directly intervene in the region. “Russia-trained mercenaries in Bosnia and Montenegro are an integral part of the Serbian military strategy for the region. It is a carbon copy of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s pre-invasion actions in Georgia and Ukraine,” Bajrovic said.

Democratic processes and European foreign policy orientation of the Republic of Serbia after 2010 were strengthening its international position and positively affecting the creation and promotion of political cooperation and confidence building in the region. As a result of its established security policy, the Republic of Serbia has become an important factor of regional security cooperation and a reliable partner in international relations.

The Republic of Serbia is governed by the National Security Strategy, which reflects Serbia's readiness to contribute to the building and promoting of the national, regional and global security in the framework of the United Nations, European and other international organizations and regional structures.

Military-political developments in the world are closely monitored, as well as the global and regional challenges and threats, with all their implications for the security of the Republic of Serbia and its international position. The most important activities regarding the security policy are aimed at cooperating with the EU in the field of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), cooperation in the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program, as well as cooperation in the framework of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, international forums and initiatives concerning disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

The Armed Forces of Serbia are the armed force of the defense system. They develop on best domestic and foreign experiences and achievements of science in the field of security and defense. The Armed Forces are assigned missions and tasks. The missions of Armed Forces are defined by the Serbian Parliament, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, based on the international law principles which regulate the use of force and based on the Serbian Constitutional Charter.

The Serbian Armed Forces missions are:

• defending Serbia from armed foreign threats.
• participating in the process of building and maintaining peace in the region and across the world.
• providing support in case of natural disasters and catastrophes.

Basic tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces are:

• deterring armed threats and other military challenges, risks and security threats.
• defending the territory, territorial waters of Serbia and air space.
• enabling soldiers, commanders, commands, units and institutions to accomplish objectives and missions.
• Participating in international military cooperation under the UN patronage and the system of joint security.
• Providing support in the case of natural disasters and catastrophes of larger proportion where lives are at stake, as well as the environment and material property.

By the act issued by the Parliament of Serbia and the Supreme Defense Council the Armed Forces can perform additional tasks.

Basic organizational structure and the number of the Armed Forces members are defined by the Supreme Defense Council, at the proposal of the Ministry of Defense, depending on the level of threats, resources, missions, tasks and international standards. The army is staffed with professional, duty and reserve corps members, with the tendency to be completely professionalized. It develops its respective systems of training and logistics, relying on Serbia’s and its foreign partners’ resources. Based on the Supreme Defense Council’s decision, places its capacities to the disposal of other users.

The October 2009 National Security Strategy of the Republic of Serbia is the most important strategic document that defines the basis of security policy in the protection of national interests of the Republic of Serbia. Starting point of national security strategy consists of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, economic prosperity, social stability, development of democracy and the rule of law, respect for human and minority rights, European foreign policy orientation and the improvement of cooperation with the most influential entities of the international community and countries in the region.

Defense Policy of the Republic of Serbia is based on the integrated and multilateral approach to defense and security issues. The Republic of Serbia is committed to active participation in the processes of cooperation and joint action with other countries and entities of international relations in the construction of national, regional and global security. Defense policy promotes the concept of cooperative security. The Republic of Serbia, with its defense policy, contributes to building the necessary capacities for defense and protection of national interests, as well as to the preservation of peace and development of a favorable security environment, with the improvement of relations with the related institutions of the collective security system and the neighboring and other countries.