STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE: THE WAY AHEAD

The Sofia Security Forum and the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation organized on 11 of December 2025 a regional conference to exchange knowledge, identify gaps, and chart a path forward for building stronger, more coherent, and more resilient Strategic communications ecosystems in SEE. In an age of rapid digital transformation, geopolitical volatility, and intensified information warfare, strategic communications (StratCom) has become an indispensable component of national resilience, democratic governance, and regional stability. Countries of South-East Europe (SEE) face a unique combination of challenges: low public trust in institutions, fragmented media environments, disinformation campaigns, and limited inter-institutional coordination. While progress has been made driven by EU, NATO, and donor-supported initiatives strategic communications capacities remain uneven, and often reactive rather than proactive. The conference launched a long-term project aimed at strengthening the role of Strategic Communications in SEE to overcome the above problems.