Beyond Infrastructure: Nuclear Security and Regulatory Alignment in the Balkans (2015–2025)

This article explores how nuclear security has acquired a distinct and increasingly regulatory character in the Balkans between 2015 and 2025. Rather than being driven by military competition or strategic rivalry, nuclear security in the region has evolved primarily through institutional coordination, regulatory preparedness, and sustained engagement with international norms. While much of the existing literature approaches the Balkans through the perspective of energy geopolitics and infrastructure-centered security concerns, this study draws attention to a quieter but consequential transformation taking place in the regulatory domain. Focusing on Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia, the article demonstrates that nuclear security follows different national trajectories shaped by uneven nuclear infrastructure and varying institutional capacities. Bulgaria and Romania reflect continuity-oriented approaches grounded in the oversight of operating nuclear facilities, whereas Serbia engages with nuclear security in a precautionary and forward-looking manner despite the absence of nuclear power infrastructure. Türkiye occupies a distinct position within this regional landscape. Its approach is informed by direct regulatory and operational experience, yet it remains oriented toward internal institutional consolidation rather than outward power projection.