The XXII Krakow Security Forum 2026, held from 7–9 May 2026 in Krakow, Republic of Poland, represented one of the most significant international academic and professional gatherings dedicated to contemporary security studies, strategic affairs, intelligence, and multidimensional crisis management. The conference was organized under the title:

“Science Vectors – Current Various Turbulences in the Security Environments of Nations and Their States”

The Forum gathered a broad international network of scholars, military experts, intelligence professionals, security practitioners, and institutional representatives from Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. The event was hosted by the Wyższa Szkoła Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego i Indywidualnego “Apeiron” in Kraków and included participation from numerous international institutional partners and co-organizers.

The Institute for National and International Security (INIS), Republic of Serbia, participated as one of the official international institutional co-organizers of the Forum, thereby confirming its growing international visibility and strategic relevance within the global Security Science community.

A particularly important aspect of this year’s Forum was the active participation and representation of distinguished INIS members and close international associates in the Scientific Committee and the conference’s academic activities.

Among the prominent INIS-associated participants were:

• Prof. Dr. John M. Nomikos (Greece)
• Prof. Dr. Bronislav Kovacik (Slovakia)
• Prof. Dr. Darko Trifunović (Serbia)
• Prof. Dr. Snežana Mojsoska (North Macedonia)
• Prof. Dr. Nikola Dujovski (North Macedonia)
• Prof. Dr. Juliusz Piwowarski (Poland)
• Prof. Dr. Jagannath Panda (India/Sweden)
• Prof. Dr. Marco Lombardi (Italy)
• Prof. Dr. Vasko Stamevski (North Macedonia)

The participation of these internationally recognized scholars demonstrated the INIS global academic and professional network’s growing intellectual and organizational strength.

Special recognition belongs to Prof. Dr. Juliusz Piwowarski, Rector of the Apeiron University in Krakow, who chaired the Scientific Committee of the Forum and played a central role in the academic organization of the conference. His long-standing cooperation with INIS and his contribution to the development of Security Science continue to strengthen strategic academic relations between Poland and Serbia.

Prof. Dr. Darko Trifunović, Director of INIS, was listed among the distinguished international members of the Scientific Committee of the Security Forum Krakow 2026. His presence confirmed the increasingly important role of INIS in shaping contemporary debates on intelligence studies, hybrid warfare, migration security, and strategic geopolitical transformations.

Prof. Dr. Nikola Dujovski, another prominent INIS member from North Macedonia, was also included in the Forum’s Scientific Committee, reflecting the strong participation of the Western Balkans academic-security community in this important international platform.

Prof. Dr. John M. Nomikos, one of the leading Greek experts in intelligence studies and founder of RIEAS, contributed to the Forum through his continued support for strategic cooperation among European security institutions and intelligence research networks.

The participation of Prof. Dr. Bronislav Kovacik further strengthened the Slovak–Serbian academic-security partnership, while Prof. Dr. Marco Lombardi of Italy contributed to the broader European dialogue concerning intelligence, strategic communication, radicalization, and contemporary hybrid threats.

Prof. Dr. Jagannath Panda’s presence underscored the Forum’s increasingly global dimension, particularly in Indo-Pacific security dynamics, strategic competition, and emerging geopolitical transformations involving Europe and Asia.

The participation of Prof. Dr. Vasko Stamevski and Prof. Dr. Snežana Mojsoska further demonstrated the growing integration of North Macedonian academic-security experts into the broader INIS international cooperation platform, particularly in regional security, strategic studies, and contemporary societal resilience.

The thematic areas of the conference addressed some of the most important contemporary security challenges, including:

• national and state security,
• human security,
• crisis of democracy,
• European sovereignty and centralization,
• global hotspots and strategic instability,
• contemporary security risks and hybrid threats.

The conference program included multiple scientific sessions, strategic discussions, networking activities, and international academic exchanges over three days.

The XXII Krakow Security Forum once again confirmed that contemporary Security Science increasingly depends on international cooperation among experts who can integrate strategic studies, intelligence analysis, geopolitics, military affairs, psychology, information warfare, and societal resilience into a unified scientific and operational framework.

The visible and respected participation of nine INIS members and associates at this major international gathering further strengthened the Institute for National and International Security’s position as one of the increasingly recognizable international centers for Security Science, intelligence studies, and strategic geopolitical analysis.

The Forum also demonstrated the growing importance of academic-security cooperation between Central Europe, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Indo-Pacific region in responding to the rapidly evolving challenges of the contemporary international security environment.