Within the Forum 2026 organized by the Institute for Hybrid War Studies “Octopus”, the second session discussed democratic sustainability and the challenges posed by foreign interference in the electoral processes in Kosovo.

Arian Starova from the Atlantic Council of Albania said that hybrid war has become increasingly difficult to face due to the development of technology, artificial intelligence and global competition.

According to him, interventions in election campaigns directly affect the will of citizens and distort the vote through artificial methods.

Starova stressed that non-governmental organizations, political parties and the media should be more active and more investigative towards foreign interventions and the ways they are carried out.

However, Gani Zogaj from the Information Society Agency (ASHI) said that cyber security in elections has become a critical challenge, as democratic processes are increasingly dependent more from digital systems.

He warned that cyber-attacks, disinformation and unauthorized access can undermine electoral integrity and public trust.

According to Zogaj, international and regional experiences show that these threats directly affect institutional stability, while the development of artificial intelligence is making them even more complex and difficult to manage.

Professor Alban Zeneli from the Institute of Medias, who requested that media education become a compulsory subject in pre-university education.

He said that citizens should be equipped with skills to deal with disinformation and information disorder, while credible media should be clearly distinguished from actors who misuse forms of journalism for disinformation.

Zeneli criticized the lack of reforms in this regard, saying that despite 17 years of advocacy for media education, changes have gone too far.

Meanwhile, Professor Gjon Çulaj said that electoral processes are part of critical state infrastructure and are directly related to national security.

He emphasized that Serbia continues to exert hybrid influences on Kosovo, trying to influence the international perception of Kosovo as a dysfunctional state and hindering integration processes.

According to him, the political use of the Serbian community through local actors remains one of the forms of influence. hybrid.

However, Čulaj assessed that Kosovo’s institutions have managed to organize free and democratic elections, although political polarization remains an internal challenge for the country.

Source: prizrenpost