Author: Prof. Asoc. Dr. Arben Fetoshi – Director at Institute for Hybrid Warfare Studies “OCTOPUS”
The technique of “emotional hijacking” as Serbia’s warning of violent scenarios
The coordinated reactions of the Serb List and the so-called Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia against every institutional action by Kosovo aimed at dismantling parallel structures in the north are no longer merely a disinformation campaign or the well-known victimization strategy. They now serve as a warning of “civil resistance,” representing one of the most threatening phases of Serbia’s hybrid warfare.
Screams about the “endangerment of children,” slanders regarding “harassment of girls and women,” claims of “usurpation” of facilities, laments about “brutal attacks on youth,” and finally, the branding of loyal Serbs as “traitors” — these are narratives being recycled by Serbian media according to the Russian model of the ‘firehose of falsehood.’
Not only do these messages refrain from calling for help from the international community, but they now accuse it of “supporting” a repressive policy against the Serb community in Kosovo.
Hatred and Anger as Weapons
In attempting to overturn the reality in the north by launching accusations against the police, labeling individuals as “Kurti’s puppets” or “traitors” who have abandoned the “honor and interests of their people,” the Serb List, as Serbia’s internal instrument within Kosovo, seeks to enhance the perceived credibility of these “denunciations” in order to exert social control over the Serb population. This is seen as a prerequisite for a more radical mobilization against Kosovo.
The slanders about the “harassment of girls, violence against youth, and the occupation of spaces intended for children” are typical features of the emotional hijacking technique. This technique is used to incite anger, insecurity, and fear, with the specific intent in this case of demonizing the police and delegitimizing the state of Kosovo by branding Kurti’s government as a “repressive regime.”
With its most recent reaction — in which it declared as “traitors” the Serbs who are part of Kosovo’s institutions — the Serb List once again demonstrated that it does not represent the interests of the community. Instead, it functions as a tool of Serbia’s expansionist project, which fights against the very existence of the Kosovo state, undermines stability, and challenges the international presence in Kosovo.
This is a manipulative technique that orchestrates a climate of radical mobilization by eliminating Serbs integrated into Kosovo’s institutions, thereby paving the way for a more advanced stage of hybrid warfare under the pretense of “civil resistance” in the north. In essence, it fosters an atmosphere of collective hatred and anger through victimization propaganda, which may be exploited to disguise destructive actions against public order and the rule of law in the region.
The most recent statement by the Serb List — once again followed by a typical response from Petković, who broadcasts this “complaint” to Serbia and the international stage — also poses a direct threat to the security of Serbs who have chosen integration into Kosovo. It imposes hegemonic ideology based on ethnic division as the sole legitimate political path, with the goal of sabotaging the Kosovo state, undermining democracy, and creating space for Russian penetration into the Balkans.
A New Phase of Hybrid Warfare
The Serb List’s response to the issue of the sports hall in Leposavić — where individuals are labeled as “traitors” and the international community is accused of supporting Kurti in the “persecution of Serbs” — was quickly followed by a statement from Petković. In this statement, Petković manipulates data (claiming that 20 percent of Serbs have been forced to leave) and repeats the same propaganda tropes by framing it as “a new escalatory step” by Kurti and alleging that “the international community is sending a message to the remaining Serbs that they should leave.”
By deliberately avoiding the territorial reality in northern Kosovo and providing no evidence to support claims of “harassment of girls” or “violations of children’s rights,” Serbia — through the Serb List — is signaling a dangerous scenario aimed at challenging both Kosovo and the international presence.
By hiding behind the euphemism of “civil resistance,” this scenario resembles documented patterns seen in Georgia (2008) and Crimea (2014) — precedents where Russia instigated internal destabilization before military intervention. The aim could be to provoke a so-called “civic response” through violent protests, obstruction of law enforcement, and the staging of interethnic clashes, all in order for Serbia to claim justification for intervention — or, if that proves unfeasible due to KFOR’s presence, to at least push for renewed international mediation, which would effectively mean reviving UN Security Council Resolution 1244 in the four northern municipalities.
Therefore, the intensified campaign of recent weeks by the Serb List, Petković, and other Serbian officials — with their slanders, lamentations, and accusations against international institutions, which we at the Institute have consistently debunked — constitutes a more dangerous phase of the strategy of the “weeping aggressor,” one that projects hegemonic ambitions through psychological manipulation.
The Need for a Reactive Response
Serbia’s monstrous creativity in manipulation appears to know no bounds. Its most perfidious methods of deception, including the sacralization of crimes for chauvinistic purposes, have long been evident as a kind of “national spirit” within the Balkan limbo — a region from which Serbia continues to benefit through its “two-chair policy” of balancing between East and West.
The latest fabrications mark a new phase of deception within an already volatile geopolitical context and pose a serious threat to:
- The constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo;
- The security and stability of Kosovo;
- The increase of mistrust and deepening of ethnic divisions;
- The erosion of democracy and Western values.
Therefore, in the face of these dangers, Kosovo must respond with resolve, professionalism, and transparency, by exposing Serbia at all levels — local, regional, and international. It must actively support Serb citizens who are part of Kosovo’s institutions as examples of integration, and it must intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent the traps embedded in Serbia’s destabilization strategy.
For a truly threatened community does not label its integrated citizens as “traitors”, nor does it exploit children for propaganda.