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City Spotlight: Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia, with a population of nearly 500,000. Situated along the Danube River, it is known for its diverse cultural heritage and strategic location near the borders of Austria and Hungary. Bratislava has been actively engaged with the Strong Cities Network since 2022, when Strong Cities undertook a comprehensive mapping exercise of the city’s threat landscape and prevention needs. Bratislava joined the Network in September 2023 and hosted a Strong Cities Transatlantic Dialogue Initiative event in March 2024, focused on the role of cities in Europe and North America in maintaining community cohesion amid global crises such as migration, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine war.

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What is the local government concerned about?

The local government of Bratislava is deeply concerned about rising threats of hate, extremism, polarisation and mis/disinformation. Of primary concern is growing animosity towards Ukrainian refugees, exacerbated by disinformation campaigns and conspiracy narratives proliferating on social media.

Additionally, the city faces persistent issues of hate-fuelled violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups, and a notable increase in antisemitism. For example, in October 2022, two people were killed at an LGBTQ+ bar in the city’s centre. Following the attack, the perpetrator revealed that he also intended to strike Chabad House, a Jewish religious outreach centre. While there have been no recent reports of violent antisemitic incidents in Bratislava, antisemitic narratives are prevalent in the online spaces risking the safety and security of the Jewish community.

Compounding these challenges is the irregular coordination between national and local authorities in mapping these threats and preventing them. Despite these difficulties, the city feels it can nevertheless contribute to addressing rising levels of hate as a result of local communities trusting local government more than they trust the central government, the state police and the media.

How is the local government responding?

Bratislava is implementing various measures to address the above challenges.

Cooperation and Coordination

Recognising the importance of enhanced cooperation on prevention, the city has taken steps to strengthen coordination (including information sharing) with relevant national and local actors. For instance, Bratislava launched a public safety initiative called Nočná pomoc (night help) that brings together local police, the city’s Department of Social Affairs and civil society to improve safety in the city and to address night-time anti-social behaviour. Additionally, the city coordinates with national agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and the Ministry of Interior’s Crime Prevention Department, on issues such as managing crises and public demonstrations, crime prevention and risk mitigation at the district and neighbourhood levels. For example, during the 2022 LGBTQ+ bar shooting, the municipality and national law enforcement agencies launched an integrated rescue and help emergency operation to apprehend the offender, provide support to victims and share information with the public in order to calm them down and ensure their safety.

City-Led Capacity Building and Engagement on Prevention

The City is also focusing on practical initiatives to counter mis/disinformation and enhance community policing efforts. For example, on the latter, it is working to build the capacity of municipal police and community leaders through targeted training programmes on human rights protection and effective community engagement practices. On the former, the local government is developing civic education and awareness-raising programmes for schools, aiming to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to critically evaluate information and thus build their resilience against extremist narratives.

Integration of Refugees

Bratislava developed a comprehensive approach that responds to both immediate and long-term integration needs of nearly 35,000 Ukrainian refugees (close to 7% of Bratislava’s total population). In the weeks following the first arrivals of Ukrainian refugees in the spring of 2022, the city mobilised and allocated resources from its various departments for crisis management and coordination. To ensure the delivery of a comprehensive approach, the city created and filled a position for coordinating integration of foreigners which by the end of 2022 turned into a full-fledged local government department. Additionally, the city adopted a multi-pronged one-stop-shop service-provision model, where a variety of integration-related resources are housed on a single online platform, thus ensuring easy access to resources and information. To this end, the city also established a physical Assistance Centre of Help after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There, Ukrainian refugees can access multiple city services, such as housing, education, employment and psycho-social support, in one location. It also encourages residents to volunteer at the centre to promote a sense of unity between long-term and new residents. Importantly, the city recognises the importance of long-term social integration and has thus also facilitated the provision of language courses and leisure activities for Ukrainian children.

Protecting and Empowering Marginalised Groups

The City of Bratislava is also committed to engaging and empowering hard-to-reach communities by breaking down barriers to interacting with the local government, including by meeting residents where they feel most comfortable. For example, the city supports community hubs where local officials and community members can interact and strengthen public participation in local governance. They are designed to be accessible to various social groups (e.g. Stará jedáleň community centre) and provide multiple services and leisure activities, while also creating a safe space for dialogue about political and social issues. Additionally, the city is providing financial support to Iniciativa Inakost to launch a community centre that will serve the LGBTQ+ community. It will provide community members with support in integrating into work, school and peer groups, addressing cases of discrimination, and providing social, psychological and legal advice.

What’s next?

Bratislava is planning to develop a multi-actor prevention team, which will unite various city departments, community-based organisations and national law enforcement agencies to work collaboratively to address hate and extremism. It also aims to develop a mechanism for regular interaction between national and local law enforcement to ensure timely information sharing. Additionally, Bratislava is committed to building the prevention capacity of its police force, which includes updating their training on human rights protection and good practices in handling incidents of hate and extremism.

The city also recognises the importance of being prepared for mitigating crises. Thus, it is developing a crisis management plan that emphasises the need for a whole of government public communications protocol where roles and responsibilities are clearly delineated and long-term community engagement. By nurturing trust-based relationships with community actors and ensuring a coordinated response (that includes leveraging these relationships) should a crisis unfold, Bratislava aims to mitigate the social impacts of hate- and extremist-related incidents.

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City Spotlight: Bratislava, Slovakia

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