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A safer and more prosperous world through innovative solutions.
To enhance security, prosperity, and sustainability through generating new ideas.
Public-private dialogue, community engagement, and objective research and analysis.
The geopolitical environment is becoming less predictable and more complex. Technological innovation is quickly disrupting the old frameworks of economies, societies and political order. An array of new security challenges poses risks to political and economic stability. To respond do this growing volatility in Europe and beyond, a new and innovative approach is essential.
We are a non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-profit think tank based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, committed to enhancing security, prosperity and sustainability in Europe and throughout the world. Our mission is to influence the future by generating new ideas and solutions for a better and safer world. We believe we can change the world by putting together the right stakeholders at the right time for a free exchange of ideas. In an interconnected world, our mission is to stimulate public-private dialogue to shape agendas for the future. With global ambitions in mind and building on its Balkan legacy, we at SAI seek to contribute to agendas that are critical for Europe and help you make sense of global trends and their consequences for society, economy and security.
We don’t believe that one size fits all when it comes to a person’s security. Rather, we take a holistic approach that recognises that different organisations, programmes and staff face different risks. These risks are based on the diversity of their organisation’s values and activities, the profiles and roles of its staff, and the context in which they operate. Our work aims to enable appropriate and effective security risk management for all. We believe that breaking down siloes, both within and beyond the sector, as well as pooling expertise from a variety of sources is crucial. We at ISA work with security experts from the government, international organisations, academia, and the private sector as well as experts in other related areas. Understanding geopolitical challenges and having an effective security risk management is about enabling access and the safe delivery of programmes, which cannot be achieved if Security Risk Management (SRM) professionals do not understand the challenges faced by those we are supporting.
SAI works with a team of dozens of international experts in various fields and publishes tailor-made analysis and risk assessments to interested parties, identifying trends in the European and Transatlantic security environment and recommending solutions for government decision-makers and the private sector. We are committed to objective and in-depth research and analysis on most important issues in states and societies of Southeast Europe and the wider Europe. SAI offers a forum for policy debates with a view to crafting responses to pressing challenges in the region and Europe and build bridges between researchers, analysts and decision-makers with the aim of developing new and innovative ideas to tackle challenges in the wider Europe. With an emphasis on community engagement and collaboration, SAI generates experiences that explore critical global issues and promote a greater understanding of the world.
Meet the dedicated team at SAI – committed to shaping a better and safer future through objective research and innovative solutions.
Dr. Hikmet Karčić is a Senior Researcher at the University of Sarajevo. He has conducted academic research in the field of genocide and Holocaust studies, violent extremism and transitional justice. His works have been published by Haaretz, Newsweek and Arab News.
Dr. Harun Karčić is a journalist and political analyst covering the Balkans. Over the past decade, he has authored numerous articles on geopolitics and religion, particularly Islam, in the post-communist Balkans. He also writes about the role played by foreign powers including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey, but also China and Russia. He is a regular contributor to Haaretz, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Defense Post and RUSI and a sough-after expert for numerous governments and risk assessment firms.
Dr. Hamza Karčić is an international relations expert based in Sarajevo. His research has focused on foreign policy, diplomatic history and international influences in Southeast Europe and has published widely in refereed journals. His analyses and op-eds have been published in Financial Times, Foreign Policy, Haaretz, Al Jazeera, Newsweek, RUSI, Balkan Insight and other media outlets.
Dr Dženeta Karabegović is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Salzburg.
Her academic interests are in international political sociology with a focus on migration, transnationalism, diaspora, education, remembrance, transitional justice, democratization, foreign policy, and the Balkans.
She consults and guest lectures with local and international organizations focused on diasporas and development, returnees, education, migration, remembrance, democratization, social entrepreneurship, and civil society.
She holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick, an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a BA (Hon) in German and Political Science with a minor in Holocaust Studies from the University of Vermont.
Dr Leon Hartwell is a Senior Associate at LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics, co-founder and chair of the Russia-Ukraine Dialogues, and a former Sotirov Fellow.
He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington D.C.
His research interests include conflict resolution, genocide, transitional justice, diplomacy, and democracy.
Tanya Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is an affiliate faculty member of the Harriman Institute where she has taught in the Balkan Studies program since 2008.
Prior to her faculty appointment at Columbia, Domi served in the United States Army for 15 years and later worked as a Congressional aide and military policy advisor to the late Congressman Frank McCloskey, a leading champion for U.S. intervention in the Bosnian war. She also worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including media development, human rights, and human trafficking.
She has expanded her research to include genocide, conflict related sexual violence and prevention of atrocity crimes.
Domi was seconded by the U.S. State Department to the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996 where she served in various roles, including as Spokesperson and counsel to former Ambassador Robert Frowick and Ambassador Robert Barry. She has expanded her research to include genocide, conflict related sexual violence and prevention of atrocity crimes.
Ehlimana Memišević is a legal historian and genocide scholar based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She is working as an assistant professor at the Department of Legal History and Comparative Law, Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo.
She was the 2021 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Max Kade Center for European Studies, Vanderbilt University, United States of America.