Kurt Bassuener is a co-founder and senior associate of the Democratization Policy Council, a Berlin-based think-tank established in 2005. He wrote for Just Security on Lebanon’s peace cartel following the August 2020 port explosion. His Fulbright-St. Andrews Award (2016–2017) enabled his doctoral studies. Kurt is co-author and political analyst for Sell Out, Tune Out, Get Out, or Freak Out? Understanding Corruption, State Capture, Radicalization, Pacification, Resilience, and Emigration in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, a collaborative project of DPC and Eurothink, supported by USAID. He is also co-author and research director for the Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support, a project of the Community of Democracies. Prior to studying at St. Andrews, Kurt was a strategist for then-High Representative Paddy Ashdown in Sarajevo. He was also political and campaign analyst for the OSCE-ODIHR election observation mission in Ukraine in 2004–2005, and previously conducted analysis-based advocacy in Washington D.C. for the Balkan Institute, the Balkan Action Council, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the International Rescue Committee.
Nearly 30 years after the Dayton Accords, the Balkans are slipping toward violence again. Intraregional tensions are rising, and outside powers and far-right political parties are trying to capitalize on the situation.
This episode is a special preview of the launch of New Lines' Western Balkans Observatory and corresponding report, "Western Balkans 2023: "Internal Challenges and External Threats."
