Sarajevo Security Conference
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Sarajevo Security Conference

Program

The Sarajevo Security Conference 2024, titled “A European Take on Security Challenges,” will take place from September 20-22 at the Sarajevo City Hall (Vijećnica) and Hotel Bristol Novotel. The second iteration of this accomplished event will bring together leading experts, policymakers, and practitioners to address pressing security issues from a comprehensive, European perspective. The conference aims to foster dialogue, enhance cooperation, and contribute to actionable strategies to address current and emerging threats.




Friday, September 20

Sarajevo City Hall (Vijećnica)

17:00 - 18:00

Participants arrival and registration

17:30 - 18:00

Press conference

18:00 - 19:00

Opening Ceremony

  • Master of Ceremony: Lejla Mazlić, Journalist, Al Jazeera Balkans

18:00 - 18:30

Opening remarks

  • Dr. Hikmet Karčić, Director, Sarajevo Security Conference
  • Dr. Azeem Ibrahim OBE, Senior Director, NewLines Institute (DC)
  • HE. Dr. Thomas Fitschen, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • HE. Henk van den Dool, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

18:30 - 19:00

Keynote address

From Cooperation to Resilience: Partnership as a Response to European Security Challenges

  • General Chris Badia, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSATC)

19:00 - 21:00

Cocktail Reception

ALL GUESTS

Military orchestra of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina

19:00 - 21:00

Dinner

BY INVITATION ONLY





Saturday, September 21

Hotel Novotel Bristol, Sarajevo

9:00 - 9:20

Featured speaker

Strategic confrontation in a new security era

  • Major General Matthew J. Van Wagenen, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, SHAPE HQ 

9:20 - 10:40

Panel I

Redefining relations with Russia

  • Major General Matthew J. Van Wagenen, SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff Operations
  • Dr. Robert Person, Professor of International Relations, United States Military Academy (West Point) 
  • Dr. Azeem Ibrahim OBE, Director of New Lines Institute (DC) 
  • Brigadier General Jay Janzen (ret), J10 Strategic Communications Director - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe 
  • Moderator: Dr. Harun Karčić, Al Jazeera Balkans

10:40 - 11:00

Coffee break

11:00 - 11:20

Featured Speaker

The Red Sea Crisis and the future of Euro-Asia Trade

  • Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan (US Navy, ret.), Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security at the Middle East Institute

11:20 - 12:40

Panel II

Shifting tides: A new Middle East and its impact on Europe

  • Matthew James Bryza, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan 
  • Galip Dalay, Chatham House Senior Consulting Fellow, Turkey Initiative, Middle East and North Africa Programme 
  • Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute 
  • Glenn A. Corn, Senior Director for Geopolitics and Global Threat Assessment, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology and Adjunct Professor, Institute of World Politics 
  • Alexander Patterson, Director, SC Strategy, London
  • Moderator: Esmir Milavić, Editor and Reporter, N1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

12:40 - 14:20

Lunch

14:20 - 15:30

Panel III

Can the West have a common front in the Balkans?

  • Prof. Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of the Royal United Services Institute 
  • Dr. Valbona Zeneli, Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and Transatlantic Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security 
  • Dr. Jasmin Mujanović, Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Newlines Institute 
  • Radmila Shekerinska, Vice President of the Party of European Socialists, former DPM and MoD of North Macedonia 
  • Dr. Dženeta Karabegović, Researcher and Lecturer, University of Salzburg 
  • Moderator: Aleksandar Brezar, Journalist, Euronews

15:30 - 15:45

Coffee break

15:45 - 17:00

Panel IV

Women, Peace and Security

  • Major General Manushaqe Shehu, former Albanian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of General Staff 
  • Kayla McGill, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Advisor
  • Sabina Ćudić, Member of Parliament, House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
  • Edita Miftari, Women, Peace and Security Program Specialist, UN Women 
  • Moderator: Tanya Domi, Adjunct Asst. Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Harriman Institute & a US Army Veteran Commissioned Officer

18:00 - 19:30

Sarajevo Historical Tour

19:30 - 23:00

Dinner and Fireside Chat

  • Mykhailo Minakov D. Habil, Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars 
  • Host: Dr. Jasmin Mujanović, Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Newlines Institute 

Restaurant Baoli Dining and Lounge - BY INVITATION ONLY





Sunday, September 22

Hotel Novotel Bristol, Sarajevo

9:00 - 9:20

Featured Speaker

Security Cooperation The Marshall Center Way

  • Major General Barre Seguin (US Air Force, ret), Director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

9:20 - 10:40

Panel V

Security and intelligence challenges in 2025

  • Hans Petter Midttun, Independent analyst on hybrid warfare, Non-Resident Fellow at the Centre for Defense Strategies, former Defense Attaché of Norway to Ukraine, and officer (R) of the Norwegian Armed Forces 
  • Dr. Charles Kupchan, Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. 
  • Brigadier General Matthew Valas, NATO Headquarters - Sarajevo Commander 
  • Major General Dacian Tiberiu Șerban, Director of the Cooperative Security Division (CS) of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS) 
  • Moderator: Dr. Sasha Polakow-Suransky, Deputy Editor, Foreign Policy

10:40 - 11:00

Coffee break

11:00 - 11:20

Featured Speaker

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Disruptive Agenda: A Leadership Profile

  • Dr. Kenneth Dekleva, Professor of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX

11:20 - 12:40

Panel VI

Foreign influences in NATO’s inner courtyard

  • Adnan Ćerimagić, Senior Analyst, European Stability Initiative (ESI) 
  • J.D. Maddox, CEO, Inventive Insights LLC, and professor, George Mason University and Tulane University 
  • Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow at RUSI and Director of Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS) 
  • Frauke M. Seebas, Visiting Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) Brussels Office 
  • Moderator: Jeta Loshaj, Program Manager, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kosovo

12:40 - 14:00

Lunch

The Brasserie, Hotel Novotel - CONFERENCE SPEAKERS AND DELEGATIONS
Conference Room Banja Luka Lounge Area - ALLGUESTS

14:00 - 15:15

Fishbowl discussion

Quo Vadis Balkans?

  • Dr. Rosa Aloisi, Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department, Trinity University 
  • Vedran Lakić, Minister of the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
  • Dr. Jelena Džankić, Part-time Professor, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies 
  • Alija Kožljak, Chief of Staff of the Chairman of the Presidency BiH dr. Denis Bećirović; National security advisor; Teaching International relations and security 
  • Lisbeth Pilegaard, Chair of the Executive Committee of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) and a Board of Governors member 
  • Inspector General Edin Fako, Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
  • Haris Avdić-Pejićić, Western Balkans Task Force at the European External Action Service 
  • Moderator: Emina Muzaferija, Project Coordinator Western Balkans, New Lines Institute

15:15 - 15:30

Coffee break

15:30 - 15:50

Featured Speaker

Atrocity Prevention Strategies in the Balkans

  • Dr. James Waller, Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice, University of Connecticut

15:50 - 17:00

Fishbowl discussion

Geopolitics of Conflict, Nationalism, and Reconciliation

  • Dr. James Waller, Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice, University of Connecticut (US) 
  • Prof. Rachel Kerr, FRHistS, FHEA, Professor of War and Society in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London 
  • Dr. Alfred Montoya, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Trinity University 
  • Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, Professor Manhattan University, New York 
  • Richard S.A. Newell, Researcher at the University of Graz, Center for South East European Studies 
  • Velma Šarić, Founder and President of the Post-Conflict Research Center 
  • Moderator: Paul Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Photography at the University of the Arts London

17:00

Closing remarks

18:00 - 21:00

Walk along Wilson Avenue and Farewell Dinner

Gastro Wine Bar Apetit - BY INVITATION ONLY 

Background

The European security landscape is undergoing significant transformations due to geopolitical shifts, technological advancements, and evolving threats. From the resurgence of Russia as a strategic adversary to the volatile changes in the Middle East, Europe finds itself in a pressing need for security redefined. The Western Balkans, with its unique historical and geopolitical context, remains a focal point for security concerns, including issues of regional stability, external influence, and socio-political dynamics - but also, an important constructive element on building holistic solutions.

The Sarajevo Security Conference is positioned as the platform for addressing these multifaceted challenges. Initiated as a response to the growing need for comprehensive and collaborative security dialogue from inside Europe but outside of the European Union, the conference brings together thought leaders and decision-makers to explore strategic responses to current and emerging threats. By focusing on European and regional security issues, the conference aims to contribute to a more stable and secure Europe.

Dr. Jelena Džankić

Richard S.A. Newell

Dr. Sasha Polakow-Suransky

Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan (US Navy, ret.)

Dr. Alfred Montoya

Nina Kruscheva

Jeta Loshaj

Galip Dalay

Lejla Mazlić

Dr. Rosa Aloisi

Radmila Shekerinska

Dr. James Waller

Hans Petter Midttun

Prof. Malcolm Chalmers

Major General Matthew J. Van Wagenen

Brigadier General Matthew Valas

HE. Henk van den Dool

Dr. Robert Person

Inspector General Edin Fako

Brigadier General Jay Janzen (ret)

Adnan Ćerimagić

Dr. Mehnaz Afridi

Natia Seskuria

Major General Manushaqe Shehu

Dr. Dženeta Karabegović

Sabina Ćudić

Frauke M. Seebass

Prof. Rachel Kerr, FRHistS, FHEA

Major General Dacian Tiberiu Serban

Esmir Milavić

Vedran Lakić

Edita Miftari

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim OBE

HE. Dr. Thomas Fitschen

Barre Seguin

Emina Muzaferija

Mykhailo Minakov D. Habil

Haris Avdić-Pejićić

Dr. Kenneth Dekleva

Dr. Charles Kupchan

Dr. Burcu Ozcelik

Velma Šarić

Glenn A. Corn

Alexander Patterson

Tanya Domi

Lisbeth Pilegaard

General Chris Badia

Matthew James Bryza

Dr. Jasmin Mujanović

Paul Lowe

J.D. Maddox

Kayla McGill

Dr. Valbona Zeneli

Alija Kožljak

Our Goals

Enhance Understanding of Security Challenges

Provide a comprehensive overview of the current and emerging security challenges facing Europe and the Western Balkans.

Foster Multilateral Cooperation

Encourage collaboration and dialogue among policymakers, security experts, and practitioners to develop cohesive strategies.

Contribute to Actionable Strategies

Generate practical and innovative solutions to address security threats and improve regional stability.

Promote Regional Stability

Highlight the importance of stability in the Western Balkans as a cornerstone for broader European security.

Strengthen Networks

Facilitate networking opportunities to build strong, collaborative relationships among attendees.