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The Democratization Policy Council

Organization Summary

The Democratization Policy Council was founded in 2007 and aims to hold established democracies accountable for their policies toward democratizing countries, especially in the European Union’s neighborhood. Registered in Berlin and Washington, D.C., DPC currently has four senior associates based in Berlin, Brussels, and Sarajevo. In addition to a commitment to liberal, trans-Atlantic values grounded in human rights, open societies, rules-based governance, and democratic practice, the DPC team is committed to bridging research, theory, and practice. Over the years DPC has received core support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and partnered with Eurothink in Skopje on a research initiative supported by the US Office of Transition Initiatives that resulted in a book-length study, 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. DPC is the only international think tank to have consistently and critically followed EU and US policy toward the Western Balkans, and in particular Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. 
Official Website

Members

Valery Perry

Valery Perry has worked in the Western Balkans since the late 1990s, conducting research and working for organizations including the Democratization Policy Council (DPC), the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI), the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR), the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and others. She has a BA from the University of Rochester, an MA from Indiana University’s Russian and East European Institute, and a PhD from George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.  Valery has published numerous articles and book chapters, has spoken at conferences and policy events in the United States and throughout Europe, and has testified at the U.S. Congress. Her first documentary film, Looking for Dayton, was screened at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2020.  

Toby Vogel

Toby Vogel is a Brussels-based co-founder and senior associate of Democratization Policy Council (DPC). He specializes in the institutions, policies, and politics of the European Union and in particular the EU’s relations with countries in the Western Balkans. He has undertaken a wide range of analytical work for UNDP, UNICEF, and the EEAS. He holds degrees in philosophy (from the University of Zurich) and political science (from the New School for Social Research) and was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation research fellow on security and humanitarian action at City University of New York.

Dr. Sharon Fisher

Dr. Sharon Fisher is a Board Member and Senior Associate with the Democratization Policy Council and is based in Washington, D.C.  She has more than 30 years of experience working on Central and Eastern Europe, both as a political analyst and economist. Her extensive list of publications deals with countries from across Europe and Eurasia, on topics ranging from democratization, minority rights, and EU integration to economic development, demographics, and the green energy transformation.

Kurt Bassuener

Kurt Bassuener (@KurtBassuener) is co-founder and senior associate of the Democratization Policy Council, a Berlin-based think-tank. He has worked as a policy analysis and advocacy professional for nearly 30 years, primarily on the Balkans. He received his PhD in 2021 from the University of St. Andrews’ Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence for his dissertation titled: “Peace Cartels: Internationally Brokered Power-Sharing and Perpetual Oligarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia.” He resides in Sarajevo, from where he also serves as a regional strategic advisor for Kvinna Till Kvinna.