Conference about the Hybrid Warfare, Foreign Influence and Unfinished Europeanization in Sofia

The conference Еurope on Edge: Tackling Hybrid Warfare amid Elections, Foreign Influence and Unfinished Europeanization was organised in Sofia.

The defining trends, threats and perceptions in Central and Eastern Europe was presented by Dominika Hajdu, Policy Director of the Center for Democracy & Resilience at GLOBSEC. Dr. Miruna Butnaru-Troncotă, Professor at National University of Political Studies and
Public Administration (Romania), Giorgi Goguadze, Director at Georgian Center for Strategy and Development (Georgia), Aleksandre Khunjua, Intelligence Analyst, Mantis Analytics (USA/Ukraine), Massimo Flore, Disinformation Expert, Aurora Fellows draw lessons learnt regarding the major patterns and consequences of hybrid warfare, as well as strategies for counteraction, during the elections in Europe with a specific reference to the surprise presidential results in Romania, the high-stakes referendum in Moldova and the dramatic events surrounding the parliamentary vote in Georgia.

Miroslav Sazdovski, Senior Analyst at Hybrid CoE (Helsinki), Dr. Shalva Dzebisashvili, Associate Professor at University of Georgia, Dr. Donika Emini, Executive Director of CiviKos platform (Kosovo), Daniel Sunter, Founder of Balkan Security Network (Belgrade), Dr. Adnan Huskic, Professor at Sarajevo School of Science and Technology discussed the path ahead for the Western Balkans.
Mykola Okhotnik, Audience researcher, SCIENCE+ and Dominika Stawarz, Audience researcher, SCIENCE+ engaged the audience with the possible ways to tackling disinformation. A Case Study on Bulgaria and Europe was presented by Dr. Rumena Filipova, Chairperson, IGA, Dr. Stoyan Panov, Senior Analyst, IGA, Barbara Bačová, Analyst, IGA, Marketa Vasickova, Analyst, IGA.

How autocracies adapt, collaborate, and leverage hybrid warfare to suppress dissent and maintain control - that was the topic of discussion between Veronica Laputska, Co-Founder of EAST Center (Warsaw), Armen Grigoryan, President of Center for Policy Studies (Armenia), Diana Petriashvili, Director of Programs, Free Press for Eastern Europe, moderated by Maryia Sadouskaya-Komlach, Global Engagement Strategist, Free Press Unlimited.